Entitled Generation

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I am a DON in along-term care facility, and I am having a difficult time finding both nurses and CNA's who are willing to work the evening night shift/weekends/holidays etc. The new graduates who apply all want a day job with no weekends or holidays. They think that I am crazy to expect them to work these other shifts. I had one girl even ask the day nurse--(who had worked 10 years on nights, and 6 years on the evening shift before finally getting the day position) why she thought she should have the day job, and not her. She had just passed her boards. When I started in nursing 20+ years ago, it was known that we would be working the night shift, weekends, and holidays, etc. It seems that this is the general rule for the younger generation now entering the health care field, or am I the only one who is experiencing this?

I don't think it's so much a matter of entitlement as it is sheer stupidity. Consider yourself lucky that their total lack of comprehension was exposed in this manner, rather than through an error resulting in harm to a patient.

If the people she is talking about are like some of the nurses I know, they agree to come in on one set of terms but as soon as they get their foot in the door they think they will hoodwink and bully their way to work on their own terms, and this is so despicable I don't think you could show them the door fast enough.

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Specializes in Assisted Living, Med-Surg/CVA specialty.

I am actually somewhat insulted as being lumped in this "Entitled Generation". I am a new grad, got my LPN a year ago and am sitting for NCLEX-RN tomorrow. The ALF I am now has put me on night shift from late December until a few days ago...

I understand they were shortstaffed on that shift (r/t them firing the med tech who was found asleep on that shift and firing a nurse who occassionally worked that shift);however, they never even ASKED me to work that shift as well as didn't honor my request to NOT be on night shift in January as I wanted to take the NCLEX ASAP and working night shift would require me to delay it even more.

Of course, now they have hired additional staff for Day and Evening shift (which is what I was originally hired for), which is now pretty much fully staffed.. and Feb. schedule is not up yet... so I expect to be placed on night shift again (in which, as a nurse I do absolutely nothing until about 5am when I either get residents washed/dressed in the morning and/or start the morning med pass)... To me that seems that I was basically pushed out of shifts I was working when I was hired... Or I will just be fired for some reason or another (the ALF I work at has seemed to have no qualms about firing people for personal reasons and then lying to Unemployment causing the fired people not to be able to get assistance).

I am not saying I am REFUSING to work these shifts or anything of that nature. But I am the ONLY nurse there that doesn't work a standard 7-3 shift (those that do that shift are in the "office" and do all the paperwork and such, rarely pass meds/patient care). All other shifts are done by CNAs and Med Techs. Then, I come on as an LPN (and maybe RN hopefully if I pass my NCLEX tomorrow!!) and sit there to do nothing. There is no paperwork for me to do (that I am aware of) and its ALF so normally the pts need nothing until they wake up in the AM.

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It will be very interesting to see what nursing will become in another 20 years or so, when "older" nurses will retire and "entitled" generation will take their place. Hospitals will really have to work hard to retain people who won't put up with many things that baby-boomers are putting up without questions.

It will be very interesting. It may bring about changes that finally will give power and respect to nursing, which is long overdue, and compensation that will make people work undesirable shifts without complaining.

To me right now, 1 more dollar an hour is not worth working weekends. My family time worth much more, however employers want to look at it.

Great thread though, enjoyed reading it.

I agree and it makes me sad to hear other nurses (and I'm guilty of this somewhat) complaining about hours and working conditions, but then refusing to take the bull by the horns and make a change. I mean, in this profession you can walk out the door and find another job in about 5 seconds, and often you will be making more then you did before. From my experience, asking for what you want and then being completely prepared to hit the pavement if you don't get it really works!!

I'm not saying that loyalty to a facility and a good work ethic are not important, but as a group I think we have power that for some reason we refuse to use!!

BTW- sorry to the OP, I know this post is off topic and I do understand that the nurses you wrote about KNEW they were being hired for nights and it wasn't fair for them to waste your facility's time and money. They should have been upfront about their expectations from the start.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
There is a nursing shortage so new grads are asking for what they want. Nothing wrong with that, it doesn't mean they are feeling "entitled", it's just that they are not afraid to ask and find what they want. This is what the geneartion prior has taught them.

Our manager is pretty up front with the new grads when they are hired: you will work every other weekend, holidays, and I have no day shifts available, end of discussion. So she doesn't tend to attrack those who can't fulfill those requirements. Although sometimes with the right timing, and no one from nights waiting to come to days, I've seen a new grad walk into a day shift position. It was just the luck of the draw and if they hadn't asked for a day shift position thinking, "I have to do my duty on nights first" they wouldn't have gotten it.

Good luck in finding someone.

It's interesting to watch the generation dynamics in the workforce. The babyboom generation is so fond of saying "when I was young.........." and they forget that when they were young their parents generation thought we were the laziest generation, that didn't want to work and we were spoiled brats. :)

Ha ha, how true! Us baby boomers were pretty busy in our younger days in mocking the older generation and their wicked ways. Wasn't the slogan "Turn on, tune in, drop out" (Timothy Leary)?

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If the people she is talking about are like some of the nurses I know, they agree to come in on one set of terms but as soon as they get their foot in the door they think they will hoodwink and bully their way to work on their own terms, and this is so despicable I don't think you could show them the door fast enough.

We hired a pharmacist like this a couple years ago. Once she realized she couldn't manipulate the whole department to kowtow to her outrageous demands, she quit; this took less than a month.

