Canberra nurse Janet Moore has happily reached that milestone, only just retiring after 61 years in nursing, the last 55 years of which she spent in the national capital.

She officially retired in July, prompted by the coronavirus pandemic and concerns she would be prevented from working because of her age, given she will turn 80 in January. Her final job was with the Aged Care Assessment Team at the University of Canberra Hospital in Bruce, where some of her patients were younger than her.

"Nobody told me I couldn't keep working. I was quite happy to do so," she said. But COVID-19 made the final call.

Mrs Moore always believed age was irrelevant when it came to her career and the people she nursed. She said it was "disgusting" how the elderly had become almost dispensable in the coronavirus pandemic.

"I don't care if someone is 99 going on 100 and they need something to help them and make them more comfortable, they deserve it," she said.

Mrs Moore was born in Canberra, at the old Royal Canberra Hospital on the Acton Peninsula, later working there.

She attended the old Canberra High School. An acquaintance who nursed at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney partly inspired her career choice.

"I liked her and the stories she told me about the hospital," she said.

In 1959, she started four years of training at the RPA, after passing the extensive interview procedure, which included IQ tests and even X-rays to rule out tuberculosis. She lived in the 11-storey Queen Mary's Nurses' Home.

"We were good at what we did because it was such meticulous training," she said.

After working and travelling, she returned to Canberra in 1965, nursing at the old Royal Canberra Hospital, in a wing housing the neonatal intensive care ward.

"That was rewarding in itself because you were helping the parents, not just the baby," she said.

The Royal Canberra Hospital was closed in 1991 and demolished in 1997.

"I liked working there and I was sorry when it was gone," she said. "But, that's progress."

Mrs Moore worked only briefly in the new Canberra Hospital at Woden, her career taking her to other positions in the community.

That career included being a practice nurse with salaried doctors, working with the Division of General Practice healthy ageing program, and also the Aged Care Assessment Team, where she identified the care needs of frail, older people and their carers.

"I've loved being in the community, I've loved that aspect of nursing," Mrs Moore said.

"I think what I've enjoyed most is what people share with you. You don't intrude in people's lives, but people share intimacies with you about their lives, in confidence. And, you know, you can't change their situation but just by them being able to talk, it makes them feel better. It helps to get it off your chest."

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Now a grandmother, Mrs Moore has seen many changes over the years. She welcomes the introduction of university-trained nurses and better education for health consumers, so they can make informed choices about their care.

"Dramatic changes have happened, all for the good, in my opinion," she said.

Mrs Moore was also a long-time president of Carers Australia ACT and served on the board of Carers Australia, advocating for support for carers.

She won a Commissioner for Public Administration award in 2009 for providing a weekly wellness clinic and welfare support for socially disadvantaged residents of inner-city flats.

And she feels her work has all been worthwhile.

"You can make some difference," she said.