Nurses in their 60's or 70's

SnowStar4 · Oct 10, 2010

We have an 84 yo in our low level ER. I almost fell over when I learned she was really that old. She moves great and is still chugging away!

ok2bme · Oct 10, 2010

My preceptor was 64 and we have a FT night nurse in her 70s. There are a few nurses in their 70s around my hospital, and most appear to work nights. I suppose it is a slower pace and less physically demanding than days. I work sub-acute psych. I think it is a great environment for nurses near retirement. There is less lifting here, and the wisdom of older nurses would be invaluable in the environment.

sunnycalifRN · Oct 10, 2010

We have three who are over 65 and can retire, but have not. I work in ICU.

notjustanurse · Oct 10, 2010

I work in a small, but busy, med-surg floor and we have several in that age group. The 2 aides on my shift are 67 and 78, and they work circles around all of us. I work with an excellent LPN who is also in her mid 60's. And I think the nurse manager of our Outpatient Dept is also in her 60's.

mustlovepoodles, RN · Oct 10, 2010

I work with 2 nurses in their 60's and 1 nurse in her 70's in LTC. They seem to handle the work well. Some of the residents they have known for years outside of the nursing home. I know that the nurse in her 70's went to school with some of the residents. I think it is kind of nice for both the resident and the nurse.

:nurse: My aunt worked until age 71. She had spent about 30 years in LTC and was the DON for the last 15yrs. She didn't have to work; she could have easily retired at age 62, but she liked being busy and she worried about her residents. They LTC she worked in was very homey and she had known a lot of the residents in their previous lives.

:nurse: My mother worked until age 62, still working nights in L&D. She would have worked longer, but her knees and feet were ruined so she went out on disability. Mother is 76 and she still keeps her license current, "just in case.":D

:nurse: My own job is actually a job share situation. The previous nurse was 65 and had been a school nurse for about 12 years. Between us we had almost 75 years of peds nursing. She decided to retire this fall and we really miss her. She knew everything, has seen or done just about anything, and she never got flustered. Cool and calm all the time. She was a real treasure. The new nurse is about 37 and I'm 54, so I guess now it's my turn to be the "resource" for a younger nurse.

Schmoo1022 · Oct 10, 2010

We work with a wonderful late 60's/early 70's ( I wouldn't dare ask her age LOL) nurse in LTC. She more than keeps up !

NICUQueen · Oct 10, 2010

I worked til the day I turned 60, then retired!

OCNRN63, RN · Oct 10, 2010

I sure hope I don't have to work when I'm 70y old. I'd like a few years to myself before I die, thankyouverymuch.

Fiona59 · Oct 10, 2010

I currently work with one in her mid-70s. She collects her pensions and a paycheque. She is very hard of hearing, cranky to the patients, and her co-workers on her shift carry her. I know I've worked with her. She works as the evening Charge and rarely leaves the desk. She will ask you to do one thing and then asks why you did it.

We had another 73 year old who retired about six months ago. Would only work in one very specialized area (you can do the job on auto-pilot). Also collecting a pension and paycheque.

We have several in their 60s who could and should retire. They have all qualified for their pensions and just keep coming in. One we are convinced is in early Alzheimers due to certain things we are noticing on the job.

Until they make a huge med-error there is nothing management can do. They are sapping the morale of the unit because the younger ones carry the bulk of the load. Several are trying to turn their jobs into M-F dayshifts by offloading their evenings and nights onto the spare shift board. They have huge amounts of vacation, banked OT, and sick leave (we can hold upto 900 odd hours under our contracts), so as a result they have prime vacations and never work stats.

They all qualify for full pensions and have husbands at home. Maybe its the thought of spending all day with them that keeps them coming in.

And before you flame me, I'm in my 50's. We have exactly two nurses under 35 on my unit and they both work as casuals because there are no permanent lines. There is a time for old warhorses to retire.

Last year we had a 50% unemployment rate in our graduating classes.

OCNRN63, RN · Oct 10, 2010

I currently work with one in her mid-70s. She collects her pensions and a paycheque. She is very hard of hearing, cranky to the patients, and her co-workers on her shift carry her. I know I've worked with her. She works as the evening Charge and rarely leaves the desk. She will ask you to do one thing and then asks why you did it.
We had another 73 year old who retired about six months ago. Would only work in one very specialized area (you can do the job on auto-pilot). Also collecting a pension and paycheque.
We have several in their 60s who could and should retire. They have all qualified for their pensions and just keep coming in. One we are convinced is in early Alzheimers due to certain things we are noticing on the job.
Until they make a huge med-error there is nothing management can do. They are sapping the morale of the unit because the younger ones carry the bulk of the load. Several are trying to turn their jobs into M-F dayshifts by offloading their evenings and nights onto the spare shift board. They have huge amounts of vacation, banked OT, and sick leave (we can hold upto 900 odd hours under our contracts), so as a result they have prime vacations and never work stats.
They all qualify for full pensions and have husbands at home. Maybe its the thought of spending all day with them that keeps them coming in.
And before you flame me, I'm in my 50's. We have exactly two nurses under 35 on my unit and they both work as casuals because there are no permanent lines. There is a time for old warhorses to retire.
Last year we had a 50% unemployment rate in our graduating classes.

Is there a way you could have made your point without using pejoratives to refer to your older colleagues?

Nothing grinds my gears more than reading posts that refer to older nurses as "old-timers," "warhorses," "battle-axes"...you name it, it's been said. We talk about "eating our young" but we gnaw away on the old as well. Sure, there are some older nurses who should retire. There are some young nurses who have no business being nurses, too. Ageist attitudes don't serve the profession well at all. Just because someone qualifies for a pension doesn't mean they have to retire. If they can keep up and do their job well, then more power to them if they want to keep working.

No one is obligated to retire just to give another person a job.

Caffeine_IV · Oct 10, 2010

I worked with a nurse in her early 70s..she retired a few months after I was off orientation. She told me used to work 2 jobs until she was in her 60s.

jbjelus1 · Oct 10, 2010

Personally I hope that I am financially prepared so that i will not have to work when i am 70 years old, but on the other hand i believe that after someone has did something for so long it becomes a daily routine, and sometimes a routine is hard to break. I have met some retirees who are miserable because they did not know what to do with themselves after they retired, while on the other hand i have also met people who have stated that they wish they could have retired sooner. All in all i believe that if a person can keep up and do their job efficiently, then why should age matter. It is easy to look at someone who is in their 70's still working and ask why would someone still be working at that age, but if we live long enough we may be them one day and that's just a fact