By 3. Why nurses over 50 can’t find jobs
When I first started nursing school, I revered the older and highly experienced registered nurses who represented what we all aspired to be. I recall seeing the letters “RN” on their name tags with great admiration. THESE people were the Real Deal! They had the designation that I so desperately wanted one day! They had earned the right to wear The Cap that I had yet to deserve!
The RNs who were our clinical supervisors on the floors knew stuff. Things that were not in the textbook—like the early warning signs of a patient going downhill. Back before nursing practice was research-based and there were rapid response teams. Back before there was ACLS and all of its variations. Their hard-won and finely tuned “gut instincts” were respected by the doctors because they had experienced the consequences of ignoring a nurse’s “bad feeling” about a patient.
In the years that have passed since those first quarters of nursing school, we have seen incredible changes in our profession. And through it all, those of us who DID make it through school and work at the bedside became every bit as intuitive and skilled as those who were our role models. Even more so, we had the benefit of the huge changes that took place when nursing practice finally started utilizing scientific-based research as the basis for standards of care.
At long last, WE were the ones who knew stuff. WE were the “go-to” resource people! WE had earned the right to wear The Cap and the designation of Registered Nurse!
And even more of us became nationally certified in our fields and went on to more advanced roles in the new areas of treatment gleaned from the ever-expanding advances in technology.
So WHY are so many nurses over the age of 50 having such a hard time finding jobs in areas where we have so many years of experience?
NEXT: Can nurses have fun without risking it all?
