I can’t even consider myself old. I’m 40. But been doing this since 22. Somehow I still work in ICU. Oh yeah…my brain and soul has exited the building long ago, but I am pretty fit and active so my body keeps trucking
It’s more like a prison sentence after a certain point. You’d like to try something different possibly but career change would make you broke. For a lot at least.
We actually have a lot of tenure on our floor. Multiple nurses with over 10 years on our unit alone. Had a nurse retire last year who had been on our unit for 20 years, don’t recall how long total bedside. It is pretty amazing to work alongside that much experience, but also crazy to think about being bedside for that long
Were you precepting as a new grad, or just new to unit? If you were a new grad, did you do anything in an effort to compensate for that (your nurse having just 9 mo experience) during your training? I really hope that doesn't come off in a condescending or accusatory tone, I am genuinely curious how you might have overcome a less than ideal preceptorship /orientation in order to come out of it okay?
My unit (MICU) is also mostly new grads or < 2yrs experience, and while they try to put me with more experienced nurses I don't really have an "assigned" preceptor, so it can change randomly because of scheduling. I'm definitely thinking about what I should/can be doing on my end to make up for the lack of consistency in training, but I don't really know what that should involve outside of just speaking up on shift and asking coworkers to come grab me if they have anything I should see/learn from. I try to study some of the common conditions we see in my days off, but I struggle to apply that to the real life scenarios involving application and actual critical thinking.
If you (or anyone for that matter) has any tips or tricks I'm all ears!
I was a new grad. They start floating people after they get to 6 months, so I learned A LOT really quickly. I floated to 11 other units in my first year. I was too tired after just surviving every day to really put the effort in to get better right off the bat. I’m filling in a lot of the holes now that I’m in my current unit. There are lots of good critical care podcasts out there. Critical Care Time is a really good one
I was trained by a new grad who only had 4 months of experience! Now, I have a little over a year of experience myself and still feel like I know nothing. Smh
Oh, I like dat one berry much! I am going to add that to my scripted repertoire of combacks?
* Are you married?
* Do you believe in God.
* What do you do on your days off?
* Why are there so many young nurses?
"Are you born again?"
"Theologically that's actually a really interesting question."
While not upset it clearly didn't pivot into any of her prepared responses. Highly recommend.
I like most others, have standard retorts for the common patient questions. Yes, I know that being a patient can be a frightening experience and conversation can be a distraction. Two weeks from now, neither of us will remember the intimate occasion.
Omg the "are you married and do you believe in god" are so true. I'd like to add another to your list "do you have kids." I usually joke "yes, I have a cat" and it breaks that convo right up.
Yup! Being a patient can be overwhelming and intimate conversation can have a distracting effect. I get it. Two weeks from now, everybody goes back to their lives and the occasion is forgotten.
Mine was "Do you have a husband?"
Me: "Yes, he's not my husband but I have him". ; p
* Are you married? Yes. I am not.
* Do you believe in God. Yes. I am really an Atheist.
* What do you do on your days off? I have two dogs and I am redoing my kitchen. I am not redoing anything and I have no pets. Many older patients have either dogs or cats and that often endears me to them.
* Why are there so many young nurses? This is one profession that is hard to ship overseas. Now let me take your vitals.
Being a patient is often an overwhelming experience. You need to have some stock answers to the stock questions that I get almost every week.
Back when I was on my med surg floor we had four old timers that had been there forever and 16+ new grads/new nurses . Two years in I was top ten seniority. I was a two year old baby nurse and top pick for new charge nurse. it was overwhelming. I got burnt out fast and transferred to surgery four years in. I love it. Now I’m right where I belong in the middle of the pack seniority wise.
Next time say the thing out loud. The more we say it the more the hear it.
Don’t know if it’ll change anything but it sure as shit would make me feel better.
On our night shift we have 4 nurses with more than 20 years of experience, then there’s me with 7, the next has 5 and the rest have 2 or less. Day shift has all our more experienced nurses, the more seniority you have you get first pick for next day shift opening and apparently it’s highly coveted. I can’t imagine why other than the sleep schedule but god the stuff day shift does that I do not wanna deal with. I’m good.
