I am a very young nurse. Will my patients be frightened?

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Hi. I am a new graduate practical nurse. I will be an LPN soon, once I take the NCLEX-PN in a month or so. I just got a job at a LTAC hospital. I am 19 years old.

I was wondering, if you were my patient, would you be frightened that such a young person was taking care of you?

I have had alot of people tell me that I am mature for my age and I look about 22 years old, but I am worried that patients will get anxious that such a young person will be the one making life and death decisions.

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Specializes in Psychiatric, Detox/Rehab, Geriatrics.

I first became an RN when I was 22, and I'm 25 now. When I first started out, I would get boy your mighty young to be a nurse, and stuff like that, but once I showed that that I was confident and able to take care of them, they never brought it up again. Today, I get that once in awhile, but I just show that I am confident and that I am capable of caring for them. Best of luck to you!

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Yeah, I figure once I show them that I am intelligent enough to take care of them, they won't have any qualms. But I am also concerned about older nurses making my age a huge deal. I used to work in a doctor's office as a medical assistant and everyone there brought up my age when conversing with me. It's like they don't see me as a competent, itelligent professional just because I am young.

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Specializes in LTC, Disease Management, smoking Cessati.

Shouldn't be a problem unless you have a big green wart on your nose! Just kidding...go in and show em what you got and you'll do fine.

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im 22 but look young for my age so i get asked ALL the time how old i am? if im old enough to be a nurse? etc. at least once everyday im asked about my age. most people are pretty polite about it though...you can almost see people trying to figure out a way to ask without sounding rude.

that being said i find patients and their families quickly trust me and its more about competence and confidence than how young you appear.

one of my nursing tutors said that young nurses are often more mature than their friends of the same age who are non-nurses because of the working environment and situations that you will deal with on a daily basis. i believe this is true to an extent.

which area are you working in? i remember when i worked in adults and many of the older adults would try to 'set me up' with their sons who were a good 30 years older than me so they cant have been to worried about my age. i now work in paeds and find my age means i can relate to the teenagers easily.

in anycase to answer your question...im sure your patients wont be frightened :)

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

Brings back memories!! I was 19 when I started, too. For me, it was all about professional demeanor. I was more uncomfortable at that time taking care of adolescent males at the peds hosp than I was with older adults. People sometimes comment, but it never interfered with my abilities to be competent at my job.

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Just do what I did and grow some facial hair...

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im 22 but look young for my age so i get asked ALL the time how old i am? if im old enough to be a nurse? etc. at least once everyday im asked about my age. most people are pretty polite about it though...you can almost see people trying to figure out a way to ask without sounding rude.

that being said i find patients and their families quickly trust me and its more about competence and confidence than how young you appear.

one of my nursing tutors said that young nurses are often more mature than their friends of the same age who are non-nurses because of the working environment and situations that you will deal with on a daily basis. i believe this is true to an extent.

which area are you working in? i remember when i worked in adults and many of the older adults would try to 'set me up' with their sons who were a good 30 years older than me so they cant have been to worried about my age. i now work in paeds and find my age means i can relate to the teenagers easily.

in anycase to answer your question...im sure your patients wont be frightened :)

I very much agree that non-nursing people my age seem very immature to me, almost to the extent that I can't really associate with people my own age because they're annoying and seem stupid to me! Of course, they're just acting their own age and nothing is wrong with that. I've just been mature my whole life. Sometimes it's not the best thing to be mature because you sometimes miss out on the "fun" times in life. I have to force myself to have a little "fun" every once and awhile....sadly... But oh well...

To answer your question I will be working in a long term acute care facility, basically the patents are med/surg but stay about 30-60 days. :)

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Just do what I did and grow some facial hair...

lol. I wish I could, but sadly I am a woman, so I have to rely on makeup and professionalism to make myself seem older... Thanks though haha!

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Ortho/HH/Radiology-Now Retired.

Old nurses were once young nurses too. :) ... Never forget that! :)

Go for it and I wish you every success! *handing over the baton now!* :)

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Sometimes how we see ourselves scares us about how others might think of it... I don't blame you i also had a similar experience last year.... There are times... some patients tend to co-manage your actions..thinking they're older and much wiser....and the person inside of you shout's out.. "Im the nurse here!".... Well that's ok... you just need to be confident. and that takes time... don't allow them to judge your appearance.. just simply do what's best and expected of you...if you stick to that.. you can't go wrong... and you'll earn a bonus of good compliments from your patients.... for your youthful looks and your superb service.. hehehehe.,.,,, cheer up!!!

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There are times... some patients tend to co-manage your actions..thinking they're older and much wiser....and the person inside of you shout's out.. "Im the nurse here!"...

That is defenately true. I have had "experienced" patients try to tell me what to do and I am sure if I was 30 years old, they wouldn't dare try!

Thank you everyone for your comments! I very much appreciate them!;)

I don't mean 30 is old....I'm just using that number as an example. Sorry if I offended anyone...;)

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