It seems, from all the human resources newsletters I'm subscribed to, that a recent trend in this great economic Depression (yes, it is a Depression. We're all depressed about the economy!) with companies is to "trim the fat," "thin the herd" and by getting rid of workers upwards of 40.

After all, this is the group with more health problems cropping up and are driving the group insurance companies (who never expect to pay out as much as they charge us) to raise premiums. If the worker just happens to be sick to start with, or disabled, they are the first to feel the kiss of steel in the form of being axed (fired) from their jobs. Is this legal? No, it is part of the anti-discrimination laws forbidding companies to fire someone due to age.

For someone with a condition who can perform the job, but needs health insurance to remain functional, it is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act to fire them without cause.  All these said HR newsletters (from a variety of sources) do nothing more than tell employers how to cover their butts and get rid of these people with no severance pay, no benefits, and without legal repercussions. In other words, they will set up the targeted employee, even if they've never received a bad evaluation, with bogus disciplinary reports, mistakes that never happened or are greatly exaggerated, and use these as their rationale for booting an up til now, stellar employee.

Younger HR noobs think that things are done with much more expediency by younger workers, who, by the way, do not expect full-time positions, fair wages, benefits, or any kind of real perks. Older workers might seem a bit slower than younger people, however, there is a reason for this in most cases. People who have lived longer have a much greater amount of experience and facts to draw on when decision making, which has to be processed. The reason younger employees can make quicker decisions is that they don't have as much experience or education to draw on, so they gather the few facts they have accumulated to make a decision.

Younger employees can be trained like Pavlov's dogs to respond in a certain way when specific situations present themselves. But is this based on knowledge and experience? No, it's just regurgitating what they recently learned in a book in school. It's not always the wrong thing, and everyone has to start somewhere as we all did. However, they are losing the support, input and and guidance of their elders, because the elders are no longer there!

I went back to school recently to advance my degree and I'm glad I was exposed to, and got to learn how to do new procedures. However, I kept hearing a repetitive phrase when I would hesitate or be extra-cautious about doing a procedure I had no experience with. The phrase was....Fake it til you make it.

That was unacceptable to me. Having had the experience of being on the other side of the needle or medical equipment, sometime in my life with a complete beginner, I, at least wanted to know where I stood and did not want to be a noob's guinea pig. I worked at a teaching hospital where there were many students, in fact, they populated most of the employment/intern slots. Folks nick-named it the "Guinea Pig Institute".

Our elders (and we just might be the elders now) were our Jedi, the ones who taught us things from practical experience in their own experience. With all the professionals over 40 disappearing into the sunset, you're just as likely to have a 20 year old nurse manage your care as you are someone more seasoned. Nothing against 20 year olds, and some are complete naturals in the profession, but I'd rather bleed out with a 55 year old hospital diploma nurse in the room than a 20 year old with a BSN. Nothing against that either. We need BOTH - the seasoned nurses to mentor and guide the noobs; and the noobs to expose the seasoned nurses to new procedures and theories. We're quickly coming to the point where no one in health care is more than 35 years old and embarking on a second career.

I had lost my father and soon after, my mother-in-law in the 90's. I am usually a stoic, nothing-phases-me type of person. I keep my composure under any circumstances in my professional life. I also don't cry at funerals. So everyone was surprised when I burst out in tears at my mother-in-law's funeral. I kept muttering, "All the Jedi are gone." They didn't understand.

If you've ever seen a Star Wars movie, you know who the Jedi were; tough, talented, skilled warriors who also dispensed sage advice. Obi Wan; Qui-Gon Jinn was a revered, yet maverick and unconventional Jedi Master. And yes, even Yoda, one of the most renowned Jedi Masters.

"Try not. Do or do not, there is no try."

"Always pass on what you have learned."

"When you look at the dark side, careful you must be. For the dark side looks back."

In this life, I considered our elders the Jedi, giving us Padawan learners some really good advice on how to get along in life.

I remember speaking to my dad about a buyer from a very huge, multinational company that I'd had a conversation with about when his product would arrive. He was arrogant, abusive and a real potty mouth. I expressed my amazement to my father that someone in such a high and important position could be such a jerk. My dad said, "Big company, little people." That just put it all into perspective for me. I still think of it today when someone who is highly placed acts like an complete ass.

I cried at my mother-in-law's funeral because I was both grieved that the Jedi were leaving us and the sudden realization that my generation was now becoming the new Jedi. Scary thought. Were we ready? Or even worthy? To the best of my knowledge, up til then, I'd never said anything profound in my life that helped anyone.

Recently, I lost my aunt and uncle, who were truly the two last Jedi left in my world. Both were in Sweden but still had considerable influence on my life. Now the Jedi are really gone. Now it really is up to us. But it is of little use to be the Jedi nurses, etc. if we have no Padawans to mentor because of the "youth is in" craze among HR noobs. They are making mistakes that I believe will certainly weaken our healthcare structure as we know it today (and it ain't lookin' too hot today as it is).

So if you're a noob..even the HR noobs should climb down off their little pedestals they place themselves on, and try to stop micro-managing in fields they know nothing about. Nursing is not like learning to be a carpenter, ballerina, or horseback rider. The carpenter has to apprentice, the ballerina has a task master and the horseback rider has a trainer who teaches her AND the horse how to ride, jump hurdles and not break any bones. The budding new nurse may have a preceptor, oftentimes someone a few years older or younger than she who more oftentimes does nothing more than let the new nurse go off on her own while the preceptor sits, watches occasionally and plays on Facebook.

If you are a Jedi nurse and see a younger/new nurse struggling (and not all new nurses are young) please impart some of your knowledge (if you have any). You could affect this nurse's practice for a lifetime.

And for the HR people who keep making these dumb decisions, my only hope is that sometime when you're in a life threatening crisis, I'd love to see you wake up and find your primary caretaker is a 20 year old RN who just graduated. Those are the only nurses you'll have available, having fired all the "older" nurses. Better yet, try to enroll in a nursing program and if you're accepted, let me know how many semesters you last, because I seriously doubt that those who are at the reins of many healthcare facilities could even last past the first semester. You might then have an appreciation for what it takes to be a nurse, even a noob nurse, and realize our older nurses are a treasure trove of teaching and good advice.