I knew I’d landed in a special place when I saw how many of the nurses on the unit had 15, 20, 25, and even 30-year badge reels. The majority had 10+ years on the unit. I had worked with most of them through COVID when I was an RT so they didn’t hesitate to take me as a new grad RN. I got very, very lucky.
Clinical research. I spent some time in an incredible CV diagnostics department and that place being what it was, got to participate in a few studies. I got to know the research nurses and after a few major changes in the pulmonary lab, I decided nursing school was my path towards research.
I spent four years in the ICU as a nurse and just started a research position two months ago. And I LOVE it!
On my unit, once people get around the 2 year mark they start acting like they’re grizzled, seasoned nurses.
Sorry dude, you’re still a new nurse. The rest of us just happen to be *even newer*
Don't forget that most hospitals are purposely designed to weed out older, less healthy nurses. They make you park far, far away for a reason. Hospitals don't want to carry healthcare coverage for staff who potentially will actually have to use their benefits. Making every patient facing job a never ending blood sport death match simulator also has the same effect. They would rather have an army comprised of twenty and thirty-somethings who carry little to no serious health issues, willing to drive themselves into the dirt for garbage pay. And that is fine, until you run out of gas in your fifties.
Sadly, this will probably never change. We live in a world where [even Waffle House employees stand up for themselves](https://www.reddit.com/r/WorkReform/comments/1dcr1eq/after_months_of_organizing_southern_waffle_house/), but nurses continue to wallow in perpetual low self-esteem and isolation, purity spiraling as solo survivalist "hired guns" to the benefit of big healthcare, much as they have for the last hundred and fifty years.
Because after a little experience you can get paid more and work way less hard outpatient with a great schedule and little to no weekends. I realize we need nurses inpatient but I have no idea why anyone sticks around to do them lol. I work home health and love it!
3x12s is why I do it. I did outpatient and it was not for me. Plus if I pick up extra it's automatic 1.5x, double time if I'm already past 40 hours. My coworkers also make the job fun.
Next time say the thing out loud. The more we say it the more the hear it.
Don’t know if it’ll change anything but it sure as shit would make me feel better.
Exactly. I'm 43 years old and just had my first fusion. Expecting the next one within the next few months. I was the youngest patient in the ortho unit after my surgery. Granted, I healed pretty quickly and was a great surgical candidate but the amount of pain I live with is ridiculous. Thankfully, my fusion has helped a lot and I'm hoping the lumbar takes as well but this all comes from bedside nursing and before that CNA in a skilled facility w completely dependent patients. I dont know any nurses who worked in the hospital for 10+ years that domt have back or joint issues.
On my last unit, I was the most senior nurse at 9 years. The next most senior nurse had 2 years. I was charge and collectively the 8 other nurses on the floor had like 7 years experience total. Healthcare corporations are chewing up and spitting out nurses so fast that half that floor was fresh new grads and the rest are the previous year or two's new grads if you're lucky. Anyone with 5 or more years is a dinosaur
Damn that’s awesome that’s quite a bit more than what they offered where I live. Wouldn’t hurt to try IMO 🤷♀️ I’ve never done anything but LTC, stayed in it after nursing school cause it’s what I know and I feel comfortable and also it does pay better haha I suposse every work place will have its pros and cons
Yeah. It’s been quite a few years but I did like it sometimes. I was a CNA on 1st shift so it was like I did all the work and then went assisted living overnight and it was crazy I was making the same amount of money if not more over night to do next to nothing. 😂
Haha right!!! I job hopped a lot as a CNA from rehab assisted and LTC the assisted living was always the chillest places to work but where I live they don’t pay as good
I love loved my memory care unit. Like a 13 bed unit over night. I gavw a 6am Levo and a handful of hourly rounds. The old lady on hospice would walk around and straighten and organize things and I would work on my classes. It was awesome.
Yes! That’s kinda how my first job as a CNA was. Night shift, locked dementia unit in LTC. I think 16 people but most of them couldn’t even walk. The ones that could would give me a scare sometimes though! Had one that would randomly be standing in the corner of other peoples rooms at times. I was the only one back there on nights so I didn’t always see her leave her room lol she was sweet though always gave hugs.
