Generation gap and attitudes towards work - hurting patients?

[pebbles]

I keep reading articles about the newer generation of workers, and how they just have a different attitude towards work. Well, I'm getting frustrated and disappointed by some of what I see in my workplace.

I know it's not all young people, and I'm pretty young myself.

But I'm seeing a decline in patient care and lack of interest in nursing excellence by the newer staff where I work.

Socializing with each other seems to be taking precedence over patient care. Goofing off and playing practical jokes is seen as okay. Those who disagree or try to point out when behaviour at work crosses the line of appropriate get rolled eyes, and they act like we are nagging or picking on them.

This past weekend, patients didn't get turned properly, and when we came on for nights, we found a patient who had been admitted seven hours previously still in the dirty sheets from the ED stretcher, with alcohol swabs and an empty muko lubricant packet stuck to his skin. The day shift staff had been playing jokes on each other, squirting with syringes. One of the nurses put muko lubricant on the phone receiver in the Stepdown unit for a joke, and one of the patients family members got a phone call, and was slimed. This was a family member of someone who was a seriously injured trauma patient. I was embarrassed, to be honest. Our patients deserve better.

I told the manager, and she'll talk to the nurses who were on duty at the time. But these are just examples of the behaviour I'm seeing every day at work. A trend to care more about break time and hanging out with co-workers than knuckling down and doing the work. Does anyone else see this happening?

I feel some of our staff really don't understand the concept of professionalism, and that you have to act differently at work than you do when you are out with your friends. Maybe part of it is that their friends essentially ARE their co-workers, so work is just another place they see their friends. But still, how do you explain to people where the line is or even teach that concept if it is new to them without sounding like an old hag?

[Krystal_loves_babies]

Wow! I had no idea that things like this went on in the hospitals and at nursing schools. :uhoh21: I am a pre-nursing student at a private Christian college, so maybe I'm sheltered from this sort of behavior, but it makes me upset to hear that things like this go on. I know that this behavior would definitely not be tolerated at the university I attend. I hope that other institutions get their acts together, this is a serious problem. I am in disbelief! It amazes me the things people do for fun, or try to get away with. I know that I am young myself and I like to have fun, but I hold the belief that practical jokes should not be in the professional setting. Just my two cents, sorry for venting.

[leslie :-D]

you know, i've been on several interviews over the past few weeks.

in every single interview, the interviewer made reference to my 'maturity' (boy, i shut my mouth on that one ) and how the younger nurses just don't take pride in their profession as the older ones do.

now of course i shouldn't have commented but chose to be politically incorrect and mentioned that i've seen quite a few burn-outs that were due for retirement and many young nurses that tried to do more than their fair share.

but i also added that i thought the nsg shortage was such, that they'll recruit anyone these days.

and then i spoke for myself, professing to aspire to the highest standards of care.

it just struck me that around 6 interviewers ALL had the same perspective re: young nurses.

and i personally feel it works both ways, and one should not make such a blanket statement. i've worked w/many a nurse,my age, that shamed the nsg profession.

and it's unfortunate that there are many nurses who still stereotype the young nurses coming on board.

leslie

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I agree. There's good and bad everywhere; it doesn't matter what the age. Although I do think that we Baby Boomers are the original Peter Pan generation---first we refused to grow up, and now we're refusing to grow old---the under-35 crowd as a group has enjoyed the most protracted adolescence in history. (If you don't believe that, then can you please explain to me the popularity among this age group of Adam Sandler movies, skateboarding, going out in your PJs and living with your parents??) They tend to be much more casual about language and manners, not that we taught them very well ourselves :chuckle And most of the stuff they call music is just plain horrible.....all that rage, all the screaming and cursing.....and OUR parents thought our protest music was the end of the world.

Speaking of cursing, they also don't get why we older folks have a bit of a problem with the "F-word"......they throw it around like just any other slang term, while awful memories of the mouthful of soap WE got for saying it when the soup can rolled off the shelf and landed smack on our big toe, dance in our heads. (Sorry, but I STILL save that one for the end of the argument........ :uhoh21: )

Other than those little differences, I don't think there's anything really new under the sun; attitudes may be more lax, but I've seen 20-somethings work 12-hour days, six days a week (my oldest daughter and SIL come to mind) and like Leslie said, a lot of people our age are just marking time until they can get off the hamster wheel.

