Positive aspect of ageing nurses The demographic change in Europe which is causing challenges and problems for the nursing profession has been examined by the NEXT project. Health © Shutterstock There is a shortage of nursing labour in many European countries which is likely to increase. Current working conditions do not foster healthy ageing at work and most nurses leave the profession before normal retirement age. As a result, the nursing profession is faced with a lack of nurses. In spite of this, data from the NEXT project reveals that in situations where there are limited job alternatives, nurses are obligated to stay in their profession. Consequently, this has caused ageing of the nursing profession. There is a prejudice against older workers by employers as well as the public in terms of their abilities to perform well. This is also applicable to nursing in terms of prejudices regarding physical capacity, reduced flexibility and sick leave. Since nursing is a profession with great physical, emotional and psychological demands, the question remaining is whether or not nursing is possible at an older age. In an attempt to answer this question, an assessment was conducted in ten countries that covered registered nurses 50 years old or older working in hospitals. The proportion of older nurses working in hospitals varied greatly with the highest in Finland and Norway and the lowest in Belgium and Portugal. Some of the many interesting findings were that older nurses and younger nurses worked the same amount of hours per week and that both groups did not vary in regard to absence from work because of illness and family obligations. In terms of differences, the findings showed that older nurses tend to report better working conditions and comprise a positive selection of healthy and high-performance individuals. Therefore successful integration of older nurses in the nursing work force is possible and beneficial. This indicates that health care institutions should acknowledge that older nurses can often be a resource with better expertise, more commitment and better psychological health. Hopefully, health care institutions will prevent age discrimination and promote mutual support among nurses.
