Nurse's getting younger

[Keepstanding]

Wow.....I just spent some time in the hospital lately and I realized that mostly all of the nurse's are younger. Not an older, seasoned nurse in the bunch ! I am an "old school" nurse, been around a while, and It made me very sad that the younger ones don't have an older co-worker to learn from.

Personally, I like having an older, more experienced nurse helping me....they know so much.

What's your take on nursing these days ?

Praiser

[deann52]

I understand where the OP was coming from but I also understand why her comments could be taken...wrong. I have been a nurse for 4 years, that makes me young in nurse years but I come with other experience that is useful to me. I have older nurses to look up to and greatly appreciate them but I am the one people come to for relief charge, computer training, new policies making etc...

Some of the older nurses I know do nothing but sit their bottoms all day/night while we run around doing their jobs. Some of the younger ones do stupid stuff like call the doctor all night and give water to NPO patients. Age does not make a better nurse, it is all about who the person is that is your nurse. :)

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

one reason why you don't see as many older women and men in floor nursing is that it's hard, hard physical work. hardly anybody gets 8-hour shifts, it seems, and twelves on your feet all the time on hard surfaces can take a lot outta you. it's one reason i tell students to look around the floors for older nurses and see if they think they will be working there in thirty years.

the same thing is what i used to tell my work comp younger injured workers-- some 26-year-old laborer would come in with a broken arm or something comparatively small, and after we got that all squared away i would say, "kid, look around your work site. you see a lot of guys there over, say, 40, 45? there's a reason for that. get smart and get an education now, while you can." because when somebody came in with a career-ending back injury at 42 after twenty years of hard work, that guy was really up the creek with no options.

in nursing, the parallel is to get as much education as you can now, because if you plan on getting older, you'd better have something you can use when your knees, back, neck, and all aren't what they are now. i know, i know what it is to be 26 and feel like it will always be like this, but trust me: it will happen.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

I'm at that age also. I really hate it when my airline pilot looks about the same age as my son.

Does your mother know you're doing this?

[Altra, BSN, RN]

The average age of all registered nurses in the US continues to climb, but it would be interesting to see data broken down by specialty or practice setting. The job title "registered nurse" may be the same ... but bedside nursing in a hospital is a very different job than, say, outreach coordinator at the county health department.

[shortd]

The nursing shortage and physically demanding nature of the job probably have a lot to do with it. I would say the older nurses worked in the years when there were less care techs, physical therapists, and lifting devices involved in moving patients so their backs are probably forcing them in positions less physically demanding than the floors.

I started out in our SICU my first job out of school because our hospital doesn't have a competitive starting salary or signing incentives so it's pretty hard getting experienced RNs. Our new clinical leader has somehow been able to hire experienced RNs so kudos to her. In a year day shift has had about 75% turnover so it's been critical to get experience. However, I got 6 months orientation before set loose on my own whereas experienced RNs only get a month. Which is not enough when you come from a non icu position. Also I've been on days which gives me much more experience with doing md rounds, bedside procedures, and new orders compared to night shift. There's stuff that makes me cringe the older nurses do like looping iv tubing into the y-site port when taking it off, squirting saline flushes down an ett to lavage, or not starting over with new foley when it has clearly been compromised.

Experience is indispensable especially with assessment and I take advantage of any advice or criticism. But, I'm about ready to start defending my clinical judgement which makes me a little nervous but it might be what it takes to stop being pigeonholed as the newby nurse. We'll see.

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

I will be 22 with the bsn and if I were to go straight through, 25 with a masters. Have a problem with it? Your issue, not mine. Some people know what they want and don't take years to get onto a career path.

[shortd]

No problem here: your clinicals, internships, residency, first job as a NP will be giving you the specific skills. I didn't feel I needed to become a LPN before an RN. Get your NP or APRN now before you're required to get a DNP.

[Fribblet]

I'm confused. What exactly is it that belongs to the nurse that's getting younger?

[Biffbradford]

Nurses appear younger because older nurses are not being hired. Give me a job and I'll drag down the average!

[deann52]

I will be 22 with the bsn and if I were to go straight through, 25 with a masters. Have a problem with it? Your issue, not mine. Some people know what they want and don't take years to get onto a career path.

She wasn't saying it was an issue, she was saying that it is unfortunate that there are seemingly less people for you to learn from in the workforce and outside of school. You learn a knowledge set in school that is great. You learn a completely different skill set when you actual start working. I guarantee you will want nurses who have been doing it for years there to help you out when your text books fail you.

Age seems to be a big issue but to me it is time spent on the floor. My best charge nurse was "young" at the age of 32. She only had an ADN at the time but she was good and had been a nurse for almost 11 years! Actual age isn't what she, I think, meant to point out lacking, it is age in nursing years...

[morte, LPN, LVN]

well, i will say it. "the elephant in the middle of the room" money.

plain and simple, they cost less, god help us all.

[mazy]

Well. I'm a nurse. And I'm sure not getting any younger.