Nurses Under 30 Years Old

[PetiteOpRN]

A friend of mine is a manager who recently went to a management seminar. It was the same old thing until they asked what peoples' biggest problems are. One person said "employees under 30," and everyone in the room agreed. They find this demographic to be needy and entitled (I'm sure this does not apply to everyone, but is a much bigger trend than in past years).

My department recently hired MANY new nurses, and all but one is under 30. They call in when they are hung over, go home early, and they're lazy at work. The only thing I can depend on them to do is get their coffee break. I'm sure these nurses have many fine qualities, and maybe the rest of us are just martyrs (put in the full 46ish hours a week, mop our own ORs, etc), but it's just a whole different attitude. People in other departments note a similar trend. Radiology techs will refuse to go to certain cases because it will interfere with their lunch.

I'm sure I will get a bunch of posts from 20-somethings about how hard they work, and I'm sure there are some out there who really do work their tails off. But managers (and coworkers) are starting to take note of "generation me."

[raebabelvn, LVN]

Honestly, I don't think age is a factor as much as personality, work ethic, character and morals. During LVN school, I was in the minority. The majority of my class was over 40. I noticed that the students that didn't do as well all slacked off, took short cuts, did the bare minimum, ect... And a lot of these types of students, regardless of age, had an "easy" life. Husband/wife/fiance/ect supporting them, easy upbringing, and the like.

I'm 27. Learned at 18 that to make it in this world, you have to have a strong work ethic. In both my nursing and non-nursing jobs, I've brought my A-Game every shift. If I'm hung over, thats my fault and I deal with the consequences. I'm constantly picking up the slack of the over 30 nurses that have become accustomed to short cuts and the bare minimum.

This will always be a problem, and I honestly think the fingers of blame will always be pointed at the younger nurses. Its easy to blame the kids.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

Nursing is full of battle axes

I am certain that this poster is attempting to describe the attitude of some of her less than 30 co-workers and does not indicate her personal attitude or opinion.:uhoh3:

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

Work ethic is taught. Unfortunately, kids should learn these skills through the guidance of their parents and part time after school/summer jobs. Unfortunately, parents and/or summer jobs aren't doing the trick.

My suggestion would be to guide these nurses and bluntly tell them when they are behaving in a way that shows poor ethic.

I remember my first job (movie theater) and having a little too much fun at a party the night before. I was beyond hungover.. and my boss told me, 'you get your butt in here now or you don't have a job'. She handed me some seltzer and put me to work. lol

These kids will never learn a good worth ethic without someone throwing them some seltzer!

[AprilRNurse]

I'm just barely under 30- so my opinion in this might not matter : / but I had kids young and matured fast. I've always been a hard worker.

At my current job- I don't see this as a trend. There are a couple young nurses who do fall into this category...but a few older ones as well so it evens out.

However- at a previous job (I only stayed there 6 months) I DID notice this. The younger nurses were impossible. They didn't like to work and thought they knew everything. They thought they were entitled to whatever assignment they wanted (which of course was whatever they found easiest). It was sad the reputation they gave young nurses.

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

Because of the millenial gen's tendency to me "all about me." We have peer evals during the hiring process (people want to work there because we have most holidays off/weekends off)...

Unsaid rule:

No millenials.

If we do hire them, they're usually Gen X in Millenial age.

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

Work ethic is taught. Unfortunately, kids should learn these skills through the guidance of their parents and part time after school/summer jobs. Unfortunately, parents and/or summer jobs aren't doing the trick.

My suggestion would be to guide these nurses and bluntly tell them when they are behaving in a way that shows poor ethic.

I remember my first job (movie theater) and having a little too much fun at a party the night before. I was beyond hungover.. and my boss told me, 'you get your butt in here now or you don't have a job'. She handed me some seltzer and put me to work. lol

These kids will never learn a good worth ethic without someone throwing them some seltzer!

These "kids" aren't--"kids." They're adults.

It's not my job to be their mommy. Don't work?

You're done--or you never start there to begin with. We're very picky.

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

I'm just barely under 30- so my opinion in this might not matter : / but I had kids young and matured fast. I've always been a hard worker.

At my current job- I don't see this as a trend. There are a couple young nurses who do fall into this category...but a few older ones as well so it evens out.

