National Nurses Week

This is about how student nurses looked when I was in nursing school in the late 1960s. I graduated from Easton Hospital School of Nursing, Easton, PA in 1968.

A parking deck for the hospital now stands where my nursing residence was. Such is the fate of hospital-based schools of nursing and nursing, itself. The profession decided that in order to be "professional", it should require a college (four year or two year) degree. Diploma schools, once cheap labor for hospitals, became too costly to run as regulations on nursing education tightened and then were considered obsolete.

Women (for it is still a female profession) have found other careers that do not require long, erradict hours, and more on duty job satisfaction.

The median age of Registered Nurses is in the mid forties. I'm older than that.
Soon, the largest percentage of RNs will be between the ages of 50-69.

Am I the only one (still) to be concerned about this - as a healthcare consumer?
As a nurse? Sure, keep my numbers low - law of supply and demand: I will always have a job and the pay will be good.
As a patient...I've already had an elderly RN make a medication error when giving me my pills. I knew better than to take them; I protested; I was right.
I don't want her taking care of me.
At 65 I may not even want ME taking care of me.

Happy Nurses Week, patients.