I don't think it's fair to state that young people in general don't have a work ethic, any more than it is to say all old people are senile or all rich people are greedy. I do think it's better for us to stop criticizing each other and recognize one another for the contributions we do make to our workplaces and the world. :)

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

What if you're young, senile, and suffering from CRS?

[leslie :-D]

What if you're young, senile, and suffering from CRS?

CRS?????

well if you're young and senile, i say come on board!!! :chuckle

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Can't Remember S*** lol

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

I agree. There's good and bad everywhere; it doesn't matter what the age. Although I do think that we Baby Boomers are the original Peter Pan generation---first we refused to grow up, and now we're refusing to grow old---the under-35 crowd as a group has enjoyed the most protracted adolescence in history. (If you don't believe that, then can you please explain to me the popularity among this age group of Adam Sandler movies, skateboarding, going out in your PJs and living with your parents??) They tend to be much more casual about language and manners, not that we taught them very well ourselves :chuckle And most of the stuff they call music is just plain horrible.....all that rage, all the screaming and cursing.....and OUR parents thought our protest music was the end of the world.

Speaking of cursing, they also don't get why we older folks have a bit of a problem with the "F-word"......they throw it around like just any other slang term, while awful memories of the mouthful of soap WE got for saying it when the soup can rolled off the shelf and landed smack on our big toe, dance in our heads. (Sorry, but I STILL save that one for the end of the argument........ :uhoh21: )

Other than those little differences, I don't think there's anything really new under the sun; attitudes may be more lax, but I've seen 20-somethings work 12-hour days, six days a week (my oldest daughter and SIL come to mind) and like Leslie said, a lot of people our age are just marking time until they can get off the hamster wheel.

I don't think it's fair to state that young people in general don't have a work ethic, any more than it is to say all old people are senile or all rich people are greedy. I do think it's better for us to stop criticizing each other and recognize one another for the contributions we do make to our workplaces and the world. :)

Marla - I think you hit the nail on the head.

I'd also like to add that it depends on where a kid grows up and what influences he or she had.

My kids worked on ranches, getting up before dawn to start sprinkler pipe or plow a field or repair fence or innoculate cattle. Hard physical labor.

City kids could have parents who also believed in teaching a work ethic, giving regular chores, etc.

Maybe those kinds of kids are in the minority, I don't know. I do know that using profanity has become commonplace . . except with my kids in my hearing. Especially the "F" word. Now, I know that other things go on behind my back . .but for the most part they don't use the "F" word as the adjective, noun and adverb of every sentence.

The one thing I DO notice about generation studies regarding nurses is that younger nurses are less willing to stick around in the kinds of jobs where they will be taken advantage of, where they have to choose job over family. I have read many articles about that. And even though I'm a Boomer . . I was a stay at home mom for most of my older kid's lives and when I became a nurse, for awhile I worked full time and more, always saying yes to calls from the hospital, burning myself out . . then along came Danny . . . :)

I work part-time now. I won't sacrifice time with my family for my job. I'll go in to help if I can but as I've mentioned many times, I AM NOT THE ANSWER TO THEIR STAFFING PROBLEM.

And I notice some "older" nurses do resent my attitude.

steph

[mysticalwaters1]

Jeeze I'm 23 and all our coworkers laugh together but never putting lubricant on phones and stuff like that. I really resent being classed as a "young nurse" with poor work ethic. If anything the charge nurse gives me the difficult patients with persistant family members because i do my work look out for the patient and am very corteous.

From what I see it's ANY age. I know that in my nursing program a lot of the slackers had to drop out because they couldn't handle the work load or failed classes. I know I didn't "breeze" through my courses. Maybe others are different.

