Mandatory cut-off age for being a bedside nurse?

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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:)

indeed.:cool:

i'm not sure about a minimum age requirement (as previously suggested), but i am all for an in-depth character assessment before being accepted into nsg school.

this would eliminate some of the arrogance and short-sightedness, often observed/experienced in the nsg environment...

no matter how and where that manifests itself.;)

leslie

Excellent! I couldn't have put this any better myself! :lol2:

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Sure...I sent you a PM.

Can you send one to me, too? --'cause I didn't get it either. Perhaps it's my incipient "OBS". And if you know what that means, you just may be overdue for your trip to the pasture.

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Can you send one to me, too? --'cause I didn't get it either. Perhaps it's my incipient "OBS". And if you know what that means, you just may be overdue for your trip to the pasture.

LOL you are probably right! But yes, I'll send one.

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Specializes in Peds, PACU, ICU, ER, OB, MED-Surg,.

OMG I can see it now the "new grad" that came screaming out of a room to me, the kindly middle age nurse, to explain water seal on a chest tube. They would be a shaking, quivering mass, texting each other from the break room. Posting how bad their day was on facebook. Googling how to hand chart when the computers go down... No newbies you cannot survive without the grisled old nurses to show you the way. You want my job? Show that you can do it better!

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
LOL you are probably right! But yes, I'll send one.

Didn't mean you specifically. . "OBS" was the catchall term diagnosis in the '70s for senile dementia before everyone adopted "Alzheimer's" as the common descriptor. It meant "Organic Brain Syndrome" here in Southern California. Maybe it was a regional thing. I think it was an early attempt at political correctness. Along the same lines, "crippled" was not always seen as a derogatory term, but it makes me cringe now. My little bro's leukemia treatment was partially paid for by the "Crippled Children's Society" in 1974. (he turned 40 last year:up:)

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Didn't mean you specifically. . "OBS" was the catchall term diagnosis in the '70s for senile dementia before everyone adopted "Alzheimer's" as the common descriptor. It meant "Organic Brain Syndrome" here in Southern California. Maybe it was a regional thing. I think it was an early attempt at political correctness. Along the same lines, "crippled" was not always seen as a derogatory term, but it makes me cringe now. My little bro's leukemia treatment was partially paid for by the "Crippled Children's Society" in 1974. (he turned 40 last year:up:)

OBS was a standard term/dx everywhere. It had nothing to do with "political correctness," it just referred to the fact that we didn't really know any more, specifically, about what was going on in those people's heads than that it appeared to be organic. Not to go too far off-topic, but "Alzheimer's" is not a "common descriptor" -- it was originally a specific disorder, different from senile dementia, the main (differentiating) characteristic being early onset. However, an awful lot of people now use it as a generic term for any dementia. I'm not interested enough in old people to have looked into whether the definition and diagnostic criteria have been officially changed or whether people are just misusing the term. :)

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

Where I went to school, before the term "OBS" was used, the term "senile" was used. I understand that there are different types of dementia, but I still feel OBS was at least partially about replacing the word "senile".

I'm also aware that not all dementia is Alzheimer's, and that's why I called it a "descriptor". The only 100% certain diagnosis of Alzheimer's comes at autopsy, where changes in neurons are observed, called "plaques and tangles". Early onset of symptoms is not a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer's, as other neurological diseases have early onset.

In terms of practical use of the term "Alzheimer's", it seems to me nowadays that anyone with dementia is described as an Alzheimer's patient, without any knowledge of the details of age of onset, severity, etc.

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Didn't mean you specifically. . "OBS" was the catchall term diagnosis in the '70s for senile dementia before everyone adopted "Alzheimer's" as the common descriptor. It meant "Organic Brain Syndrome" here in Southern California. Maybe it was a regional thing. I think it was an early attempt at political correctness. Along the same lines, "crippled" was not always seen as a derogatory term, but it makes me cringe now. My little bro's leukemia treatment was partially paid for by the "Crippled Children's Society" in 1974. (he turned 40 last year:up:)

I didn't know what OBS stands for, but I did agree that sometimes I feel I may be overdue for my trip to the pasture. :D

Anyway, thanks for the explanation.

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Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.
Didn't mean you specifically. . "OBS" was the catchall term diagnosis in the '70s for senile dementia before everyone adopted "Alzheimer's" as the common descriptor. It meant "Organic Brain Syndrome" here in Southern California. Maybe it was a regional thing.

Nope. We had folks with OBS at the nursing home at which I worked when I was in high school.

I mean the residents. Not the nursing staff. :D Of course, according to some peeps who hang out here on AN, I should be checked on a bi-monthly basis for any signs of dementia and put out to pasture when I forget where I put my car keys for the third time in a week. :rolleyes:

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senile only means over sixty years of age, senile dementia is dementia dx after sixty.

Alzheimers was originally Pre senile (before sixty) dementia, commonly before 50, and has a higher heritability factor.

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Specializes in Operating Room.

I would be against any mandatory retirement age..not everyone is the same, old age doesn't necessarily mean that you are frail, senile etc. We are long lived in my family(all 4 of my grandparents were over 85 and had good cognition when they passed, and they had siblings that lived well into their 90's) and we manage to keep our wits about us..no Alzheimers or dementia, thank God.

I fully expect to work into my 70s-maybe not full-time, but I'll be working.:D

Unfortunately, lately in my hospital, they've been targeting the older nurses and techs. People that have worked there for 20-30+ years and who are very good at their job are all off a sudden getting written up for small things, in an effort to push them out. It's disgusting.:mad:

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Unfortunately, lately in my hospital, they've been targeting the older nurses and techs. People that have worked there for 20-30+ years and who are very good at their job are all off a sudden getting written up for small things, in an effort to push them out. It's disgusting.:mad:

I'd guarantee that is about the almighty dollar and nothing more. :(

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