Mandatory cut-off age for being a bedside nurse?

[Katie5]

Say, you get to a certain age, and then a mandatory retirement from being a bedside nurse to other aspects of nursing.

Your opinions please:)

[evolvingrn, BSN, RN]

Even during my clincals i saw nurses on the floor that were in their 70's and fabulous... so my vote would be no to any such requirment.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

OP is this your idea to open jobs up for new grads? social engineering at its best.....that is the thought behind the governmental supported retirement....to make room for the younger worker.....

[Alnitak7]

It may be true that some older staff members are more understanding.

However, it brings to mind one day when I stayed after hours to finish my charts and

my charge nurse was working at the same table where I was and she was irate with

one of the older workers and she finally quit because people like this on the staff.

Later on, that older lady got fired because her attitude was so bad and the state board

was involved.

Many older Nurses are fully able to care for patients at the bedside. Older Nurses are often more sympathetic to the concerns of their patients, having experienced many of the same illness and loss.

I have worked at a hospital over 20 years and have worked with many Nurses who are past retirement age. These Nurses are patient and posess a wealth of knowledge. The physical part of the job can be a challege, but lets face it hospitals have not done enough for any nurses young or old to help prevent physical injury from lifting.

[Fiona59]

I'm in the age group this is aimed at. The oldest nurse I work with is 62. Granted they now work part time by choice.

The backs, knees, arms get tired. I'm lucky I work in a province with unions that require the employers to actively accomodate injured workers. I know of nurses with very little seniority who have landed "cushy" jobs due to injuries. Jobs that without the injury they would never have been able to obtain. It can be a good thing.

[caliotter3]

OP is this your idea to open jobs up for new grads? social engineering at its best.....that is the thought behind the governmental supported retirement....to make room for the younger worker.....

It happens often enough that older workers are let go for the smallest of reasons, or no reason at all, other than the nonstated reason that they are nearing their company pension. It happened to my dad. He fought it with the help of a good attorney and won quite a nice settlement in the time before age discrimination laws.

[bill4745, RN]

I'm a 58 year old ER nurse that has no trouble keeping up with my younger coworkers during crazy 12 hour shifts with multiple codes, etc. The docs don't have a mandatory retirement age, why should we?

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

OP is this your idea to open jobs up for new grads? social engineering at its best.....that is the thought behind the governmental supported retirement....to make room for the younger worker.....

I agree, wasn't the whole creation of retirement to take people out of the workforce so the baby boomers could have jobs? We've come full circle and people are 'expecting' the baby boomers to retire so new grads can have their jobs.

The problem is I don't think anyone should be forced into retirement if they don't want to or can not afford to. In some ways I think the whole idea retiring at 65 without any real means of supporting oneself is somewhat of entitlement attitude, as is expecting older workers to get out of the way for the younger generation.

Let people capable of working work, and let the new grads work their way up the ranks just like everyone else. Nobody is entitled to a job or a cushy retirement without hard work for it.

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

Have to second the fact that some of the best nurses I work with are older than me...much older!

As nurses, in most states now, we have to maintain a certain level of CEUs so continuing ed is there.

[CBsMommy]

OP - That just sounds un-American. And this is coming from a "young" nursing student.

[GM2RN]

It may be true that some older staff members are more understanding.

However, it brings to mind one day when I stayed after hours to finish my charts and

my charge nurse was working at the same table where I was and she was irate with

one of the older workers and she finally quit because people like this on the staff.

Later on, that older lady got fired because her attitude was so bad and the state board

was involved.

Even though I don't know any of the people involved in this situation, I'm absolutely positive that this particular charge nurse was upset with some of the younger nurses at one time or another as well. Bad attitudes can be found in people of all ages. This older nurse may well have been fired because of her attitude, but that has nothing to do with her age.

[Jules A, MSN]

What about a maximum age to start nursing school? This is a generalization of course but so far the 50+ new grads I have worked with and went to school with have not been the quickest at picking up the routine. The younger new grads have run circles around them, imo, although in general I prefer to work with experienced 50+ nurses. Fwiw I didn't go to NS until I was 40.

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

What about a maximum age to start nursing school? This is a generalization of course but so far the 50+ new grads I have worked with and went to school with have not been the quickest at picking up the routine. The younger new grads have run circles around them, imo, although in general I prefer to work with experienced 50+ nurses. Fwiw I didn't go to NS until I was 40.

Wow- 10+ years makes that much of a difference or do you feel like you had trouble picking it up at 40 something too? I'm genuinely curious being a nontraditional age myself.