Conflict between baby boomers & Gen X'rs?

I guess what you get from the article depends on where you fall in it's stereotyping. I read it as saying that generation X is selfish, brats who lack individualization and are responsible for the current staffing issues. However, I've not read the entire article, just Molly's post. If their intent was to divide nursing even further then I guess the authors did a wonderful job of making each side feel they were being blamed by the other when in essence, there actually is no division; we are all nurses and want the same thing...fair and equal compensation.

<I think your argument should be what you and the nurses in your area has managed to gain by being activist;>


Ok Ill grant you that. But isnt it all interconnected? We have those things here (including 5 weeks vacation) because we boomers did not go hopping from one job to another looking for the one employer that would offer it to us. We stayed & made the employer we had provide it. Once we did that in one place, we were able to do it in all places & the improvements became the standard. Where nurses are not activists, nothing gets improved. Adminstrators arent going to just do it on their own. So how does just leaving and going from job to job help us to raise the standard & improve our own situation? Im not arguing. Im really asking. I dont understand the approach.

Some nurses have said that Boomers just accepted poor conditions. Maybe I should have said in cities like mine where Boomers were and are a driving activist force, we most certainly did not accept that. We changed those condtions & we did that by being activists. In areas where the nurses are going from job to job when conditions are not to their liking, instead of demanding improvements there, do they find anything very much different from one place to another? If nurses in some areas are not all the things you said they still arent getting and they dont like that, does it change if they just move on to another job? Isnt the next employer offering most of the same thing?

The article was saying that new nurses will just move on to another facility if the one theyre at doesnt give them what they want. I just cant figure out how that helps them when all the places in the area are doing the same thing & treating nurses the same way. It just doesnt make sense to me. It seems like a game of all-around-the-mulberry-bush.

Maybe the discussion got turned around because some Boomer nurses who have not been the co-dependents that were described in the article (and most are not and many have actively fought to correct conditions & did so) were offended with the way they were portrayed. And new nurses were offended with the way they were shown to be disinterested.

I think its very odd that no mention is made in the article of how abusive adminstrative practices are whats keeping recruits from coming into the profession & just blames it all on Boomer nurses bad-mouthing their employers.

"Well it's the group of people born between 1961 and 1981. It's that simple.


It seems we have come to be called Xers simply because we represent something negativee to our elders. We may be the one thing that all of the generations who currently precede us have in common. That is--the ability to speak assuredly about our shortcomings. Of course, they overlook the fact theat we are their responsibility, or actually their fault, our generation will be called upon to look after our parents knowing that they failed to look after us. Intergenerational justice failed somewhere along the way and it will be our task to either rectify it or make it worse.

We are a group of individuals who grew up with no one at home after school. It appears we have little hope for the future. No jobs, no homes, and basically no money are almost expected of us. These bleak prospects, along with the fact that we will be forced to support the largest amount of senior citizens ever, do not provide much hope. Some believe that these blockades will be too much for us to handle and we will for the most part fail at life, but many see our individualism and resourcefulness that have been built up through our childhoods as our saviors. We will soon discover who is right and who is wrong."

Being 23 I represent the tail end of the gen x'ers. I read the article this weekend and was appalled at the general peg-holing that the writers of the articles did to this generation. I felt that it was basically saying that we are money hungry and lazy. Hello!!!! Most nurses aren't in the business for the money. I feel that job responsibility has nothing to do with a generational issue, it is about personal job integrity. I work extra hours, I help out those who need the help among my coworkers. I am a member of the ANA. Believe me that I am writing to the editor. "we want all the needed young blood but insult them for having different ideals. " Yes, I believe that the Baby boomers are tired. This is a completely different nursing time than that of when B/b started the profession. And what I want to know is which one of the authors reprensented the "fourty and under "group, because neither looked the part

"We have those things here (including 5 weeks vacation) because we boomers did not go hopping from one job to another looking for the one employer that would offer it to us. We stayed & made the employer we had provide it." JT

Look at it from my perspective. I am at a stage in my life where I am a mercenary of sorts. My husband was military, then went to school for his BA, now is getting his Master's. Consequently, in the past 5 1/2 years, we have moved considerable distances 4 times. I don't have the time or energy to improve the hospital. I search for the best work situation in whatever city my husband plops me down in, and go from there. Next year we move yet again, and hopefully for the last time. Then, I will again seek out the best hospital in the area. Being per diem, as I hope to be, I'm not sure how much time or energy I wish to devote to improving a bad situation, when there are better situations to be found. We are in a nursing shortage, and by the laws of supply and demand, I have a small advantage there. (However, in another thread, a wise nurse pointed out there is no shortage of good nurses searching for good jobs. I'll keep that in mind.)

"If their intent was to divide nursing even further then I guess the authors did a wonderful job of making each side feel they were being blamed by the other when in essence, there actually is no division; we are all nurses and want the same thing...fair and equal compensation." nurs4kids

AMEN to that.

I think it is a loss to my generation that the boomers will be retiring in the next 10-15 years. With them goes experience and knowledge you don't get from textbooks.

Not every young person is lazy, or greedy, or self-centered. We are simply at a different stage in life, and we grew up in a different world.

If we can take this article (as insulting as it is to all ages, and as much as it ignores managements responsibility for the situation) and examine where different people are coming from, we might learn something.

(And yes, JT, I promise when we finally settle that I will find a good employer, become more aware of and active in the state and national nursing forums, and not be a doormat. I will strive to keep improving the nursing situation. Promise. Swear. For now, I am thinking about the situation and mulling things over in my mind. It's a start. )

When I think about the boomers VS the -x-ers, quite often the things that I see are the same for both age groups.

There are some that call in sick once a month, young & old. There are some that come in 20-30 minutes late, young & old.
There are some that B****h about everything, young & old.
There are some that join committees, young & old.
There are some that are very organized, get their work done & get out on time , young & old.
There are some that drag out their day to last an extra 2 hours (for OT), young & old.
There are some that spend time talking to & teaching their patients, young & old.
There are some that sit around talking to each other for hours, young & old.
There are some that responsibly look up meds that they don't recognize, young & old.
There are some that are cocky, think that they know it all, young & old. There are some that ask questions because they want to learn, young & old.
I think you get my drift. And if you REALLY think about the people that you work with, you will see alot of what I said in BOTH age groups. I am a BOOMER (Class of '73) and I am honored and proud to work with so many gifted X-ERS.

As far as job hopping, the literature still shows as it did nearly 30 years ago that it is not uncommon for new grads to change jobes every year or 2 for 5 or 6 years until they find what they are looking for. Lots of nurses have done it and they will continue to do it.
And as far as OT goes, most people do it for the almighty $$$, although occaisionally a good guilt trip can get people to say "oohhh allllll riiightttttt" and come in extra.
I love the place that I work for (>24 years), however, as I do have a personal retirement plan, I am open for ideas and opportunities.

Remember that each group has their good and not so good aspects but that is the way of the world.
Good luck to you all
Kat