She was a mother of two young children and acted like she was the only person on earth who did, and wanted us to change all our policies and scheduling to accommodate her. I realized she was trouble when I was at lunch with her, and she told me that she gave birth to both kids while in school (she was switching careers and her husband was a classmate who was somewhat younger) and never studied but still pulled down a 4.0.

She also talked about her kids like they were special needs children; they were both on ADD meds and had been since they were toddlers. Yes, she was the type who took them from doctor to doctor until she found someone who would write the prescriptions, no questions asked. Not the first PHARMACIST I've encountered who did this, which makes things so much harder for people who really do have ADD. :angryfire

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The new graduates who apply all want a day job with no weekends or holidays. They think that I am crazy to expect them to work these other shifts.

Sure it's a headache for you, but I love 'em all, grumblers, call-ins, quitters! Were it not for them, I'd be stuck at 36 hours instead of regularly hitting my 60-hour weekly goal. Saaaaaaaaaaaalute!

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The whole "entitlement generation" thing really bugs me. I know there are those out there who believe that they are "entitled" to anything they want, but those people forget that when they get what they want someone else has to give up something.

It's most commonly seen here in Michigan with the auto industry. People have been expecting (and getting) huge salaries, full pensions, and medical coverage with little to no co-pays for so long that everyone thinks they can graduate H.S. and work for "the Big 3" and be set for life. Yeah, that's working out real well. Those days are over.

Maybe being a little older has given me some perspective, but when I graduate nursing school I know the only things I'm "entitled" to are 1) to work my butt off, 2) to work where/when I'm needed and not where/when I want, and 3) to get all kinds of little duties that none of the more senior nurses want to do anymore.

Read something funny the other day:

Applicant: "I want a $75,000 salary and full benefits"

Interviewer: "How about a six figure income, no medical co-pays, and a company car...say a red corvette convertible?"

Applicant: "You're joking!?!"

Interviewer: "Yeah, but you started it."

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Aren't there enough people who actually WANT to do nights, holidays, weekends, ect? From some of the posts on this board that seems to be the case, for both new grads and experienced nurses. One year at my facility the DON got so wrapped up in "everyone has to take their turn", that many who wanted to work a specific holday were told no, and others who didn't want to work were made to because they hadn't worked the previous year.

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Yes, I definitely see the evidence of a sense of entitlement in my peers (i'm almost 30) and in the generation coming up behind me. I think there's something about being raised in a protected environment, never wanting for anything (including the latest fashion accessory) and not associating real work with getting the things one wants that develops a certain "psychology". My parents raised 3 kids on a single, very modest income (dad was clergy). Not giving me what I wanted was their best gift to me (My needs, physical and educational, were always met).

As I look forward to Nursing, I know I'll work nights and in fact, the shift work is one of the reasons I look forward to my new career. There's something about not working when everyone else is!! ;)

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Specializes in CMSRN.

I am a new grad but not the younger generation. I knew I wanted nights and I knew I wanted holidays. Money was the issue and my kids.

But I would never begrudge someone who wants what they want.

I know 3 others who I graduated with and 2 are in their late forties and one in their fifties. None of them wanted nights and 2 of them want days only. They accept the every other weekend requirement but with much dismay.

Some people felt they acted entitled because of their age. I say they wanted what they wanted and got it. They interviewed well. (they all had previous degree careers)

If they changed their attitude after hiring then I could see the fustration but I do not think it is an entitled thing. It is just a "pain in the but" person who will do this at any job they are hired at.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Tele, PH, CM.

When I graduated and went into acute care, I expected to be working rotating shifts and holidays - comes with the territory. I preferred evenings, so was not much of a problem for me. When I got tired of fighting over my schedule and holidays, I left the hospital. I think that may be what new grads expect, to go into a job that suits their scheduling needs. I thnk another poster was right, no one is telling these students that there may be sacrifices. I can still remember the new grad that I was precepting who told me " I did not spend 4 years in nursing school to do all this charting" when I asked her to review and augment her charting. Silly girl.........

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Specializes in LTC, Medical, Rehab, Psych.

So I'll be 35 this year (guess that makes me a gen X'er) and looking down the barrel of my second career (1st career also as a care provider). Perhaps this is my generation talking, but we're speaking about a job here. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with someone taking the nursing job that works for them.

As far as entitlement is concerned, we're living in a world where paying one's dues is next to worthless (thank god nursing jobs can't be outsourced!). I'm not going to reap end-of-life rewards for ruining my body and foregoing a sane and balanced life. Work shouldn't and doesn't have to be #1 in order to do a damned competent job.

Look, we're all entitled to some work-life balance. And honestly, I'm not sure that this exists unless the life portion wins out most of the time.

No one has the right to say that an individual does not or would not make a good nurse simply because he/she doesn't want to work a particular shift. My god, it's ridiculous that this arguement is even being had when there is always someone suited to work these shifts. Employers need to offer better incentives before complaining about lack of "engagment" about the job. $1 differential? That's not an incentive; that's robbery. This is my life. Why nurse = martyr?

I say NO to preposterous working conditions because I'm not a droid. And until they can outsource me- I'm going to work on MY terms. You all should. Advocate not only for your patients but for yourselves. You shouldn't have to wait until you're in that nursing home bed to be taken care of.............

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