ok i have been an lpn for 7 and 1/2 years, i was a cna for 2 years prior to becoming a nurse, and i have about 3 pre-reqs left to take, before i can enter into a local fast track program, i have worked primarily in ltc, and i just wondered how other nurses felt about this, and i dont want to seem insensitive, i am 29, and full of energy, and new ideas, i work alot of times with nurses who have been nursing 20 plus years, and thats a great achievement, commendable even, however, i think SOME seasoned nurses just need to kno when to say hay i devoted my life to doing what i love, but now..............i say this because too many times, i have worked with much older nurses who, over the years have become very lax in their thinking, and care, take off alot d/t ailments, etc, orientate brand new nurses, and telling and showing them the wrong way, and we all kno that working in ltc is a highly stressful, fast-paced field, and some literally can not keep up! then some, realize this and are givin these cushy, m-f, office jobs, so nurses like myself, are left with the crappy shifts like 3-11, 4 on 2 off, etc, i think that if you hold a title, rn, lpn, cna, if you come to a point in your life where you are not able to function for whatever reason as your title, then........ i realize experience plays a big role, i look to some seasoned nurses for guiadance still, but id be willing to bet that i could run circles around them, and where i work, caring for 45 residents, u literally have to run, pushing a huge buggy of medicine, and these residents deserve that, there are all types of discrimination, but i believe one that is left out is against young nurses, with young children, b/c i guess its assumed that you wont be dependable, but a nurse with a bad heart, etc etc wit 20 plus years exp. is a better choice?? and im not what i would consider a, "new nurse" i kno i dont kno it all, but sometimes its just frustrating and unfair, if need be i can still function as a cna, and still come back and do my job, and thats why im glad i will have gone thru each level before i get my rn, so i will have some knowledge of where everyone is coming from, well just thot id get that off my chest, thats my opinion, if you dont like it, move on to the next thread, god bless, mwah!
Specializes in med-surg, home health, hospice, LTC.
Dear Supernurse, did you ever think about how many extra shifts you would need to work to cover all the open shifts that would appear if all those old nurses DID "hang up their stethoscopes"? Be thankful you have them to go to when you suddenly realize you don't know everything. And as for the cushy office jobs, I've had one or two of those, and most days wished I was back on the floor so I didn't have to deal with all the problems that go along with those positions! Just my:twocents:
Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
i realize i wont be 29 forever, but, we dont work with equipment for a living we work with human lives, and i want to be able to function to where i am to give my patient the care they deserve, and when that time come when im not physically up to it, i wont put my patient at risk just because i gotta pay my mortgage,
You did not say that patients are at risk-if you believe you are working with someone who is really unsafe you need to document and report it. That is a very different matter from what you stated in your original post.
haarrummmphhhh, i'm beyond "seasoned" i'm a "hot tamale" at 60 this year:d. i might not be as fast as you but fast doesn't always mean better. you never described the issues with the older nurses you work with, just a catch phrase of "unsafe", how do you know they are unsafe? you then complain that they have the "cushy" day jobs, ambulatory care has it's own set of skills btw, and it's not as "cushy" as you would imagine. i will be working for at least another 10 years...why, as another poster put it, i like to eat, i need a roof over my head and to pay my bills and have insurance. now if you'd like to support me in a manor i'd like to be come accustom to......
you will be us some day, so may your bp meds work well, may your hrt control your raging hot flashes and horrific mood swings, may your aching joints be controled by mild otc drugs and may the "young guns" you are working with be respectful.
oh and on a side note your post was very difficult to read due to poor spelling and punctuation, if you are entering another phase of education i'd suggest working on it at every opportunity.
Laziness nor arrogance has no age. Look around. The lazy are young and old, as are the arrogant. As a nurse almost age 45, with 23 years in as an RN I can run circles around many younger folks. I must say I am impressed very often with how on the ball some of my collegues are, some with just a year or two of experience and others with almost twice as much as me. Attitude, including the sense of entitlement are very much an individual trait. BTW, I have one of those cushy day jobs. It isn't all roses, either. I help on the unit often when they are busy and will do more in the near future as we have cut back on OT. Good luck with your career, just remember and accept that life doesn't always seem fair and you'll be a lot happier.
I actually understand where the OP is coming from. I once worked with an older nurse in a LTC facility and when her patient who was a full code become unresponsive all those years of experience meant nothing because she had to go and find someone else to begin CPR. She said she "doesn't that anymore." And this isn't something I heard through the grapevine. I was there to witness it and hear it myself.
I feel if you're unable to do certain things whether it's due to age or other physical limitations you need to find an area of nursing that accommodates you. Being the primary nurse to 30 patients and not being able to perform CPR just makes you unsafe in my book.
I am ot going to flame the poster, but I have to say a few things. I work with a 70 year old nurse who kicks butt. You would not know it by looking at her. She is a wealth of information. Having had all those "cushy jobs" including DNS, she is working along side me on a very demanding floor. I know nurses of all ages and education that slack and take time off.
thank you all for your comments, i deserved everything i got, and u guys gave it to me, i was just in a bad mood and sleepy, and my husband got tired of listening to me so i came here just to vent, which is still no excuse, but i do apologize for being ignorant and insensitive, b/c honestly, seems like now i gotta drink a 5-hour energy drink just to get thru an 8 hour shift, when about 6 years ago, i could work 16 hours (or more) straight, without having had much sleep, just natural energy, but where i live, for the past couple of years, i just keep getting beat out of jobs, and im just stuck working shifts at jobs that dont allow me to see my children, but i kno my situation is not new these days, and i really do think more mature seasoned nurses have alot to offer, like the feedback i just got, lol, and again i apologize for being a jackass, mwah!
Word to the wise: You will be neither 29 nor Supernurse forever... in fact, at 29, you are just about at the place where things really start to decline noticeably. I promise you that after this year you won't be running circles around anybody for very much longer. When your time comes, I hope your younger coworkers are as tolerant of you as you are of your elders now.
(ahhh, 29... I remember when I ruled the world... )
I'm about to turn 29. I guess it's a downhill road for me from here on out.
Specializes in ED, Med-Surg, Psych, Oncology, Hospice.
We all have bad days and situations that drive us nuts. I think the thing to remember is that when we vent (and we ALL do) we should limit our vent to those situations and not to the people. We only walk in our own shoes and see from our own perspectives.
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I guess it's a downhill road for me from here on out.
classicdame, MSN, EdD
7,255 Posts
I am a "mature" nurse and have seen younger nurses come and go because they were unable or unwilling to do the job. So is it age or something else?