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:oornt: I am an RN, who works at a skilled nursing facility. I need advice. I am so frustrated with it situation I don't know what to do. I work 3-11 shift and work with anouther RN who is 83. Yes, thats right. She has worked there for 25 years and is way passed retirement. I know the economy is tough. But, she is really dangerous. I can give lots of examples on how dangerous she is, but I just want to know if anyone has any advice for me. I NEED HELP.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
hi to all RN's.im a new here...who among you here work as an enrolled nurse in singapore.i plan to work in singapore but i doubt because of my experience..i only have 2 years experince. can you give me an advice? which one is better?... work in KSA as a staff nurse or work in SG as an enrolled nurse.

Try your question on the international boards there will be more people there to help you..

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

if there is an age limit it would have to be on the "young" side too. No matter the age, if an individual is not able to perform the job description then management should be made aware.

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Hi everyone; all I can say is I hope to God I am not working at 83. There is no way you can tell me that at 83 she is able to do the fast paced work that she needs to, or do the lifting that she is required to do. This may sound like age discrimination to some of you, but really do you think she could possibly be totally up the the work load at 83? She may be intelligent and sharp as a whip, but no way can she be totally pulling her work load adequatly. Just my opinion.:twocents:

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

What exactly is it that she does that is "dangerous" -- I'm probably just weird, but I think it would be cool to work with an 83 year old nurse.

Is she just not useful anymore because she can't do activities that require brute strength? Is she exhibiting signs of confusion? It is sad to me that nobody appears interested in what her life experience has been and nobody seems to have a problem with 83 year old physicians just because they are 83.

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Hi everyone; all I can say is I hope to God I am not working at 83. There is no way you can tell me that at 83 she is able to do the fast paced work that she needs to, or do the lifting that she is required to do. This may sound like age discrimination to some of you, but really do you think she could possibly be totally up the the work load at 83? She may be intelligent and sharp as a whip, but no way can she be totally pulling her work load adequatly. Just my opinion.:twocents:

Age discrimination is not what it sounds like, it's what it is, and it's against the law.

So at what age should people be told they can't work? 80, 70, 60, 50? Just where do you draw the line?

It goes both ways you know, so where do you draw it on the other end, huh? How old should you need to be before you have demonstrated enough maturity, wisdom, and analytical skills to be able to work? 20, 30, 40?

And who gets to decide the age limit on both ends? Should there be a standard age across the board? Should the government decide? Should it be arbitrary and left up to the each facility? Should they be able to decide on a case by case basis? How would you know someone is really being let go because of age and not because they weren't best friends with management?

Every person is different and it's impossible to know at what age someone will not be able to work safely. This law is in place for a reason, so you better hope that no one tries to put you out to pasture before you are ready to go.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

If someone is dangerous in their job - and you have proof or you let management know re ur concerns - age discrimination doesn't enter into it.

You need to let management know re this person - and no, I wouldn't feel sorry for her and I certainly would not be covering up any of her mistakes - if you feel she is too dangerous to work, then tell management and tell this RN you will not be covering up anything for her.

Lawyers don't care how old you are when they prosecute you - that's what I always think of. Remember, if you get put on a stand and a lawyer asks why you didn't report her before, it will look like u have been trying to keep her mistakes hidden, and you can be charged for that - I beleive you used the word dangerous.

I'm not even going to get into 'the older ones need to retire' debate, as it's all been hashed out on here before.

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Specializes in Obstetrics.

Personally, I would not speak to this RN directly...you'd be surprised how fast those conversations can get twisted into something else (harassment, hostile work environment, etc) that will come back on YOU instead of bringing about true measures for change. Document the real-deal issues: patient care, patient safety, etc, don't address anything personal, just the facts & details. And for Heaven's sake, DON'T mention her age in any of your documentation or refer to it in any way. This is one of those situations that requires "by the book" handling and unfortunately, we as nurses don't always know what the "book" (aka the law) says, especially regarding employment law. Good luck to you! :twocents:

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Specializes in PICU, ICU, Hospice, Mgmt, DON.

Wow, first I was surprised that she was still working, then I was like "right on-you go girl"...but then I started thinking..."crap, I sure hope that isn't going to be me".....:eek:.....the way this economy is, it may very well be...(well not for a few more years anyway:))

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Specializes in Medical Surgical.

Right to those who said leave her age out of it. It's a protected category and can get you in a world of trouble. Work errors and omissions are a different issue, and age doesn't matter. Document and if possible have witnesses or other documenters. This works. We had a young man pulled to our floor once who was completely useless. He was a tech. After the first two hours the nurses were fuming and we decided we would keep notes on his activities and turn him in. After all the documentation he was fired that week. The nurses on his home floor were just as fed up as we had been but didn't take the right actions to address the problem. Paper trails are very hard to ignore. And for heaven's sake don't discuss it with the nurse in question. If she really can't do the job, and doesn't realize it, you will just make an enemy. I have worked with several nurses in their late 70s who did fine, by the way.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

I would also say do NOT talk to her directly. I don't think it serves any purpose here. This is the type of issue management needs to examine, that's their job.

What you need to be able to present are specific examples that have created patient safety issues. It has nothing to do with her age, but her ability (or lack thereof, if there is a lack). If she is unsafe, it doesn't matter how old she is....someone can be 38 and be an unsafe nurse.

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Right to those who said leave her age out of it. It's a protected category and can get you in a world of trouble. Work errors and omissions are a different issue, and age doesn't matter. Document and if possible have witnesses or other documenters. This works. We had a young man pulled to our floor once who was completely useless. He was a tech. After the first two hours the nurses were fuming and we decided we would keep notes on his activities and turn him in. After all the documentation he was fired that week. The nurses on his home floor were just as fed up as we had been but didn't take the right actions to address the problem. Paper trails are very hard to ignore. And for heaven's sake don't discuss it with the nurse in question. If she really can't do the job, and doesn't realize it, you will just make an enemy. I have worked with several nurses in their late 70s who did fine, by the way.

Not only are they hard to ignore, but paper trails are a must for an employer to let someone like this go, just in case a lawsuit arose so they could prove it was NOT age discrimination.

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