However- at a previous job (I only stayed there 6 months) I DID notice this. The younger nurses were impossible. They didn't like to work and thought they knew everything. They thought they were entitled to whatever assignment they wanted (which of course was whatever they found easiest). It was sad the reputation they gave young nurses.

Make sure you stand out as the complete OPPOSITE...so you don't get put into that "hair and nails club."

[Tina, RN]

I agree with mjmoon. I think that upbringing has a lot to do with the development of work ethic. The type of parenting one receives growing up is particularly important. "Tough love" is very under-rated. Many, many young adults could seriously benefit from it... Most of the young adults I have seen, that have zero responsibility and zero work ethic, are the ones that had parents who catered to their every whim.

[desert_MP, BSN, RN]

Very good points. When I first read the post I was somewhat offended. I'm a 26 y.o. male. However, after reading the replies I have to agree that I feel many people my age feel entitled. This is the "all about me" generation. If people think these 20 somethings are bad, just wait until the people under 20 grow up...they will be even worse.

I also have to agree that many many people 40+ think they are entitled to something. I cant remember the times I was in clinical and my nurse said something along the lines "I've been doing this for XX years, I think it's time for me to take a break." As was stated, it's all about the personality of the person.

I grew up with what everyone calls a good "work ethic." Having parents who were a poor example I relied on my grandfather for most of my moral lessons. He taught me two very good things: 1.) Always work to be a servant to the people. 2.) Never feel less than anyone in any situation.

Taking those to heart I graduated #1 in high school, joined the military for 6 years and went to war, finished #1 in WLC (Sergeant school), obtained my associates in criminal justice, got married and have two children, joined nursing school and just last week I made the Honor Society for nursing with a 3.66 GPA, accepted a job offer as a nurse circulator (now just need to pass boards), and I'm providing for my family while my wife stays at home with the kiddos.

This is not meant to be a self-righteous pat on the back, but a strong example that you need to do a personal gut-check before you go off and label an age group. Have you ever asked any of these

[canigraduate]

I'm barely over 30 myself and know that this generalization happens every generation. EVERY newer generation is looked at as slack. However, what everybody forgets, is that these people under 30 are UNDER 30. Quite a few of them haven't finished maturing yet, emotionally OR physically. Remember from developmental psychology that the transition from adolescent to adult lasts from mid-teens to late 20s. Some mature sooner than others, some later. Just hang in there, and as you pass 40/50/60, these younger people will pass thirty and start complaining about the same thing.

[PhilaNurs]

Being a nurse

Now, though I see your point that a lot of newer grads and younger nurses DO have these qualities that you've stated, many young nurses are exactly the opposite. Many are hard workers, and because they are new to nursing, aren't burnt out or spiteful. Isn't this a little stereotypical to say, isn't it true that there are these types of nurses in all age categories?? I know for a fact that I work just as hard, or harder than some of the older nurses on my unit. I could even go as far as saying that "us under 30 nurses" run circles around the older nurses, and don't need nearly as many "coffee breaks." But I know that the nurses on my unit, no matter their age, are very hard working and knowledgeable, and I would never call any age group out. Maybe I'm just lucky and work with great nurses of all ages.

So hears food for thought, maybe this is a problem with YOUR individual management teams and leadership on the units. If you've got a bunch of free loaders on your hands, why are they still working for your institution? Why did they get hired in the first place? And why did they make it past the "orientation phase"? There is an evaluation process for a reason.

And if you want to get even deeper into the subject of young adults being lazy and non-hard working, lets take a look at the parents, who taught these "kids" their habits and work ethic. Humans lead by example, they had to have been taught these habits somewhere down the line..

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

These "kids" aren't--"kids." They're adults.

It's not my job to be their mommy. Don't work?

You're done--or you never start there to begin with. We're very picky.

I consider people in the 20s still to be kids in a sense! And honestly, what is wrong with trying to mentor them? They obviously didn't learn at home what is expected in the real world, why not bluntly tell them what is expected in the real world and give them the opportunity to learn? I'm not saying be the 'mommy' and coddle them.. I'm saying let them know what is expected of them, call them out when they are slacking, and push them to raise their ethic.

How else to people learn but through the teaching of others?