Okay - I just read one of a comment on another thread and was floored when the comment was about a person getting a DNP at 62 and a poster wondering how long they would be able to safely practice at that age...
So....my question is: how old is too old to safely practice as an APRN?
I will preface my remarks with the fact that I am in mid-late 50's, have been an APRN for 10 years, currently precept two new NPs, and my practice considers me at the top of my game.
So...at 62 I'll be washed up??? Ugh - I'm planning to work till I'm 70 as long as I remain physically able to do the work.
Is there a magic age when one should just hang up the lab coat?
So sorry my opinion or lack of legal savvy is frightening you. I'm not sure why as I'm in no position to hire or fire anyone. Its simply my guess that if the airlines are forward thinking enough to consider the risks and the AMA is also there must be something to it. As well as my opinion and plan to get out before I'm much older or slower than I am now which I will be in a position to do because I have been lucky in addition to my years of sacrificing, planning and saving for the future.
It scares me because you think it's ok to discriminate against a group of people based on an arbitrary factor like age. And that you don't seem to know that the Constitution prohibits age discrimination. Whether you have the power to hire and fire is immaterial. The thread is about how old is too old to practice, and the answer is there's no such thing as a certain age where someone has to quit. I read articles once in awhile about nurses in their 80s and 90s who are just now retiring. God bless the older nurses who can remind us what nursing once was, and can give us the benefit of their experience, and who helped knock down the ceilings that made nursing what it is today. And give some credit to nurses like me who raised our families first, and now are pursuing our dreams of a higher education so we can give our patients the benefit of years of life experience and enthusiasm when we start to practice. I'm in the top 3% of my class (not just in my program, university wide) and will be 63 when I earn my doctorate. I'm not even the oldest in my class! I plan to practice until my trusted friends and colleagues tell me I need to stop. A law that will treat me differently from someone younger will end up being knocked down by the Supreme Court for very good reason.
I turn 63 next month, and I'm having no difficulties. I plan to work until 66 at least. Then how much longer I work will depend on my knees and ankles... everything else is fine at this time. In my spare time I photograph, read and design computer programs. Pushups for my brain.
I would take issue with saying that "any nurse who can't perform . . . for whatever reason should resign." The biggest reason I say this is that if your work load is consistently too heavy by standards perhaps the work load needs to be reduced. I have seen RNs do my job and finish very quickly compared to me but they did not spend time talking to or caring for the patients. They passed meds nothing else. I on the other hand was more involved with the patients looking at IVs, skin, assessing problems and complaints. I finished on time and got everything done while they went and got breakfast. I was 62 at the time, they were 1/2 my age. When I was on my last job they increased our workload by double, 1/2 the RNs double the patients. These situations cannot be used to define who should resign. Nursing has changed since those of us who are older started our careers. Documentation requirements, use of computers all impact what some RNs can comfortably do. I am used to high tech and I have always been athletic, I can keep up. But I still take time to address the needs of my patients, I am not a med passing machine. Older RNs need as much respect and help as the graduate RNs. I have taken my time and energy with both. About 1 year ago I decided to retire because I was having to handle heavy patient loads, placed in what I considered unsafe situations and asked to simply do too much. It did not make me an incompetent RN, the people who expected us to do the assignments were incompetent in my opinion. I had over 40 years in service, it was enough for me. I miss the patients, the planning, the working through on problems, the challenges. I still talk to a lot of people who know what I did for a living and help them sort through all sorts of health care concerns. It's like I cannot quit, it is so much a part of me. Call me crazy but in today's healthcare settings we need all of us.
Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
I'd take you in a heartbeat as my provider. You most likely have some years behind you as an experienced nurse on top of the 10 years as an ARNP.
I actually worked with a young nurse, who worked the floor (and not a very high acute floor) for 2 years. She went on to work one year in an ICU. She is now practicing as an ARNP. Even though she is smart, she sorely lacks experience. Part of accurate diagnosing is the experience one has, IMO.
ILLINOIS: At age 75, drivers must take a road test and eye exam to renew a license. At age 81, drivers must renew every two years instead of every four – and at age 87, they must start renewing annually.
Prior to 1990, testing at renewal was required starting at age 69. In raising the age, the state cited data showing crash rates began increasing when drivers reached 75.
So is this age discrimination or just plain common sense?
I think you can practice well into your 70s safely, but it's individual based on the person. I can't even imagine working past 70 at anything!! I hope, at that point, I'll be reading more, being in nature more and maybe traveling more. But, not working!! God no.
ILLINOIS: At age 75, drivers must take a road test and eye exam to renew a license. At age 81, drivers must renew every two years instead of every four – and at age 87, they must start renewing annually.