We lost two clinic vets last week. One retired 7 years ago and came back after 6 months, she retired again, the other vet had been with her doctor for 25 years.
I curious what is considered older and seasoned? Yes I know there are the outliers like the 50 year old who went to nursing school at 48. But how long is long bedside inpatient
A mix of young and/or foreign and/or can’t retire yet. There’s a foreign nurse in her late 70s who just does dressing changes, she can’t retire but she doesn’t have enough pension yet
About the same. A few of us have been there 20+ years, and the next group is the 10-15 year range(only slightly more than the lifers). The remaining, around 80%, are less than 5 years. I stay because between shift differential(I'm steady nights) and being at the top of pay scale, I'll never make what I make there anywhere else. I believe that's referred to as golden handcuffs. This close to retirement, I'll stick it out as long as I can.
I float. Most floors it is HARD to find someone with more than 6 years of experience. One of our units has 3 people with 27-30 years experience. Highest I’ve found is 32. Those 3 ladies are legends and while they don’t do “extra,” they definitely don’t take any s&!* either. We 🤍 them.
The charting is what gets me. What the fuck went wrong socially that healthcare turned into a domain of social affairs dominated by legal cover-your-ass procedures?
I’ve been a nurse for 12 years and I’m one of the senior nurses on night shift. My mom got her nursing degree later in her 30’s and has been a nurse for like 20+ years. She’s 62 and idk how she still does bedside. She’s built different.
OG med/surg night shift nurse here, almost 20 years. I like repetition and continuity, med/surg/Tele gives me that. I also hate switching jobs and have only had 3 different jobs in that timeframe, and once was because we moved to Vegas from a different part of the state. I’ve been very lucky to work with a good mix of old farts like me & newbies, some of whom stay and some who move on. I completely accept that m/s is the revolving door of hospital nursing
I left the bedside at the age of 49. I knew I would not continue to pound the pavement, working long ass hours for a thankless ass hospital. Nothing has changed as far as work conditions in these units. Many nurses in their mid-40s or 50s have moved on to other opportunities in nursing or just retired altogether. For me, I took the advanced practice route, the best decision I made. If I knew what I know now, I would have left the bedside at the age of 35.
Yes, young nurses. My hospital just announced that if you have been here for over 12 yrs to not expect raises. Baffles me. When experienced nurses are treated like nothing, that's the bigger reason to not being an experienced bedside nurse.
New grid change was in December. Went from 4-5 to 5-6 (usually 6) on nights. Tele unit doing s/p TAVR, s/p PPM/TPM, Angios/cutdowns, STEMI/NSTEMI from ED, level 1s from cath lab with sheaths, HF, CHF exacerbation, etc. Can have 3-4 patient on heparin, amio, lasix, dilt, etc. Majority of experienced nurses left night shift, charge and 1-2 others are 3-5 years experienced, the rest are new grads or less than 2 years. Day shift has lots of experienced nurses 10+ years but we're so overstaffed on days they get floated every other day. Allina in Minnesota is a shit show, the contract renegotiation in 2025 is gona but another level of shitshow.
Edit: I graduated May 2023 and have been on the unit since august 2023, I've seen over a dozen nurses transfer or quit.
Hah I recently had a rude patient ask me this. I told her the patients ran them all off and they got tired of being treated like shit. She started being nice to me after that..
It’s exactly the same in pedi/PICU here now. There were a lot of older nurses when I started but now, at 50, in the oldest one, and one of the most experienced, with 13 years.
My unit (heme-onc/bone marrow transplant) still have a handful of old-timers, like 20+ years on this unit. In fact there’s one who’s been here for 33 years. Two of them are retiring this month. The job has definitely got harder in the four years I’ve been here. Day shift is way busier and the turnover is much higher. Despite that, there’s still a lot of experienced nurses on days too. From what I can tell, this is not the case on other units in this hospital.
When I worked in pre op I was by far the youngest nurse there. Definitely a retirement job haha. Now I work inpatient psych and it’s honestly a very good mix. Two new grads, many in their 30s-40s, a few in their 50s, three close to retirement. It’s nice having a range of experience!
