Where are all the young nurses?

rbekt2010 · May 1, 2012

I am 50, have worked as a RN for 30 years and am now considered an "experienced nurse." My daughter is a senior in nursing school. The difference in her education and mine is tremendous. I am a diploma grad and she will be a BSN. When I graduated, I immediately was a team leader and had a unit of patients and could handle it. She can barely take a blood pressure. Really, who wants to hire a new grad that "read about that" or practiced on a "sims-man." I have been a preceptor for many, many new grad and students. I usually could tell if they would make it within the first week. I give every new nurse a chance, but if they come in with the "I'm a degree nurse and know-it-all attitude"; it makes it very difficult to teach them how to be a nurse.

As a new grad you will have the "crap" shifts and difficult patients/families. Sorry, but that is the way it is. Deal with it, consider it a right of passage. Don't come in on your interview or first orientation day and tell me you have to be out for Zumba class or to get your extensions put in. Nor tell me that your children or grandchildren don't have a sitter on Sundays. Nursing is 24/7. You are going to miss many meals, birthdays, holidays, weddings, and funerals. If you can't accept that right away, nursing is not for you. And for you "non-traditional students" just because you raised 3 kids, took care of your sick mother, etc, etc, doesn't mean you have a clue what to do as a new nurse. Please don't brag about being older and getting thru school. I know I am categorizing, but so many non-tradional new grads have tested my patience to the limit when i have had to precept them. I know of RN's who refuse to accept an older new grad as their preceptor (or an LPN to RN), due to the fact that that are so unwilling to be told what to do.

Turn your phone off. During an interview with me; if your phone rings, sings, or what ever...you do not get the job.

Nursing is not like Scrubs or General Hospital or hanging out with Dr Mc Dreamy. It's hard, dirty, and frustrating work. You will get very little recognition or appreciation for what you truly do.

If this post sounds like a bitter, old nurse..who eats their young; then I'm sorry, it's reality.

If this post sounds like a nurse... who knows what she is talking about and knows what she is doing..I bet she could teach me alot; then hop on board. You're going to be just fine.

bestallaround, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN · May 1, 2012

ok, rbekt2010. i agree with alot of that. we have had 20-something new grads, especially on our med/surg unit who do work their one year and leave. one was currently in school full time to obtain a degree in another field though she had just graduated. another left to bartend at a club, saying she made just as much money there, but didn't work nearly as hard. they seem to get overwhelmed and frustrated easily. they call out frequently (i work government so calling out acceptable). they are reluctant to work as a team. our staff of 50- and 60-somethings work harder than anybody and they hardly ever call out. most of them have accumulated several hundreds of hours of sick time because they don't use it regularly. my concern is that maybe nursing schools are not giving young new grads the heads up that nursing is hard, stressful, and not for wimps. i laugh at medical tv shows because they make nursing look glamourous.

Lennonninja, MSN, APRN, NP · May 1, 2012

I'm the second oldest nurse on my floor's night shift, and I'm only 31, the oldest is 33!

ionatan · May 1, 2012

It would be interesting to know how many nurses are leaving the field because they are not satisfied with it. I myself am looking to get out of nursing as my main job and keep it as a part-time gig. It is definitely not something I want to do for the rest of my life all day every day.

Sadunlap · May 1, 2012

Oh that ROBOT Nurse really cracked me up!!! Still... food for thought isn't it? Made me think of my voice navigation system. I could just hear the Robot response to complaints from patients... would be my voice navigation system speaking.. "I'm sorry I did not understand your last command. Please press the talk button and speak a command, for a list of commands please say HELP"... hmm... sounds like a pretty good way to deal with the Chronic complainers.....

RNperdiem, RN · May 1, 2012

I tend to be one of the "older" nurses at the age of 39.

My unit tends to attract the young, bright and ambitious. We lost 5 young nurses to CRNA school this year. I will miss them.

LovedRN, BSN, RN · May 1, 2012

I am here. All you need to do is hired me!!!

GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 1, 2012

would be my voice navigation system speaking.. "i'm sorry i did not understand your last command. please press the talk button and speak a command, for a list of commands please say help"... hmm... sounds like a pretty good way to deal with the chronic complainers.....

you certainly made my day, i can almost hear the robot saying, "sir, if you are in pain press #1 if not # 2, otherwise wait for the operator, this message will be recorded for instructional purposes, your complaint will be handle in the order that it was received thank you for your patience" :lol2:

Merlyn · May 1, 2012

The hospitals have to start investing in nurses right out of school. We old nurses can't run up and down the halls as fast as we did. How fast do you think this 64 year old can go? What's more the old and new nurses can learn from each other - improving the care that each patient deserves. If I knew 41 years ago that nursing would come down to this, I would have gone for my masters then PHD and go teach History in some college somewhere.

qestout, ASN, RN · May 2, 2012

I know I am categorizing, but so many non-tradional new grads have tested my patience to the limit when i have had to precept them. I know of RN's who refuse to accept an older new grad as their preceptor (or an LPN to RN), due to the fact that that are so unwilling to be told what to do.

I'm glad my preceptor and I had a great experience. We've stayed friends, and she happily writes recommendation letters for me. She even came to graduation and gave me a beautiful angel necklace.

PineappleCrush · May 2, 2012

ok, rbekt2010. i agree with alot of that. we have had 20-something new grads, especially on our med/surg unit who do work their one year and leave. one was currently in school full time to obtain a degree in another field though she had just graduated. another left to bartend at a club, saying she made just as much money there, but didn't work nearly as hard. they seem to get overwhelmed and frustrated easily. they call out frequently (i work government so calling out acceptable). they are reluctant to work as a team. our staff of 50- and 60-somethings work harder than anybody and they hardly ever call out. most of them have accumulated several hundreds of hours of sick time because they don't use it regularly. my concern is that maybe nursing schools are not giving young new grads the heads up that nursing is hard, stressful, and not for wimps. i laugh at medical tv shows because they make nursing look glamourous.

speaking as a new grad myself (graduated in august 2011, started work in october 2011), i can definitely vouch that school does not give us any heads up as to what "real world" nursing is really like. i graduated from a bsn program so it felt like half the time we were writing papers during school. and then in our last semester we spent nine shifts in our "immersion" where we were to take on a full patient load and do everything on our own, even calling docs where appropriate. but even that was nothing compared to what "real world" nursing is. it was a bit of an abrupt/rude awakening for me, that is for sure. call me naive, but i honestly did not realize how positively stressful nursing is (or at least on the med/surg unit that i am on!). and maybe it's just one of those things that i need to get used to as a new grad, like getting a good routine down and just getting used to environment, but i can definitely see why some new grads choose to leave the profession quickly. i already know that as much as i love the job, i don't see myself doing hospital bedside nursing in 10 years. i just don't want to live with all that constant stress.

then again, this could just be something that i still need adjust to and i could wind up doing bedside nursing for 30+ years.

tl;dr it's just that for now, still in my

i still go in--everyday--and i don't plan on quitting any time soon (although there are those days!!); it's just the picture of nursing that school painted was very, very different than what it really is. that could be part of the problem.

Calla3 · May 3, 2012

The nursing schools have failed us. In my BSN program, we begged the school to extend our clinical hours during our final role transition. Instead, they cut the hours in half and created a SECOND research course. Why?! As a new graduate bedside nurse, my first priority should be safe, thorough bedside nursing practice. I feel like the PhD's who are running nursing programs completely devalue the tremendous expertise required for excellent (or even competent) bedside nursing care. I have all of this knowledge in my head, and I am desperate to move it into my hands, but I can't do that alone. I need to be in a hospital with a veteran nurse. In this economy, why would a hospital want to invest so much money in training a new graduate? I don't blame the for-profit health care system, or the nonprofit health care institutions trying to stay afloat. I blame the nursing schools for preparing me to pass the NCLEX and write research papers, but not preparing me to actually be a practicing, flesh and blood Registered Nurse.

Where are all the young nurses? We are beating down their doors trying to find jobs, but hospitals don't want us. And honestly, I don't blame them.