average age of a nurse?

Coming out of school? Or in general?

I was 22 when I started!

Average? I'd say the average age is around 40-45, judging by the places I've worked. I see a lot of second-degree nurses. I started working as a nurse when I was 27.

When I attended my friends graduation from nursing school the Dean of the School of Nursing brought up an interesting statistic in that the average age of a nurse in the U.S. is 50-55 and that of an nursing school professor is 60. She stressed the need for young nurses to enter the field to replace those that would be retiring within the next 10 years.

The typical adult's working life spans roughly ages 20 - 65, give or take a few years. In nursing, or any other field, you will find individuals throughout that spectrum.

Here you go!

The average age of the Registered Nurse is climbing.

• With the average age of RNs projected to 44.5 years by 2012, nurses in their 50s are expected to become the largest segment of the nursing workforce, accounting for almost one quarter of the RN population. www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763756840
  
• According to the 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses released in September 2010 by the federal Division of Nursing, the average age of the RN population in 2008 was 46 years of age, up from 45.2 in 2000.
  

American Association of Colleges of Nursing | Nursing Shortage