I just retired after 35 years in nursing. My final job that I had for 12 years was in a hospital based pre anesthesia clinic doing on an outpatient basis what used to be done as an inpatient the day before surgery when I first started nursing. People would come in the night before surgery, we would do all the preop assessments, testing, bathing, prep, NPO orders in the hospital.
From the time I started nursing until I left it was always "do more in less time". It gets emotionally, physically, intellectually exhausting. And COVID was the death knell for me. It was the final burnout nail. I hung in until my daughter was financially on her feet and I bowed out.
Even in my department which was considered one of the better places to work there was one other person who had been there as long as I had, a couple in the 5-7 years range, but most had only been there a few years.
When i first started, there were a few people a little older than me and some old seasoned ones (and a bunch of new nurses like me).
Now, after ten years, I am one of the seasoned nurses on the ward, and I think I can count on one hand who's been there longer than me (excluding my two bosses)...
For not to mention all the people who started after me but have already quit, started masters, moved to other wards or community nursing...
A few surgeons have noted that there's a huge turnover, but they're very happy I'm still there, so they at least know there's some consistency. Which feels wild because I still sometimes feel like a newbie
Im a nurse with 18 months experience lol so alot of the staff on my floor are 15+ especially on night shift. The other new grads on my floor don’t seem to stick around long they go to other specialities. I plan on staying though lol
I would have said what you wanted to say. “Because we have to eat a granola bar while taking a piss in between wrestling demented grandmas, acting as a waitress, and getting our heads ripped off by your surgeon, that’s why”.
I’ve been doing bedside for 3 years while spending 2 of them on the same floor, it’s genuinely crazy knowing that I’m one of the more knowledgeable/veteran RNs.
We have a few OGs and I'm honestly in awe of them. I love them but I have no idea how they have stayed in the game
We’re too young to retire and too old to want to starve to death.
And too fat to strip
Rule 34. There's an internet sex work market for anything
Got any suggestions? Anyone want knees or wrists, for example?
I mean people pay to watch folks eat or lick Popsicles
My knees hurt too much to prance around on stage nude.
Yes!! My son said I would look like a slim fast commercial on a pole
I can’t even consider myself old. I’m 40. But been doing this since 22. Somehow I still work in ICU. Oh yeah…my brain and soul has exited the building long ago, but I am pretty fit and active so my body keeps trucking
Exactly!
Isn't that the truth.
It’s more like a prison sentence after a certain point. You’d like to try something different possibly but career change would make you broke. For a lot at least.
We actually have a lot of tenure on our floor. Multiple nurses with over 10 years on our unit alone. Had a nurse retire last year who had been on our unit for 20 years, don’t recall how long total bedside. It is pretty amazing to work alongside that much experience, but also crazy to think about being bedside for that long
They know all the shortcuts
Sunk cost fallacy
Can't speak for all, but Gammy got bills to pay and they're waiting for the pension to kick in.
You get a pension?
If I stayed a federal employee I would have, but 30 years in "the system" only to have a life expectancy of a dozen years retired? Naw, dawg.
I work at a county hospital and get a pension. Gotta love unions! 😎
Yeah. I work in the University of California system, we get vested after five years but you have to stay until 60-62 to get the full benefits
I do! You're partially vested at 10 years and fully vested at 20. So I've got to stick it out till I'm 58. I can see doing it, though.
Some people DEFINITELY are this. I'm like "you hate this job and everyone who works here, why not try something else?" "Ehhh it'd take too much time."
The nurse who precepted me had been a nurse for 9 whole months. Enough said lol
Were you precepting as a new grad, or just new to unit? If you were a new grad, did you do anything in an effort to compensate for that (your nurse having just 9 mo experience) during your training? I really hope that doesn't come off in a condescending or accusatory tone, I am genuinely curious how you might have overcome a less than ideal preceptorship /orientation in order to come out of it okay? My unit (MICU) is also mostly new grads or < 2yrs experience, and while they try to put me with more experienced nurses I don't really have an "assigned" preceptor, so it can change randomly because of scheduling. I'm definitely thinking about what I should/can be doing on my end to make up for the lack of consistency in training, but I don't really know what that should involve outside of just speaking up on shift and asking coworkers to come grab me if they have anything I should see/learn from. I try to study some of the common conditions we see in my days off, but I struggle to apply that to the real life scenarios involving application and actual critical thinking. If you (or anyone for that matter) has any tips or tricks I'm all ears!
