Millennial Nurses Have Issues

[Nurse Yoni]

Millennial nurses have the following problems that might be true

There have been so many complaints across the globe about millennial nurses and their attitudes towards their jobs. Millennials are individuals who were born between 1981 and 1996-which means they are between ages, 23 to 38, in 2019. 1982 In this write-up, I will talk about some of these concerns and give you my take.

Millennial nurses are lazy

Millennial nurses (MN) are not so happy when the older generation of nurses’ label them as lazy, and always on their phones at work. Could this be further from the truth? We now live in a world of technology where people spend more time on their phones than with the people that matter in their lives. The average individual spends about 30-6 hours a day on their phone every day. The older generation nurses report that MNs love to sit at the desk and only see their patients during medication administration. Such nurses have been dubbed “Desktop Nurses.” We’re all aware that a lot of people spend more time on their phones, but there have not been any findings that show a decline in productivity of MNs in clinical areas. While I do not advocate that nurses use their phones on the unit, I do think that millennials are getting a bad rep for having been born in a generation that is highly influenced by technology.

MNs are always looking for new jobs and they’re not interested in growing in their careers.

True or false? MNs are the most adventurous in the workplace. They are always looking for more. They don’t seem to be satisfied with what they have. According to a 2017 survey on MNs, more than 36% MNs stated their intentions to move into leadership roles. Maybe the scarcity of MNs in leadership positions might be because these positions have already been occupied by baby boomers or their employers are not encouraging them to take on leadership responsibilities. MNs should be given the chance to grow in their careers. They should be given the green light that there are possibilities for growth in their respective settings. This, to me, would increase the retention rates of MNs, especially in clinical nursing.

Most millennials are not interested in furthering their careers; they might be switching careers any time soon.

MNs do not seem to be focused on getting more education. A lot of them just want to get into careers that would allow them to travel places and do less work. They are not interested in pursuing a master’s degree or even a doctorate or Phd. A 2017 survey of nurses showed that 39% of millennials stated that they intend to go for a Master of Science in Nursing degree and 11% stated that they might pursue a PhD in nursing. Baby boomers are less likely to switch careers, unlike millennials. The advent of technology has opened so many opportunities and career options for everyone. MNs are just responding to the current world we live in-a place of greater opportunities for everyone.

Resource

https://www.amnhealthcare.com/uploadedFiles/MainSite/Content/Campaigns/Millennial-Nurse-Survey-2017.pdf

[ArmyRntoMD, BSN, RN]

Eh nurses are the only ones who work hard? I’m friends with many doctors, and some of them get TWO days a month off.

[Brian H]

What’s the incentive in pursing a doctoral program? Maybe a MSN... Yes, I’m a millennial and I have too much in student loans and to not be adequately financially compensated for any additional degrees that I obtain makes it not worth it. I currently have a BSN, and I’m in a FNP program and still hoping I’ll make more money to be able to pay off these loans. Yes, it’s not all about the money. I know, but my whole generation is screwed due to our previous generation. We got bills people! College cost what $50-100/semester in their time. Would love to show you my bill this past semester. Let’s face it, employers aren’t paying enough and nurses have the cards to just leave when they want to due to poor administration.

[ArmyRntoMD, BSN, RN]

Another fact- most nurses today aren’t satisfied doing bedside nursing for life. Millennials tend to be more ambitious. We realize we can achieve more- I haven’t spoken to a single icu coworker who doesn’t plan on doing NP or CRNA.

The problem ends up being- you don’t need nearly as many CRNAs or NPs as you need staff nurses so it will end up being an employers market. When my buddy got his NP he had a TIME finding an NP job, and had to settle for one that was “okay”. Not so with RN. I’ve quit one job and had another within a week.

[guest974915]

1 hour ago, stablesystole said:

Millennial nurses are lazy? Yes. Yes we are. And I proudly include myself in this category. Hospitals are run by lazy, unethical sleazebags who cut us to the bone and always expect us to do more with less, and then pat themselves on the back every time they squeeze another penny out of the budget at the expense of our health and happiness. We nurses, and nobody else, are constantly expected to be endlessly self sacrificing and altruistic in a way that nobody else in our organizations are. *** that noise. I will show the same level of dedication and work ethic as the management (and don't give them the undue credit of calling them leadership).

Millennial nurses job shop and the like? Hell yeah we do. Career advancement is a thing of the past if you're a good nurse (can't have someone in a leadership position who might do the right thing and spend extra dollars). Raises that keep up with inflation plus CPI are long gone. Vacation time is a pathetic joke if you are clinical staff. Your reward for hard work is even more hard work. Yesterday's above and beyond becomes tomorrow's 2/5 unsatisfactory evaluation. What's worse is that all of this is being perpetrated by a generation of management who had it so much better and have consciously altered the way of things into a system they know they'd never want to work in themselves.

Millennial nurses have a lot of problems. They're called boomer managers, and we won't miss them when they're retired or dead.

I'm a Gen X (33 years in healthcare and almost 28 as an RN) but have never agreed more with a Millenial nurse-spot on! In my tenure as a nurse, every year it seems, hospital benefits are cut just a little more (increased insurance copays/deductibles, lowered cafeteria discount, call and call back pay...) and wages fail to keep pace with the cost of living. All the while, CEOs and senior management entitle themselves to very comfortable salaries, benefits, perks, and golden parachutes. I think we as nurses have every right to job hop and have little loyalty to anyone other than our patients, peers, and ourselves.

[ArmyRntoMD, BSN, RN]

We had a CEO that stole like 850,000 from our hospital.

[GrumpyRN, NP]

4 hours ago, stablesystole said:

Millennial nurses have a lot of problems. They're called boomer managers, and we won't miss them when they're retired or dead.

