Is there nursing after 50?

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2005

Those are strike companies--they provide scabs, oh, I mean, warm bodies, to striking hospitals. As long as you are breathing and have an active license they will take you. I hate to recommend to anyone that they do strike nursing, but the strike nurses I have seen were either very greedy or in dire straits--i.e., facing homelessness due ot huge gambling debts, etc. and had little other choice.

I dont drink

I dont do drugs

Im certainly not in dire financial need

But it certainly pays my green fees at the links

and maybe even a lap dance at the 19th hole

mideb · Jan 10, 2005

Does being 50+ mean I have to quit nursing and go into poverty for the rest of my life or am I supossed to kill myself?

I understand exactly what you're saying. I'll be 51 this yr. & as I look back on my life, oh sure, I've been able to support my family, but what has happened to my life? I think we feel this more in nursing that most other careers because we've worked all shifts, numerous overtime hrs., weekends,

holidays, & I've always wked in area where we have to take call. I'm very burnt out. When younger people ask me about a career in nursing I do all I can to steer them away from it. With the increase in RN shortage you'd think they could come up with better retention programs, but what's there to look forward to when after 25 yrs. you're still taking call, etc. I wk for excellent hospital & love the people I wk with, like the type of pt. care I do, but really wish I had picked a different pathway in my career.

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2005

I like what I do

Iraised 7 kids as a RN

Put my wife through school

Fished and Hunted to my hearts desire

Played and continue to play a lot of golf

I live well

I live large

It was the only way to go and still is

Malt123 · Jan 10, 2005

I got my ADN at 46 and worked as a floor nurse until my hip and my knee dictated otherwise and I'm now a desk jockey. For all of you nurses still out on the floor in your 40's and and 50+, I say more power to you all and God Bless. I loved floor nursing and miss my patients so much but there are other fields of nursing where you can also make a difference and my hip and my knee thank me immensey for choosing another field in nursing.

glad you were able to find something else, I can't find another job

km nurse · Jan 10, 2005

Does being 50+ mean I have to quit nursing and go into poverty for the rest of my life or am I supossed to kill myself?

we have a nurse working in our hospital who is 76. She just took 6 weeks off for back surgury and now is back on the job. I think it keeps her young.

Malt123 · Jan 10, 2005

we have a nurse working in our hospital who is 76. She just took 6 weeks off for back surgury and now is back on the job. I think it keeps her young.

I was told that if you have back surgery in this state you never work as a nurse again, rough state

Quickbeam, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2005

I'm a 49 year old nurse whose floor years are behind her. I do community health nursing which is active but no direct care. No OT, no lifting.

I think all nurses owe it to themselves to plan a part B to their career. You may think you'll go forever but what if you are injured or become disabled? Sedentary or non-lifting nursing jobs are out there but they are vied for competitively. Most nurses haven't had to fight for a job and don't know how.

km nurse · Jan 10, 2005

I was told that if you have back surgery in this state you never work as a nurse again, rough state

what state do you work in? I am in ms and i think the only requirment is that you are still breathing..lol

rn/writer, RN · Jan 10, 2005

i will turn 50 in march. in my rn update class for people coming back to nursing, the average age was probably about 42. i did a very successful clinical on an ortho/neuro floor. i had dreaded that kind of unit at the beginning but staffing was good, cnas did most of the adls, and the hospital had decent equipment. it was nice to know i *could* do it, but that's not where i want to put down roots. oddly enough, my preceptor finished nursing school at the age of 50 and turned 53 shortly after my clinical. no one wanted to get in her way for fear she'd roll right over them.

in my update class (15 students), we decided that 50 is what 30 used to be. look at pictures from the early 1900s. aside from the fact that they thought it was rude to smile for the camera, take note of the haggard faces and the frumpy fashions of the women. many of them lived difficult lives and looked and felt old before their time.

age is definitely a mind-over-matter proposition: if you don't mind, it doesn't matter. :balloons:

Malt123 · Jan 10, 2005

what state do you work in? I am in ms and i think the only requirment is that you are still breathing..lol

I am in WI been here over 2 years, live in a small town. presently looking for employment. I guess it isn't going to happen here.

rn/writer, RN · Jan 10, 2005

i am in wi been here over 2 years, live in a small town. presently looking for employment. i guess it isn't going to happen here.

hey there, malt123. i'm in wi too.

i'm so sorry you've run into all these obstacles. i do, however, want to make an observation (with great tenderness). many of your posts come across as defeated rather than challenged. i don't know if you're presenting this shadow when job seeking but if you are, it might be complicating matters.

i'm sure there are all kinds of things we don't understand about your situation, but you mentioned not having a car and having to stay in the area. you also made reference to back surgery, although you didn't specifically say you'd had it. then there was your concern about being over 50, your opening message in this thread.

the combination of these things might make life extremely challenging but none of them, in and of itself, should keep you out of the workforce.

if back surgery was involved, you might qualify for counseling from the department of vocational rehabilitation (dvr). these folks might be able to help you find something in nursing, or they could help with additional training or adaptation.

why do you have to stay in this particular area? not trying to be nosy. i'm just curious. being without a car is much easier in a metro area where bus service is available. please share as much as you feel comfortable with (or pm me) about your circumstances. i'm a firm believer in getting creative, especially when someone says something can't be done.

none of this is criticism. i'm just thinking back to times in my life when i felt overwhelmed. i had to borrow other people's vision and hope because my own was skewed. i'm no mary sunshine. i had to fight my way through years of depression to get to (and through) nursing school. if you're stuck in a black cloud, don't fly by sight. find encouragers who will help you plot a course *despite* what you feel.

i hope you can find the right niche.

warm regards,

miranda f.

km nurse · Jan 10, 2005

hey there, malt123. i'm in wi too.
i'm so sorry you've run into all these obstacles. i do, however, want to make an observation (with great tenderness). many of your posts come across as defeated rather than challenged. i don't know if you're presenting this shadow when job seeking but if you are, it might be complicating matters.
i'm sure there are all kinds of things we don't understand about your situation, but you mentioned not having a car and having to stay in the area. you also made reference to back surgery, although you didn't specifically say you'd had it. then there was your concern about being over 50, your opening message in this thread.
the combination of these things might make life extremely challenging but none of them, in and of itself, should keep you out of the workforce.
if back surgery was involved, you might qualify for counseling from the department of vocational rehabilitation (dvr). these folks might be able to help you find something in nursing, or they could help with additional training or adaptation.
why do you have to stay in this particular area? not trying to be nosy. i'm just curious. being without a car is much easier in a metro area where bus service is available. please share as much as you feel comfortable with (or pm me) about your circumstances. i'm a firm believer in getting creative, especially when someone says something can't be done.
none of this is criticism. i'm just thinking back to times in my life when i felt overwhelmed. i had to borrow other people's vision and hope because my own was skewed. i'm no mary sunshine. i had to fight my way through years of depression to get to (and through) nursing school. if you're stuck in a black cloud, don't fly by sight. find encouragers who will help you plot a course *despite* what you feel.
i hope you can find the right niche.
warm regards,
miranda f.

i loved your reply to matt. we all need a word of encouragement sometimes.