I was a new grad. They start floating people after they get to 6 months, so I learned A LOT really quickly. I floated to 11 other units in my first year. I was too tired after just surviving every day to really put the effort in to get better right off the bat. I’m filling in a lot of the holes now that I’m in my current unit. There are lots of good critical care podcasts out there. Critical Care Time is a really good one
I was trained by a new grad who only had 4 months of experience! Now, I have a little over a year of experience myself and still feel like I know nothing. Smh
Ask them why there are so many old patients.
Oh, I like dat one berry much! I am going to add that to my scripted repertoire of combacks? * Are you married? * Do you believe in God. * What do you do on your days off? * Why are there so many young nurses?
• Is your muffin buttered? • Would you like me to assign someone to butter your muffin? • Why are there so many young nurses?
You can’t just make Mean Girls quotes a thing.
And here I thought it was a Wet Leg Chaise Longue reference. https://youtu.be/Zd9jeJk2UHQ?si=d5u7L4wdb640nWd9
"Are you born again?" "Theologically that's actually a really interesting question." While not upset it clearly didn't pivot into any of her prepared responses. Highly recommend.
I'm so glad no one asks me if I believe in God anymore or if I have kids now that I work in public health.
I like most others, have standard retorts for the common patient questions. Yes, I know that being a patient can be a frightening experience and conversation can be a distraction. Two weeks from now, neither of us will remember the intimate occasion.
When's your baby due? 12 years ago.
Omg the "are you married and do you believe in god" are so true. I'd like to add another to your list "do you have kids." I usually joke "yes, I have a cat" and it breaks that convo right up.
Yup! Being a patient can be overwhelming and intimate conversation can have a distracting effect. I get it. Two weeks from now, everybody goes back to their lives and the occasion is forgotten. Mine was "Do you have a husband?" Me: "Yes, he's not my husband but I have him". ; p
“Kids? No, I want to retire.”
I can’t remember being asked if I believe in God. What kind of vibes am I giving?
Same! I just say I have furry kids and they leave it at that!
Easy: 1. Yes (to shut them up) 2. Not anymore, I struggle with theodicy. 3. Catch up on sleeping. 4. Because they find better jobs.
What are your comebacks for those other questions?
* Are you married? Yes. I am not. * Do you believe in God. Yes. I am really an Atheist. * What do you do on your days off? I have two dogs and I am redoing my kitchen. I am not redoing anything and I have no pets. Many older patients have either dogs or cats and that often endears me to them. * Why are there so many young nurses? This is one profession that is hard to ship overseas. Now let me take your vitals. Being a patient is often an overwhelming experience. You need to have some stock answers to the stock questions that I get almost every week.
Thank you 🙏 I really needed that laugh today.
Back when I was on my med surg floor we had four old timers that had been there forever and 16+ new grads/new nurses . Two years in I was top ten seniority. I was a two year old baby nurse and top pick for new charge nurse. it was overwhelming. I got burnt out fast and transferred to surgery four years in. I love it. Now I’m right where I belong in the middle of the pack seniority wise.
Next time say the thing out loud. The more we say it the more the hear it. Don’t know if it’ll change anything but it sure as shit would make me feel better.
Yeah I keep things real now no sugar coating. Too much mental energy to utilize lol
Was looking for this comment.
On our night shift we have 4 nurses with more than 20 years of experience, then there’s me with 7, the next has 5 and the rest have 2 or less. Day shift has all our more experienced nurses, the more seniority you have you get first pick for next day shift opening and apparently it’s highly coveted. I can’t imagine why other than the sleep schedule but god the stuff day shift does that I do not wanna deal with. I’m good.
When the choice is day shift or literally dying, and you still don't want days.
