Do you see a generational gap in nursing?

[egglady]

I don't know if it is just me, or just where I work, but I am seeing a major generational gap between nurses. The ones in their mid 20's just seem to be lacking a work ethic. I am not an old foggie, I am 43. the newer gals just dont get why they cant have day shift, or every holiday off, or why seniority in a union facility counts. They do not understand that it has taken many of us more than 10 years to get full time, or day shift, and that we all have to work holidays. I spent many Christmas at work instead of with my kids. I havent used sick time in 3 years. some of these new ones call in with the weirdest ailments, just to find out they were hung over!! I am not bashing young nurses, or "eating the young". I am just seeing a lack of work ethic with this generation. My friend who is in business sees the same. Did we as parents screw this generation up some how? Or will they eventually grow up? Again, not bashing anyone, just curious....

[Streamline2010]

reply to original post: Well, I suppose part of it might be the parenting. But more likely, the younger ones have seen how employers have become more adversarial and less appreciative of good and loyal employees, and how raises, pay for performance, and job security have been largely eliminated by overt and covert actions by employers and regulatory and governmental agencies. Additionally, the schools have been moving away from turning out "good obedient factoryworkers" to creating more free-thinking and free-wheeling entrepreneurs who are me-firsters and don't believe that they owe loyalty to any employer because employers are against employees nowadays. I think the attitudes of the younger workforce have been shaped by a multitude of factors and societal and economic changes, not by any one specific thing.

[Streamline2010]

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly disrespectful and impatient of restraint." ~ Hesiod 700 B.C.

...

hahahaha! at 700 B.C. = same gripe as today

[DoGoodThenGo]

Oh let's just blame the whole thing on Dr.Spock!

[Sassyru]

You will find this problem in all work areas. I not sure why, but it's not just nursing. I am 57 and most of time I work circles around younger nurses. I've missed one day in the last 3 years. Please before someone pounds me, not all younger nurses are like that. It just seems it's more prevalent.

[valariemccoy]

I have seen it, too. I am 35 and graduated nursing school at 20. Our work ethic WAS different. The thing is you have all these so-called schools popping up everywhere and pushing out nurses who are not properly trained. You HAD to bust your butt and know your stuff or you would NOT graduate when I went to school.They were about producing quality nurses not about taking anybody's money that will give it to them. We learned work ethics there. These schools that are popping up are not quality schools and you can tell that in the students that come out of them.

[KeithT66]

i just graduated nursing school and i am 44. a second career for me. i agree with you 100%. its not just in nursing though its every where. there was a report on 60 minutes last year or so about the "milleniums" and it was quite interesting. they all have a sense of entitlement that we as 40 somthings did not. i see it all the time. here is a bit of it that certainly shed some light on some of the kids i was hiring

"a new breed of american worker is about to attack everything you hold sacred: from giving orders, to your starched white shirt and tie. they are called, among other things, "millennials." there are about 80 million of them, born between 1980 and 1995, and they're rapidly taking over from the baby boomers who are now pushing 60.

they were raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little leagues with no winners or losers, or all winners. they are laden with trophies just for participating and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the birds. and if you persist in the belief you can, take your job and shove it."

the workplace has become a psychological battlefield and the millennials have the upper hand, because they are tech savvy, with every gadget imaginable almost becoming an extension of their bodies. they multitask, talk, walk, listen and type, and text. and their priorities are simple: they come first.

[knittingknurse]

Wow, I really dislike all the generalizations in this thread. I am 27 and just finishing my first year in the field. My school (BSN) emphasized the mental work of nursing much more than the physical, but I have stepped up to the challenge. I am lucky to work at night with mostly experienced (> 10 years) nurses who are very helpful to me when I have questions. Now that I'm pregnant, they and the CNAs also watch out for me to avoid combative patients and heavy lifting. I run my tail off between patient rooms with the best of them, so it really irked me when two of them started talking about "lazy young nurses," when one of them NEVER finishes her med pass on time and does not help out unless specifically asked. I was so glad the other "young'un" confronted them about it, and I backed her up.

While generational differences do exist, many of them are positive. We can all play off each other and use our mix of skills and experience to create better patent care - and a more interesting work environment.

[VeronicaWileyRN]

I have worked in long term care for a long time. I have had nurses at all ages with attitudes about needing time off, shifts etc. On hire the new nurse needs to have clear guidelines: days she/he will work, shift, weekends and what happens with holidays. These topics must be addressed when discussing to hire that person and if that person is interested in your facilities needs.

