Nursing..a middle age career?

So just recently, I read a statistic that I found to be somewhat startling. Less than 10% of all nurses are under the age of 30. The average age of a nurse is 46.8 years old.

So, I was wondering, why is nursing, a profession that sometimes requires some heavy lifting, an "older" field? Are there benefits to being older? And are younger nurses (under the age of 25) at a disadvantage?

Thanks.
there are benefits and disadvantage to being younger and older, a lot of it depends on the individual.i'd think if you looked at most careers that pay what nursing does, has a similar work envir (which is pretty good) and is not physically demanding you'd find about the same age demographic.

I wonder at that statistic. Are they counting nurses who may have an active license but are not working as nurses? I would be curious if the data was broken down by specialty.When my son was in hospital, the pediatric nurses seemed like a young group on nurses in their 20's. I have also seen some shifts on my unit where the majority of nurses are 40+ since the nurses were hired long ago on generous weekend pay plans and have stayed in their jobs.

Well, I don't find it startling at all. They probably just didn't publish statistics on the age of nurses until recently when Aging Baby Boomers became a media buzz word. Not sure what heavy lifting has to do with middle age. I never run and hide when asked to help pull a patient up in the bed, and I've never hurt myself either.

What is considered middle aged, anyway? I've heard some people say 30s and others say 50s. I'm 38, in that range anyway.. and I honestly can say I'd have no trouble helping move heavy equipment and patients. (All those years in the shipping industry paid off) Seriously though.. One doesn't have to be a spring chicken to be perfectly capable of long shifts and heavy workload. These stats kind of help me feel better about my choice to enter the field so much later than I should have.

A lot of new nurses are in it as a second career, which contributes to the aging. I would say about half of the nurses I went to school with were over 35. And you have to be a little bit mature-I didn't see a lot of people who were fresh out of high school, and those who were didn't always make it.

Quote from sevensonnetsWell, I don't find it startling at all. They probably just didn't publish statistics on the age of nurses until recently when Aging Baby Boomers became a media buzz word. Not sure what heavy lifting has to do with middle age. I never run and hide when asked to help pull a patient up in the bed, and I've never hurt myself either.

Quote from mjmoonWhat is considered middle aged, anyway? I've heard some people say 30s and others say 50s. I'm 38, in that range anyway.. and I honestly can say I'd have no trouble helping move heavy equipment and patients. (All those years in the shipping industry paid off) Seriously though.. One doesn't have to be a spring chicken to be perfectly capable of long shifts and heavy workload. These stats kind of help me feel better about my choice to enter the field so much later than I should have.

In my opinion, older nurses have more understanding in life issues. They have more life experiences. Nursing envolves personal interactions, and more life experiences definately help in this matter. Being young nurses have many benefits too. They bring cheers to the floor. They are more up to date on electronic equipments and computer stuff. They may be faster, mentally and physically, definately physically, but it all depends on people. I saw some young nurses in 20's lazy as they can be, and I saw some older nurses who are in late 50's and early 60's, are quick and fast as they can be. They can take care of a full load of patients and still going strong. And about the heavy lifting, you don't do it by yourself anyway. So, it all depends on personality and their work ethic. I love older nurses! older nurses rock!!!

I wonder if younger women are being encouraged (and prepared) to go into fields that they weren't once encouraged to go into and less so into nursing as an automatic. (Not that there aren't male nurses but just that the dynamic for girls has changed).

Well, I am not young,42, and I am not old,80, so I guess i qualify to post about this. I am in Nursing school. I spent 21 years in the military, retired and then got a job as a police officer. I have realized that I do not want to help people in that fashion. I am so excited to start the nursing core (hopefully this December) and I am getting good grades in the prerequisite classes. I feel quite ready for this change and I know that I want it bad so I study hard. I think how good you are as a nurse depends on your maturity level, not age. I know many who are much older than I and would never be a good Nurse. I also know a young woman (26) who is taking classes and wants to specialize in Oncology because she had cancer and it was the nurses who helped her through that hard time. It comes down to this, why do you do your job? If it is to make a lot of money then get into stocks or investments. If you want to help people, be a nurse.

I recall hearing a slightly higher figure (avg. age of US nurse population), somewhere in the early 50's, when I was in nursing school 30 years ago -- and there was much discussion then of the "greying" of the nursing population, and whatever were we going to do when all those older nurses retired, and where were all the younger nurses to replace them, and how were we going to get women to continue to go into nursing when they now had so many other career opportunities available to them??? -- so this isn't a new phenomenon. And we've made it this far without running out of nurses when all those older nurses (30 years ago) retired -- I imagine we'll keep plugging along ... )

The statistic is correct. Many of the nurses who are 'older' say 46-60 have been there since they were 20 but many came to the profession (as I did) as a second career. Sure it's physically demanding, but many people stay in shape and active even at the ripe old age of 46!