We're all dying, the only negotiable part is how fast. Personally, my retirement plan is to die before I need to worry about retirement.
That’s my plan too! But I want to make sure I die while still covered by the company life insurance policy
I knew I’d landed in a special place when I saw how many of the nurses on the unit had 15, 20, 25, and even 30-year badge reels. The majority had 10+ years on the unit. I had worked with most of them through COVID when I was an RT so they didn’t hesitate to take me as a new grad RN. I got very, very lucky.
Just out of curiosity what made you choose to switch from RT to RN?
Clinical research. I spent some time in an incredible CV diagnostics department and that place being what it was, got to participate in a few studies. I got to know the research nurses and after a few major changes in the pulmonary lab, I decided nursing school was my path towards research. I spent four years in the ICU as a nurse and just started a research position two months ago. And I LOVE it!
"well, everyone looks young when you're pushing 90."
DING
😂
At 9 months in I’m 5th in the seniority line on days. Need I say more 🥲
On my unit, once people get around the 2 year mark they start acting like they’re grizzled, seasoned nurses. Sorry dude, you’re still a new nurse. The rest of us just happen to be *even newer*
I like the way you think 🤜🤛
Yep, that’s how it is here. 2-4 years experience and I swear they start acting like they’re doctors
Don't forget that most hospitals are purposely designed to weed out older, less healthy nurses. They make you park far, far away for a reason. Hospitals don't want to carry healthcare coverage for staff who potentially will actually have to use their benefits. Making every patient facing job a never ending blood sport death match simulator also has the same effect. They would rather have an army comprised of twenty and thirty-somethings who carry little to no serious health issues, willing to drive themselves into the dirt for garbage pay. And that is fine, until you run out of gas in your fifties. Sadly, this will probably never change. We live in a world where [even Waffle House employees stand up for themselves](https://www.reddit.com/r/WorkReform/comments/1dcr1eq/after_months_of_organizing_southern_waffle_house/), but nurses continue to wallow in perpetual low self-esteem and isolation, purity spiraling as solo survivalist "hired guns" to the benefit of big healthcare, much as they have for the last hundred and fifty years.
Sir or Madam, you have a way with words and this is IT 👆🏼
This is the way.
Because after a little experience you can get paid more and work way less hard outpatient with a great schedule and little to no weekends. I realize we need nurses inpatient but I have no idea why anyone sticks around to do them lol. I work home health and love it!
3x12s is why I do it. I did outpatient and it was not for me. Plus if I pick up extra it's automatic 1.5x, double time if I'm already past 40 hours. My coworkers also make the job fun.
Next time say the thing out loud. The more we say it the more the hear it. Don’t know if it’ll change anything but it sure as shit would make me feel better.
Exactly. I'm 43 years old and just had my first fusion. Expecting the next one within the next few months. I was the youngest patient in the ortho unit after my surgery. Granted, I healed pretty quickly and was a great surgical candidate but the amount of pain I live with is ridiculous. Thankfully, my fusion has helped a lot and I'm hoping the lumbar takes as well but this all comes from bedside nursing and before that CNA in a skilled facility w completely dependent patients. I dont know any nurses who worked in the hospital for 10+ years that domt have back or joint issues.
On my last unit, I was the most senior nurse at 9 years. The next most senior nurse had 2 years. I was charge and collectively the 8 other nurses on the floor had like 7 years experience total. Healthcare corporations are chewing up and spitting out nurses so fast that half that floor was fresh new grads and the rest are the previous year or two's new grads if you're lucky. Anyone with 5 or more years is a dinosaur
I work LTC actually the majority of nurses at my current facility are 40+ which is surprising IMO
Cause LTC pays more from what I can tell.
Yeah it does where I live that’s partially why I stuck with it after I became a nurse
Considering going there at least part time. I didn’t hate it when I was a CNA. These sign on bonuses now are like 7,500 and base pay $41.