I've seen my one coworker who I adore as a friend but she uses her darn cell phone so much on the floor even one time answered it while she was in a patient's room. She's been reported but still does it. It's so bad that an md said he allways sees her on it. And that nurse is in her 40s. I've also seen older nurses who neglect patients and let things go such as reporting certain tests.

What I've learn overall and maybe why nurses attack one another and "eat their young" that flips me out is not so much the age of nurses but that some people get nursing and some don't. You don't learn everything in school and learn through experience but some nurses ALL ages stuff is allways missing or never addressed such as not realizing one needs to call the md to get a daily coumadin order, or realizing you should check the chart several if not more pages back to make sure orders are not missed or not mixed with the previous day (my hospital is still paper chart). I'm talking more double checking things here that I was never exactly explained but figured through common sense. I learned right off the bat during my internship to check orders when a pt's back from a test if there are new orders and one nurse missed and entire page of vs to be done q15 min then hour ect NEVER done.

At first I thought maybe not the age but how nurses are taught these days but no it's even older nurses from previous teaching schools so I really feel it's the type of person you are and your own attitude toward nursing and your work ethic. I know where i work several of the young nurses in early twenties are very competent and allways looking out fot he patients. It all depends on the individual.

[mysticalwaters1]

The one thing I DO notice about generation studies regarding nurses is that younger nurses are less willing to stick around in the kinds of jobs where they will be taken advantage of, where they have to choose job over family. I have read many articles about that. And even though I'm a Boomer . . I was a stay at home mom for most of my older kid's lives and when I became a nurse, for awhile I worked full time and more, always saying yes to calls from the hospital, burning myself out . . then along came Danny . . . :)

I work part-time now. I won't sacrifice time with my family for my job. I'll go in to help if I can but as I've mentioned many times, I AM NOT THE ANSWER TO THEIR STAFFING PROBLEM.

And I notice some "older" nurses do resent my attitude.

steph

I find I am the same way. I still live at home but I have enough work to do as scheduled and rarely but I do help out every now and then and almost everytime I get screwed with it which makes me not do it again for a LONG time. I work very hard at my job and through my schooling and I am not going to burn myself out. And that is EXACTLY what I say too that I can't help their lack of staffing problem. And YES! Some of the older not that younger wouldn't but the people that want overtime or feel obligated to help the unit out resent me for it. I know for a long time the older nurses would not take their vaction. WHY NOT! It's there!!! I try to take off almost a week off every 3 months and it's not that i do not want to work period it's because of the nature of working med surg I have to use it to keep my sanity. Sometimes I feel that's not enough. ONe time a nurse went out on medical leave during my week off and another nurse got annoyed because she was helping out then found out I was on vacation that i had approved 5 months in advance for an obligation in a college band i perform in. My hospital is very short staff right now and what stinks is we have just enough staff on the floor but because our telemetry floor is extremely short everyone gets pulled there and that's another unethical issue (untrailened telemetry going to such a floor) but we are not responsilbe for staffing and should not bend over backwards to do so.

[Sadie04]

Steph and Marla, your posts reminded me of this list of "rules" I recently received in an email:

To anyone with kids of any age, here's some

advice.

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did

not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world. Love him or hate him, he sure hit the nail on the head with this!

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem.

The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity.

Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping - they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS

NOT. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you

as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the

slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Steph and Marla, your posts reminded me of this list of "rules" I recently received in an email:

To anyone with kids of any age, here's some

advice.

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did

not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world. Love him or hate him, he sure hit the nail on the head with this!

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem.

The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity.

Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping - they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS

NOT. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you

as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the

slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Hear, hear! :yelclap: :yeahthat:

Beautiful.......just beautiful. Especially #7, which is what I've been telling teenagers for the past 10 years! :chuckle

[mysticalwaters1]

Steph and Marla, your posts reminded me of this list of "rules" I recently received in an email:

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

That's funny because I know full well of course that's true but for darn it all 16 years that's been my life all in semesters! After completing college 2 years ago I still associate the time of the year as fall semester, spring and summer vaccation even though I'm not! I guess it will get me in the mindset when I have my kids!