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."
What really bothers me is that a lot (not all) younger nurses text at really inappropriate times. I especially hate the texting during report. I just want to break those darn phones.
They can require experience, yes. However, that doesn't give them a pass on other discriminatory hiring practices, which Linearthinker, freely and without solicitation, stated they practice.
Your math is suspect too, BTW, unless they graduated when they were 8-9 years old.
Frankly, I wish there were more folks who would be happy to come on an open forum and admit to illegal discriminatory hiring practices. It could lead to a cottage industry
How do you figure? Grad highschool at 18 in 1995 means college in 99. Add the 10 years experience we like to get, and here we are, looking primarily at candidates likely born in the late 70s, making them over 30.
I would bet a hundred bucks that "HR" has very little to do with whether your hospital "wants" BSN staff... It's probably more likely that your nursing leadership has set that standard. HR recruits and hires for what Nursing says they need. If a BSN degree is required for your educator, preceptor, and leadership positions, HR might suggest your nursing managers choose more candidates with BSNs than not, but that's just smart planning for future needs, so the workforce is promotable. Just sayin'.
Oh, yes, I am certain the directive comes from administration. I don't think our VP of nursing buys into it, but the parent company has been touting that line for a few years. Just that HR are the gatekeepers. Basically, if the committee wanted to hire a ADN nurse, we'd have to prove we could not find a suitable BSN candidate. It's a PITA, none of us is willing to go a few rounds in our off time with the bureaucrats over it, so we just don't look at ADNs, no matter how old they are.
I was just rambling about how our committee sorts through apps. The BSN issues is really immaterial.
The cost of training a new grad more than offsets the difference in pay. You are also not factoring in the retention of new grads once their many thousands of dollars costing orientation is done. I'm gonna guess older nurses hang around the same place longer than those under 25. If an employer has already decided to illegally discriminate and there is still far more demand than supply of nurse jobs they can hire all nurses 30 and up. You're also assuming new grads are all in their twenties on their first career.
I'm guessing the same thing. Seems about once a week or so you see a thread here from a new grad who wants advice on whether he/she should take a new position after being only few weeks or months in the current one. Then there are the ones who plan to be pregnant and will need to take a leave of absence when they are barely out of orientation, or even before they have completed it. Yes, they have the right to do it, but they shouldn't then wonder why employers want employees with a little more commitment under their belts.
I think you are all making too much of it. We try to hire people we like. I think that's pretty much the norm.
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Sorry, but I think you are wrong, and your hospital is wrong in their practices. I 100% agree in hiring people with the best experience, but in your posts you admit that AGE is a factor. That applications get tossed if they are not a certain age. What a shame.
Why would one assume that only people your age will fit in? Would you be surprised when I tell you I am 24 and I typically do not get along with people my age, for the precise reasons the OP has described? So I am screwed and stuck with people my age because older people do not want to work with a 24 year old because they automatically assume I am immature? You know who I hang out with at school?.... People who are typically 10 years or more older than me. And at work? The same. Some of my best friends at places I have worked at were in their 40's. If you saw my FB page you'd see that 95% of my friends are over 30. But because of my DOB, I'm automatically judged. What a shame. I'm not even given the chance to prove you wrong.
unfortunately, my icu hires new grads and seems to be a feeder unit for anesthesia school. most of the new grads we hire aren't interested in being icu nurses -- they just want the icu experience for their anesthesia school applications. and yes, it affects their work ethic. they aren't invested in the unit and don't seem to give a rip about their jobs, their colleagues or even their patients. excessive call-outs and poor work ethic has been a major problem in this group of nurses. interestingly enough, they all claim to be hard workers and good nurses.
currently we have several 20-somethings on administrative leaves for no call/no shows, calling in sick 10 minutes before the shift starts, posting inappropriate pictures from the workplace on facebook or coming to work under the influence. we also have an older nurse on fmla because his 20-something daughter's risky behavior resulted in a near-fatal accident.
i am not, in any way, interested in becoming a crna. i think it's a shame that people are doing this. i would love to work in an icu or critical care. but i am not surprised, sadly. i am also not surprised when people call out because they want to party. another shame. they are making such a bad name for people my age. what happened to planning parties and such when you didn't have to work? i don't get it. i don't even "party" anyway. i have dinner parties, which it seems that no one else my age does, but whatever. personally, i have no desire to get trashed beyond belief waking up wondering what photos of myself are all over the internet. i care about the image i present.
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."
Let me just say first, that unlike some other people, I'm not offended by your post and I am 24. I have a very hard time being friends with people my age because of some of the reasons you cite. I have few close friends my age. I tend to befriend people who are the same age as my mother or a little younger. I have always been told that I act very mature for my age. When I was 18 though, that was NOT the case. But events that happened in my life over the past 4 years have caused me to grow up, fast. I find myself annoyed with the attitude that some people my age have.
Now, yes, there are plenty who don't fit this mold. And for those people, why are you getting offended? If it doesn't apply to you, then why do you choose to take offense? I don't understand that. Someone getting on here saying my generation is all about me doesn't offend me because in my heart I know I am one of the least selfish people you will ever meet.
I wanted to comment on the item in bold. I find this very disheartening. It seems to say that managers and coworkers are making assumptions about my generation. That they will automatically assume I am this way as well, and I find that sad. I shouldn't have to prove to people that I am not that way at all, and I feel it's even more sad that this may hurt my chances of getting an interview, especially if units make assumptions that people of a certain age absolutely will not fit in on their unit.
Even as far as hiring ward clerks, etc, we sift through applications and throw out anyone who graduated highschool after 1995. We simply want mature adults. Yes, this selection process means we probably miss some great candidates, but the truth is, a 20something would be bored with us old battle axes, so they are better off going someplace where they are going to have more peers their own age.
This is what I was referring to as wrong. Age does not equal maturity. I know some very immature people who graduated high school in the 80's. This is just flat out wrong, and sad. And it's just wrong to assume someone in their 20's would be bored with older people. I prefer working with older people, not people my age, because despite what you may think, I don't have much in common with people my age. People my age, that I know, seem to care more about the latest technology, or shopping, or other frivolous things. I care about people. I hold values that many people my age do not have.
Each generation is criticized by the one before it and in turn criticizes the one that follows it. The same comments being made now about millennials were made about Gen Xers, boomers, etc. Turn, turn, turn.
Oh please, every generation says this about the ones that come after them. I'm a Gen-X'er and I very clearly re-call all the crying and moaning from the Boomers about how lazy and self-entitled my generation was during the 90s. For pity's sake we were defined by movies like Slackers, Clerks, and Reality Bites. Don't worry about those millennials...a mortgage/rent, car note, and a couple of mouths to feed will straighten them out.
"Kids!
I don't know what's wrong with these kids today!
Kids!
Who can understand anything they say?
Kids!
They are disobedient, disrespectful oafs!
Noisy, crazy, dirty, lazy, loafers!
And while we're on the subject:
Kids!
You can talk and talk till your face is blue!
Kids!
But they still just do what they want to do!
Why can't they be like we were,
Perfect in every way?
What's the matter with kids today?"
--"Kids" (from the musical Bye Bye Birdie) :)
Each generation is criticized by the one before it and in turn criticizes the one that follows it. The same comments being made now about millennials were made about Gen Xers, boomers, etc. Turn, turn, turn.
Anna S, RN
452 Posts
What really bothers me is that a lot (not all) younger nurses text at really inappropriate times. I especially hate the texting during report. I just want to break those darn phones.