I have hired nurses that were in their 50's and on their first day of work tell me about that they have a grandchild and they must be at home by 2:00pm for them to get off the bus. (The shift doesn't end to 3:00pm) I have had to put it back in their court and say, "The shift is 6:45am to 3:15pm. I can't let you leave everyday at 2:00pm. I do have a 2nd shift position. What do you want to do?" That nurse has to do decide what their prioritie are and how they want to schedule their live.

[holisticallyminded]

I've posted on this topic before. You sound like the WWII generation.

I will say that I hope to god I've taught my 20 year old child the importance of work-life balance, looking out for oneself, and standing up for what is important, even if that means standing up to your employer. We are living in a time where everyone can be outsourced and just about every employee can be rapidly replaced by another.

Work ethic? How about making sure that our lives are lived to their fullest (this might mean NO night shift- hell, I won't work it!) instead of slaving away for an employer who will lay you off after years of service?? Sorry. I'll take life. Nursing is a job, after all. I've got my own back. My parents taught me that one. (:

[VeronicaWileyRN]

Unfortunately in long term care, you are right an employee that may have been with the facility for a long time could be terminated, because a new director of nursing doesn't like the way that person looks or make up other reasons to terminate someone. Maybe we need to be seeing more professionalism in our work. I have a sister who prefers to work third shift. She has worked first, but prefers third.

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

There is tis in a nutshell.

On one side you have those who see nursing as a "calling" as it were. A profession rich in traditions and customs that should be upheld and passed on. On the other side there are those who see nursing as a "job", just a means to an end but not something to get worked up into a sweat about.

Not picking sides, nor saying which camp is correct. Will confine my remarks to this: nurses have chosen to remain at bedside/with their patients during times of war, famine, epidemics, and for that they were often raped, beaten, killed, died of disease, and suffered many other types of abuse, both physical and mental. Many of these nurses were girls/women often of the best families and could have easily spent their time safe somewhere else out of harms way.

Martyrdom? Perhaps. They certainly got scant thanks or recognition for their efforts. Working conditions were often horrible, and the pay, well less said about that the better.

Nursing has been convincing itself that it is a Profession™ for a while now, largely by evangelizing its own students about it. Now people like you act surprised when students come out of their degree programs with the attitude that they're joining a profession like any other, rather than the quasi-religious order Florence Nightingale set up.

Speaking as a Millennial second-degree nursing student who'll hit the workforce early next year, though, I have to echo prior posters and say that the OP's original complaint seems to be the stereotypical harping of old people. I chose to do nursing knowing full well that I'd be on the bottom of the totem-pole when I came out. (I expect to rise quickly, but first I'll need to learn all the stuff they don't teach in school while the same time proving to my future coworkers that I'm not stupid and won't kill anybody, same as every other new grad.) I personally don't care about working day shift - I'm a night owl and am all too happy to pass on the "privilege" of getting my butt out of bed at 5am to work mornings.

What a lot of the posters griping about Millennials intentionally overlook in the articles they link to that have been written about my generation is that we're also more altruistic and willing to be involved in the community than prior generations. We're just as giving, if not more so, than our predecessors; we just don't necessarily do that at work, we we've been taught by watching parents, relatives, and our friend's parents get rewarded for their hard work and company loyalty by getting the axe anyway. Despite PR campaigns to the contrary, healthcare institutions are a bunch of faceless corporations like any other and, while I still have my professional duty to my patients, my employer only gets as much loyalty as it earns from me. We as a generation have to be assertive about our needs in the work environment for the simple reason that if we aren't, we're going to get screwed.

Perhaps we're finally seeing the long, slow death of the Puritan work ethic, which is fine by me. It's allowed all sorts of economic stupid to be done in this country over the past 30 years, and hopefully, when we're out of this recession, some of that damage can begin to be reversed.

[26faster]

I'm mid-way through a graduate program at 34. Its a second career for me. There are a lot of hard working people in my class in their mid-20s. However, I've been somewhat shocked the work ethic of some younger people. There seems to be a mentality of expecting to be spoon fed information rather than taking the intiative to learn anything or think on their own. Its almost funny to me how up in arms people get if something is on a exam that wasn't straight from the notes. As well as things like forgetting their presentaion at home, poor writing skills etc. I don't think its their fault necessary if they weren't raised to expect to work hard or were coddled in their earlier schooling. Its certainly not just nursing though. I've noticed it working with dietetic interns as well in my first career. I think its a problem with the education system in general in this country. Its a problem in the larger context of our society but also a bummer for these individuals because the real working world is going to be a rude awakening.