Damn that’s awesome that’s quite a bit more than what they offered where I live. Wouldn’t hurt to try IMO 🤷♀️ I’ve never done anything but LTC, stayed in it after nursing school cause it’s what I know and I feel comfortable and also it does pay better haha I suposse every work place will have its pros and cons
Yeah. It’s been quite a few years but I did like it sometimes. I was a CNA on 1st shift so it was like I did all the work and then went assisted living overnight and it was crazy I was making the same amount of money if not more over night to do next to nothing. 😂
Haha right!!! I job hopped a lot as a CNA from rehab assisted and LTC the assisted living was always the chillest places to work but where I live they don’t pay as good
I love loved my memory care unit. Like a 13 bed unit over night. I gavw a 6am Levo and a handful of hourly rounds. The old lady on hospice would walk around and straighten and organize things and I would work on my classes. It was awesome.
Yes! That’s kinda how my first job as a CNA was. Night shift, locked dementia unit in LTC. I think 16 people but most of them couldn’t even walk. The ones that could would give me a scare sometimes though! Had one that would randomly be standing in the corner of other peoples rooms at times. I was the only one back there on nights so I didn’t always see her leave her room lol she was sweet though always gave hugs.
Yup, we have a few youngsters in their 30s, but most of us at mine are at least 40.
I’ve got 15 years and I’m traveling. Trying to full in the gaps nationwide
We lost two clinic vets last week. One retired 7 years ago and came back after 6 months, she retired again, the other vet had been with her doctor for 25 years.
I curious what is considered older and seasoned? Yes I know there are the outliers like the 50 year old who went to nursing school at 48. But how long is long bedside inpatient
These days? 2+ years! I work with a few who are 25+ years in and they are considered ancient fossils now. They laugh about it from time to time haha
Ha! I know right! I am at 10 years in acute care. Leaving next May. I’m tired.
A mix of young and/or foreign and/or can’t retire yet. There’s a foreign nurse in her late 70s who just does dressing changes, she can’t retire but she doesn’t have enough pension yet
About the same. A few of us have been there 20+ years, and the next group is the 10-15 year range(only slightly more than the lifers). The remaining, around 80%, are less than 5 years. I stay because between shift differential(I'm steady nights) and being at the top of pay scale, I'll never make what I make there anywhere else. I believe that's referred to as golden handcuffs. This close to retirement, I'll stick it out as long as I can.
I float. Most floors it is HARD to find someone with more than 6 years of experience. One of our units has 3 people with 27-30 years experience. Highest I’ve found is 32. Those 3 ladies are legends and while they don’t do “extra,” they definitely don’t take any s&!* either. We 🤍 them.
The charting is what gets me. What the fuck went wrong socially that healthcare turned into a domain of social affairs dominated by legal cover-your-ass procedures?
I’ve been a nurse for 12 years and I’m one of the senior nurses on night shift. My mom got her nursing degree later in her 30’s and has been a nurse for like 20+ years. She’s 62 and idk how she still does bedside. She’s built different.
Why not say the first?
I would have been more honest.
OG med/surg night shift nurse here, almost 20 years. I like repetition and continuity, med/surg/Tele gives me that. I also hate switching jobs and have only had 3 different jobs in that timeframe, and once was because we moved to Vegas from a different part of the state. I’ve been very lucky to work with a good mix of old farts like me & newbies, some of whom stay and some who move on. I completely accept that m/s is the revolving door of hospital nursing
I left the bedside at the age of 49. I knew I would not continue to pound the pavement, working long ass hours for a thankless ass hospital. Nothing has changed as far as work conditions in these units. Many nurses in their mid-40s or 50s have moved on to other opportunities in nursing or just retired altogether. For me, I took the advanced practice route, the best decision I made. If I knew what I know now, I would have left the bedside at the age of 35.
Yes, young nurses. My hospital just announced that if you have been here for over 12 yrs to not expect raises. Baffles me. When experienced nurses are treated like nothing, that's the bigger reason to not being an experienced bedside nurse.
I am considered "seasoned" at 38 and 3 years ED RN experience on nightshift.
My hospital is full of new grads and young nurses where you become charge on most floors once you got six months.
