Until you experience ageism yourself, it may not seem like it is a big deal. But once you have been targeted by an employer, a coworker or a stranger (or student in your class), you may not realize how demeaning it is.

The world health organization (Who) defines ageism as “Ageism refers to the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or oneself based on age.” This affects those that are viewed by our society as “older” or “seasoned” adults. In my circle we lovingly call each other “sister crones”. There used to be a sense of duty, and respect for those older than us. That is sadly no longer the case.

If we “count out” the women and men that are in our workforce that are over say 50, we are losing quite a workforce of experience! I have had nursing students that were older.. and are sitting in class with someone who is half their age. It is daunting to begin a new career at 50. But it is also refreshing for the individual in pursuit of a dream or better life.

Students that are not “millennials” have life experience that greatly increases their knowledge base as a nursing student. They have lived in different places and in different times. Sometimes they are reluctant to take on a role like a registered nurse because they themselves feel they are “too old”.

I recently experienced this as an “over 50” nurse with 30 plus years of experience and 5 years of teaching experience at a community college. I was told by a student that I was discriminating against her because she was older (she was 52) to which I told the student I was 58. Then she turned that around, questioning my competence to teach the students at my age. She also turned a personal example that I had about myself being a survivor of a stroke , into a “disadvantage”.

I had shared with my students that I had a stroke in May 2020 and that as a result of that incident, I still have some expressive aphasia and it gets worse if I am tired or nervous. I also will use a word like “cucumber” for instance instead of “computer” that I cannot get out of my head. I shared this as an example when we were talking about patients with a stroke and expressive and receptive aphasia and global aphasia.

I explained that the knowledge is still in my brain, but sometimes it doesn’t come out of my mouth and how frustrating that is. I also made note to them how proud I was of my nurse. She was a former student of mine. I relaxed immediately and was so thankful she was my nurse, I knew she knew what to do because I was part of her education.

Now, after course evaluations for this semester, my ability to teach is being questioned by the Dean. Where is compassion??? Where is the respect for those older than us? Where is the concept of “aging is a product of the mind.”

I believe that the older adults (50 and over) are perfect selections for our student base! They can make a difference in their lives and those of their patients with their experience and sense of duty. We have such a shortage of nurses now and it is not going to get any easier.

If we don’t start treating our older nurses with more respect, we will have no-one to care for us. I myself had contemplated leaving nursing because of the actions of the students that complained about me and the Dean who reprimanded me for using a “personal experience such as that” to explain a disease process to my students.

I think it would be a good thing to recruit older workers into nursing. A more stable workforce and a more ethical workforce. I know I am not alone. Why does a nursing student have to fit a mold of young, pretty, smart female?

The students that have been in my classrooms that are other than mold are better students! The men that are going into nursing are bringing a fresh perspective that I enjoy. I feel diversity makes the workforce. I feel that we need to respect each other , no matter what, help each other, no matter what as nurses.

That is what our basic premise as nurses needs to be and what we need to build in our students.