Nurses are getting younger...

What is considered a "baby" nurse, out of curiosity? I will be 23 with a BSN and license. I don't think of a 23 year old as a "baby RN."

Anyone 20 years younger than me is a baby (I am 62), any one one year older than me is OLD! Those numbers have remained remarkably consistent and reliable over the past 10 years.

And so many of them are crybabies, too, if all the NETY posts are to be considered credible (I don't so consider them). :)

I have always had a problem with looking young-- at 17 people thought I was 12, at 19 people see me as 15-16... I'll graduate my BSN program at 21 and I imagine people will see me as looking extremely young for an RN, but I usually can make that feeling go away once I start interacting with them. It's a bit of a hassle, but I don't get as offended by it as some baby-faced girls my age do.

Anyone 20 years younger than me is a baby (I am 62) any one one year older than me is OLD! Those numbers have remained remarkably consistent and reliable over the past 10 years.[/quote']

Best, most concise, and well-articulated post in this thread.

I'm close to 40 but people think I look about 10 years younger (and I looked 12 when I was 20). I don't mind!

Anyone 20 years younger than me is a baby (I am 62), any one one year older than me is OLD! Those numbers have remained remarkably consistent and reliable over the past 10 years.

In my case, anyone my parents' age is middle aged (they're in their 60's), anyone my age is young, and 10+ years younger than me is a baby. What is getting tricky is that I now have teenage sons and some of my HS friends have kids who are full grown adults. My brain kind of shuts down at that point.

hmmm I think every field is getting younger, it's a cycle. The young get old, the Old retire and are replaced by the young....and it repeats.... not unless you've discovered the key to immortality it's just natural right?

hmmm I think every field is getting younger, it’s a cycle. The young get old, the Old retire and are replaced by the young....and it repeats.... not unless you’ve discovered the key to immortality it’s just natural right?

Totally agree with you... the other explanation would be if you're a Vampire

When I started working at 23, I was the youngest nurse in our entire division, let alone my unit.

It's been a few years now, so I don't hold that title anymore... but I'm still one of the youngest employees. It doesn't make me any less respected, especially since having experience and being an articulate and bold advocate are very helpful.

babies,baby boomers and everything in between

I have to say that we are getting younger every day...because those of us 'old dogs' are getting older every day too. I started working on a temporary RN license when I turned 21 (on my actual birthday because the next orientation began in September). At that age, and to this day, I am the youngest RN hired in my hospital since 1973. I feel old these days because most of the new grad hires speak valley girl, which I was never fluent in. I do love the cartoon though, and at 26 years of age, I still am technically a toddler in the world of nursing. I definitely agree with the above comment about having well seasoned nurses working for when the older nurses, long retired are hospitalized .