Prior to 1990, testing at renewal was required starting at age 69. In raising the age, the state cited data showing crash rates began increasing when drivers reached 75.
So is this age discrimination or just plain common sense?
Honestly? Probably both.
I moved in with my parents at 56 when I went through my divorce and started back to school. They wanted to add me to their car insurance, and I agreed to pay the difference. Turned out that adding me LOWERED their premiums by $75 per month!! Is it wrong to charge more based on their ages when neither of them have had tickets or accidents or filed claims? Probably yes. But do insurance companies base rates on arbitrary categories like age? Hell yes all the time. It's a touchy subject as this thread proves. "Old age" is 30 years older than your current age.
Specializes in ED, Cardiac-step down, tele, med surg.
What about "old" doctors? I've seen some attendings that look like they are 75. I know cardiologists who are in their 60s and are still practicing. I don't think there is necessarily a "too old". I think this is dependent on the individual and how they age.
I moved in with my parents at 56 when I went through my divorce and started back to school. They wanted to add me to their car insurance, and I agreed to pay the difference. Turned out that adding me LOWERED their premiums by $75 per month!! Is it wrong to charge more based on their ages when neither of them have had tickets or accidents or filed claims? Probably yes. But do insurance companies base rates on arbitrary categories like age? Hell yes all the time. It's a touchy subject as this thread proves. "Old age" is 30 years older than your current age.
While you may feel that higher insurance rates for older people and having to take exams and renew their licenses frequently is wrong, just consider that while your parents may have had clean driving records and were perfectly safe, you also have people like my grandmother who constantly ran her car into a large ditch trying to get into her driveway because her eyesight began to decline, but refused to stop driving.
Just like that, you also have older physicians and nurses who are perfectly capable of performing their work as they get older, but you will have the remaining stubborn few who cannot perform their job safely. So you would risk public health and safety because others may feel that they are discriminated against? If I was older, I would gladly take a test every few years to ensure I'm competent to do my job, especially if doing my job improperly meant I could kill someone.
While you may feel that higher insurance rates for older people and having to take exams and renew their licenses frequently is wrong, just consider that while your parents may have had clean driving records and were perfectly safe, you also have people like my grandmother who constantly ran her car into a large ditch trying to get into her driveway because her eyesight began to decline, but refused to stop driving.
Just like that, you also have older physicians and nurses who are perfectly capable of performing their work as they get older, but you will have the remaining stubborn few who cannot perform their job safely. So you would risk public health and safety because others may feel that they are discriminated against? If I was older, I would gladly take a test every few years to ensure I'm competent to do my job, especially if doing my job improperly meant I could kill someone.
It's not about how someone would "feel" or how I "feel". There's a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination because of age.
As far as driving goes, 16-25 year olds are a higher risk group driving than the older drivers group. Just like anything else there are horrible doctors and nurses and drivers and there are good ones in every age group. Testing drivers who are over 65 is legal but in employment law, it's not. Doctors who specialize who want to be members of their professional organization have to retest every few years. I think nurses should too. Nurses of ALL AGES. Which would not be against the law.
It's not about how someone would "feel" or how I "feel". There's a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination because of age.
As far as driving goes, 16-25 year olds are a higher risk group driving than the older drivers group. Just like anything else there are horrible doctors and nurses and drivers and there are good ones in every age group. Testing drivers who are over 65 is legal but in employment law, it's not. Doctors who specialize who want to be members of their professional organization have to retest every few years. I think nurses should too. Nurses of ALL AGES. Which would not be against the law.
Which is why you either cannot get a rental car or you must pay a premium to do so. There is a field called actuarial SCIENCE. They generate those nifty grids that you use to look up your insurance premiums etc.. It isn't based on opinion or bias.
Kristiernbsn
69 Posts
It scares me because you think it's ok to discriminate against a group of people based on an arbitrary factor like age. And that you don't seem to know that the Constitution prohibits age discrimination. Whether you have the power to hire and fire is immaterial. The thread is about how old is too old to practice, and the answer is there's no such thing as a certain age where someone has to quit. I read articles once in awhile about nurses in their 80s and 90s who are just now retiring. God bless the older nurses who can remind us what nursing once was, and can give us the benefit of their experience, and who helped knock down the ceilings that made nursing what it is today. And give some credit to nurses like me who raised our families first, and now are pursuing our dreams of a higher education so we can give our patients the benefit of years of life experience and enthusiasm when we start to practice. I'm in the top 3% of my class (not just in my program, university wide) and will be 63 when I earn my doctorate. I'm not even the oldest in my class! I plan to practice until my trusted friends and colleagues tell me I need to stop. A law that will treat me differently from someone younger will end up being knocked down by the Supreme Court for very good reason.