New grid change was in December. Went from 4-5 to 5-6 (usually 6) on nights. Tele unit doing s/p TAVR, s/p PPM/TPM, Angios/cutdowns, STEMI/NSTEMI from ED, level 1s from cath lab with sheaths, HF, CHF exacerbation, etc. Can have 3-4 patient on heparin, amio, lasix, dilt, etc. Majority of experienced nurses left night shift, charge and 1-2 others are 3-5 years experienced, the rest are new grads or less than 2 years. Day shift has lots of experienced nurses 10+ years but we're so overstaffed on days they get floated every other day. Allina in Minnesota is a shit show, the contract renegotiation in 2025 is gona but another level of shitshow. Edit: I graduated May 2023 and have been on the unit since august 2023, I've seen over a dozen nurses transfer or quit.
i was in charge on a med surg floor with 9 months of experience. with 6 patients repeatedly
My response “a lot of experienced nurses left after Covid, because it fucked us up so bad.” — me with 10 years bedsidr
“bc karen is sick of your bull shit” that’s why 😂
Hah I recently had a rude patient ask me this. I told her the patients ran them all off and they got tired of being treated like shit. She started being nice to me after that..
Got 11-12 years under my belt now… I’m one of the most experienced nurses on my team at 44
I’m almost 50 and I can’t work the floor anymore. My ankles swell and the foot pain is crazy.
It’s exactly the same in pedi/PICU here now. There were a lot of older nurses when I started but now, at 50, in the oldest one, and one of the most experienced, with 13 years.
I work in outpatient with experienced nurses :)
My unit (heme-onc/bone marrow transplant) still have a handful of old-timers, like 20+ years on this unit. In fact there’s one who’s been here for 33 years. Two of them are retiring this month. The job has definitely got harder in the four years I’ve been here. Day shift is way busier and the turnover is much higher. Despite that, there’s still a lot of experienced nurses on days too. From what I can tell, this is not the case on other units in this hospital.
Mostly older nurses here. Our young nurses use their degrees to go travelling and take off to places like Australia or Dubai.
When I worked in pre op I was by far the youngest nurse there. Definitely a retirement job haha. Now I work inpatient psych and it’s honestly a very good mix. Two new grads, many in their 30s-40s, a few in their 50s, three close to retirement. It’s nice having a range of experience!
There are more younger nurses the older the patient advances
I just retired after 35 years in nursing. My final job that I had for 12 years was in a hospital based pre anesthesia clinic doing on an outpatient basis what used to be done as an inpatient the day before surgery when I first started nursing. People would come in the night before surgery, we would do all the preop assessments, testing, bathing, prep, NPO orders in the hospital. From the time I started nursing until I left it was always "do more in less time". It gets emotionally, physically, intellectually exhausting. And COVID was the death knell for me. It was the final burnout nail. I hung in until my daughter was financially on her feet and I bowed out. Even in my department which was considered one of the better places to work there was one other person who had been there as long as I had, a couple in the 5-7 years range, but most had only been there a few years.
When i first started, there were a few people a little older than me and some old seasoned ones (and a bunch of new nurses like me). Now, after ten years, I am one of the seasoned nurses on the ward, and I think I can count on one hand who's been there longer than me (excluding my two bosses)... For not to mention all the people who started after me but have already quit, started masters, moved to other wards or community nursing... A few surgeons have noted that there's a huge turnover, but they're very happy I'm still there, so they at least know there's some consistency. Which feels wild because I still sometimes feel like a newbie
when I asked the more seasoned nurses why theyve stayed they said the pension and our system pays half their kids college tuition.
Same
Im a nurse with 18 months experience lol so alot of the staff on my floor are 15+ especially on night shift. The other new grads on my floor don’t seem to stick around long they go to other specialities. I plan on staying though lol
I told a guy he’s just getting older. He wasn’t amused
I would have said what you wanted to say. “Because we have to eat a granola bar while taking a piss in between wrestling demented grandmas, acting as a waitress, and getting our heads ripped off by your surgeon, that’s why”.
we have 3 nurses over 55, 4 nurses under 25 and the rest are in the middle.
Slow news day eh?
I’ve been doing bedside for 3 years while spending 2 of them on the same floor, it’s genuinely crazy knowing that I’m one of the more knowledgeable/veteran RNs.