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Discussion

Where are all the young nurses?

I have worked as an LPN for nine years. I have always been the youngest nurse on staff. Now, I am 32 years old and still the youngest among the LPNs, RNs, and NAs on my floor(that's about 45 people). Where are all the young nurses? Who is going to be working with me when all the older nurses retire? When we discussed this at work, we speculated that the young people are getting in, finding out what it's like, and getting out fast.

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    • Featured Replies

    The only thing I can generalize from your post is that you have worked in places with low turnover, and that's probably a good thing. :)

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    • Experts

    My first sick sense of humor response was........Eaten by the senior staff :lol2:.

    ( I kill myself sometimes..:smokin:)

    Seriously......There is a glut of new grads. They aren't being hired as nurses that were supposed to retire haven't and those who were stay at home Mom's have returned to the work force causing a temporary filling of available vacancies. My prediction is in a few short year there will be a big issue when us old broads have to retire and there is a huge hole with no one to fill because all these new grads will have moved on from their disappointing nursing experience with promises of the golden fleece, college debt and no jobs.

    Only time will tell.

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    I think they are all working on my floor? :lol2:

    There are a few girls on my floor that make me feel like a grandmother, and I'm 34!

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    There are several very young (age-wise) nurses where I am.

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    I'm 24 and the youngest RN in my unit...I have a feeling that I'll be the youngest RN for a while yet

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    I'm the second youngest at 23. I think the oldest RN that I regularly work with (on nights) is in her late 30's. It is a med/surg floor though, so the older RNs probably work day shift or in specialty areas. It does sound that you must work in a place with low turn-over though and that is awesome!

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    • Experts
    My first sick sense of humor response was........Eaten by the senior staff :lol2:.

    ( I kill myself sometimes..:smokin:)

    Seriously......There is a glut of new grads. They aren't being hired as nurses that were supposed to retire haven't and those who were stay at home Mom's have returned to the work force causing a temporary filling of available vacancies. My prediction is in a few short year there will be a big issue when us old broads have to retire and there is a huge hole with no one to fill because all these new grads will have moved on from their disappointing nursing experience with promises of the golden fleece, college debt and no jobs.

    Only time will tell.

    By then they will have successfully developed an actual robot nurse.

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    • Guides

    Lots of younger nurses where I work.

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    Speaking as a new RN grad, the young nurses are looking for work and not getting it! Everyone wants 1 year acute care experience now. I have been graduated for over a year and have nothing to show but frustration and student loands I can't pay because no one will hire me! I'm not exactly young (in my 30's, young yes but not like the author probably means), but I am a "new" nurse. They are out there, looking for work just like me!

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    I just moved to a different dept and I am the youngest by 20 years! I feel like a baby, ha! However, where I was before I would say 80% of staff that were hired after me were early 20 new grads and 20% older new grads.

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    Young Nurses are all around. It's just the hospitals want them to have experience but they can't get experience if they don't have a job. When the CEO's figure that old nurses like me can't run as fast as we use to, and patients start complaining.

    Maybe then you will see some young nurses....MAYBE.

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    i'm in a specialty where most of us are somewhere past 45, and it sure is good to hang out with someone who gets it when you mention hot flashes. on the other hand, we have to make the specialty sexy enough for the new entrants, the 40ish young'uns.:D

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