Whoa... That's a bit nasty, and a merry christmas to you too.

[MariposaOak]

“The generation younger than mine is the WORST one yet!”

- Anyone Who Ever Lived (date unknown)

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

On 12/24/2019 at 8:32 PM, GrumpyRN said:

Whoa... That's a bit nasty, and a merry christmas to you too.

Yeah, talk about painting with a broad brush...

[Nurselexii]

On 11/18/2019 at 9:53 PM, ThePrincessBride said:

Eh....it is much more complicated than that. The world has changed and my generation knows that we cannot play by the same rules as our parents if we want to succeed. We cannot stay at the same employer and expect to get decent raises, promotions or be treated well. We cannot drop out of school and work at a factory and expect to make enough to support a family. We cannot not save for retirement and expect a pension or social security to take care of us.

We also seem to have different values from our parents. Millennials, as a generation, are not loyal to companies. We typically value work-life balance and taking the opportunity to reinvent ourselves and explore. We aren't rushing out and getting married and having kids young and working at the same job in a bubble for 40+ years like our parents. Many of is want to experiment either by job hopping or traveling the world.

As a generation, we are also somewhat more cautious than our parents and a little wary, thanks to 2008 and the recession. So while it may seem like we take risks with our job hopping, we actually oftentimes switch jobs to gain more skills and make more money for stability. We work for ourselves, not "the man."

This is as glorious as when former president Washington announced his plans for a new world . Also millennials are the children of baby-boomers they saw with their own eyes what doesn’t work

On 12/24/2019 at 8:32 PM, GrumpyRN said:

Whoa... That's a bit nasty, and a merry christmas to you too.

 

On 12/24/2019 at 6:15 PM, ArmyRntoMD said:

We had a CEO that stole like 850,000 from our hospital.

That’s like chump change to a ceo

[SmilingBluEyes]

On 11/17/2019 at 4:53 AM, 0.5GPA said:

As a Millennial I feel that most people in my age and younger don’t stay at a job forever because there is no reason too. Largely the idea of a person starting at a company young and then staying there until retirement is very outdated.

that is rare most places as most will walk all over their employees and people know it.

as far as the “OK boomer” meme give that politician about 30 years and she’ll be the one the receiving end Being mocked . Age happens and it only gets fast as you get older. We all age in one direction ?

Well stated, particularly the portion I bolded.

[SmilingBluEyes]

On 12/24/2019 at 12:56 PM, stablesystole said:

Millennial nurses are lazy? Yes. Yes we are. And I proudly include myself in this category. Hospitals are run by lazy, unethical sleazebags who cut us to the bone and always expect us to do more with less, and then pat themselves on the back every time they squeeze another penny out of the budget at the expense of our health and happiness. We nurses, and nobody else, are constantly expected to be endlessly self sacrificing and altruistic in a way that nobody else in our organizations are. *** that noise. I will show the same level of dedication and work ethic as the management (and don't give them the undue credit of calling them leadership).

Millennial nurses job shop and the like? Hell yeah we do. Career advancement is a thing of the past if you're a good nurse (can't have someone in a leadership position who might do the right thing and spend extra dollars). Raises that keep up with inflation plus CPI are long gone. Vacation time is a pathetic joke if you are clinical staff. Your reward for hard work is even more hard work. Yesterday's above and beyond becomes tomorrow's 2/5 unsatisfactory evaluation. What's worse is that all of this is being perpetrated by a generation of management who had it so much better and have consciously altered the way of things into a system they know they'd never want to work in themselves.

Millennial nurses have a lot of problems. They're called boomer managers, and we won't miss them when they're retired or dead.

You had me with you until the last sentence. That was uncalled-for and harsh.

Signed, Forgotten Gen X Nurse

[SmilingBluEyes]

On 12/24/2019 at 10:57 AM, Minn_RN said:

OK boomer!

I see you are the issue whoever wrote this article. You are creating a divide that doesn't need to be created.
We can also say Boomer nurses are a burden to us.
* you don't adapt to technology well burdening us millennial nurses to help you

*you steal all the holidays off leaving us younger nurses to work the holidays

*you steal all the Summer vacations preventing me to have time with my family

*You tend to be stagnant in your practice and resist change stagnating nursing care and positive patient outcomes!!

Glad I am attending graduate school and am out of the bedside ?

Glad you're not talking about me.

None of the above apply to me. I adapt to and love technology myself. I use it to keep in touch with my grandkids, using my phone or Ipad to facetime them. I love playing and doing research on my computer.

Vacations:  I don't steal holidays. I consider my coworkers raising young kids and take my time off in "off time". Two advantages. One the nurses who can, take vacation while their kids are off school. Two, as a mom of grown kids, I get to have the beach, mountains, etc darn near to myself as I vacation in, say, October. 

But remember this:  When it comes to vacations/PTO priority, Seniority  has its priveleges,  especially in a union shop. You (not  you specifically, but the younger generation) will get there; we all had to wait our turn. When starting out, one has to wait their turn for the seniority that has been hard-earned by the older, more experienced nurse. Understand they are not stealing anything  they did not have to give up themselves. Usually Boomer nurses have put in plenty of holidays, summers and weekends working while waiting for their seniority to take over. I know I sure did.

Stagnant? I am always learning; learning is life-long. I read voraciously and enjoy staying current in my specialty.

Good for you going to grad school. It's always great to advance one's education.  Just know, being an NP, CRNA or having an MSN is not the "holy grail". You'll still be dealing with your "entitled" boomers there, too. All the NPs I know, work longer days than I do. They can have it. When my shift is over, I am done and it's forgotten.

There, I fixed all that for  you. ?

 

Signed, Gen-X-almost-Boomer (forgotten generation)