What Is Wrong with These Students?

A discussion of teaching Millenials from a Baby Boomer nursing Instructor perspective.

Updated:  

Have you ever looked out at your student filled classroom to see that half are paying attention? Are they taking notes on their tablets or laptops? Don't be fooled! A close look may reveal facebook scrolling or Amazon-buying. Social media is integral to this generation's community experience.

That realization brings an understanding of their preference for a text message to a face-to-face encounter.

There is nothing wrong with social media. We do enjoy looking at baby pictures of our high school and college friends. And what does our Ex look like now? Day-to-day personal and work routines of banking, ordering goods, and emailing have thrown us right into the middle of the digital age. Our families keep in touch through texting or facetime. And we look everything up online. Times have changed!

Connecting with our millennial students' means, like it or not, we have to get on board with digital communication.

Expanding within the digital environment sets these students apart, as does a lack of confidence. Millennial students who perceive life as stressful rely heavily on their previously hovering parents or guardians to help them navigate life's challenges. As a result, the autonomous nature of the nursing profession and the emphasis on the responsibility of decision-making that can impact lives is difficult for them.

Understanding this is crucial to recognize stress and anxiety which can inhibit learning.

Millennial students are ambitious, optimistic, gravitate towards working in teams, conventional and need to feel important. Expressions of appreciation gain of these students' attention as do small recognitions.

We might have to start giving them a pat on the back for coming to class on time!

Other ways faculty can show they appreciate their millennial students

  • Learn and call them by name (you won't remember them, that's what seating charts are for)
  • Introduce yourself on the first day of class (don't assume they know who you are!)
  • Clearly outline your expectations (these students are very concrete thinkers) - give them specific rubrics and firm due dates
  • Provide a lot of feedback (oral and written)
  • Don't criticize in front of the class (you shouldn't do this with anyone)

Millennials tend towards skepticism. After all, their parents were baby boomers who didn't trust anyone over 30! Review how you present the information. What worked with older generations simply won't work with this crowd.

Nursing faculty must gain student trust, helping them become accountable individuals that collaborate in the learning process.

Tried and true instructional methods for millennials

  • Give them questions and scenarios that relate to the real world as they understand it
  • Have students share their research with classmates
  • Encourage working in small groups to solve problems
  • Make use of available technology (incorporate computer games and resources, like Socrative© in the lesson plan)
  • Ask for their help (Millennials are helpers in the strongest sense of the word)
  • Utilize all types of learning in the classroom (don't shy away from hands-on practice and demonstration)
  • Give nursing students in upper-level courses the opportunity to engage in service-learning

Millennials are diversity sensitive. 21st-century American universities and colleges have greater inclusivity. Depending on where you teach, specific unique cultural or ethnic considerations may need to be incorporated into the classroom. They are adaptable to change so long as it is fair and clearly defined. Tolerant of differences, they may appreciate your personal quirks but they expect you to do the same for them.

Working with a classroom full of Millennials isn't easy. Understanding how they differ from you and your colleagues lends to successfully bringing them to the graduation finish line.

References

Center for Teaching Innovation (n.d.) The Millennial Generation: Understanding &
Engaging Today's Learners. Retrieved from: https://teaching.cornell.edu/resource/millennial-generation-understanding-engaging-todays-learners

Lynch, M. (2016). Top four ways to engage millennials in learning environments. The
EdAdvocate. Retrieved from: https://www.theedadvocate.org/top-four-ways-to-
engage-millennials-in-learning-environments/

Specializes in Education.

cinlou,

My post in 2020 of the emphasis on management and the subsequent pendulum to skills has to be edited. I am hearing from the current "new grads" that the increase in patient load, patient acuity, increased skill complexity, shift/schedule inequity, and inevitable burnout have created an insurmountable challenge of balancing the management of patient care and caregiving skills. And mentors are nonexistent at the med-surg bedside. The stress of the recent COVID pandemic appears to have created havoc. Your thoughts?

Dr. Pam-the-Nurse 

Specializes in Emergency and Critical Care.

We have slid backwards in nursing, and because of this I think we need to go back to basics in nursing schools.  We cannot continue to teach more management than basic skills. The new nurse needs the skills first. Once out of school the opportunity for advanced knowledge is available within the facilities through advanced training towards certifications etc.  We cannot look at our generation and the changes we have went through to help this generation. We came out of school with the expectation of a 15 to 30 patient load on a general med/surg unit and a charge nurse roll right out of school. We had high acuity patients but we had them longer so we could balance the assignments out instead of having all high acuity patients.  We were gradually provided new technology from DOS charting in computers and having to put each piece of a swan together manually instead of picking up a package that has all the tubing put together, we had to mix all of our own medications, now we have unit dose, we did not have respiratory therapists to do treatments, because we did them. We now have pharmacists available even at codes at the bedside.  We had to calculate all of our cardiac measurements and learn all the formulas, now the monitors do it all for you. But the changes were somewhat gradual, so we learned as it came to fruition. The present students are thrown out there with management skills they haven't had a chance to practice, and skill levels that have had minimal opportunities to be put to the test. All of this also depends on the state and the type of nursing school and clinical sites that may or may not have even been available for students to get into to even practice the skills. Also, the skill of the educator, were the facilities set up with appropriate mentors. Many of the skilled practitioners have left nursing early. We already knew we were going to be down nurses when the BB generation retired, but now we are even more short due to all the covid rhetoric that caused a great deal of anxiety along with missed clinical, more remote teaching, and questionable learning, along with the change to the NGN (a plus, I might say), but they were all changes that required a rapid change in the education.  Ultimately, I say back to basics and do a restart/rebuild of all curricula, back off the push to the BSN, I know that is going to get me some negative responses, but, sometimes pushing through something that isn't working, and is just burning all the new nurses out, isn't the answer either. Times and old ideas need to be adapted too. Bring nursing back to the caring profession, and the rest will fall into place. 

"We might have to start giving them a pat on the back for coming to class on time!"  ??

We actually do!  We have class participation which includes coming to class on time.  FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS AT THAT!   

Waking up is too stressful and causes anxiety ❄️ 

A reward is required ????

Specializes in Hospice.
TEXASWAG said:

"We might have to start giving them a pat on the back for coming to class on time!"  ??

 

Juanito said:

We actually do!  We have class participation which includes coming to class on time.  FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS AT THAT!   

Waking up is too stressful and causes anxiety ❄️ 

A reward is required ????

What do you s'pose our instructors thought about us?

heron said:

 

What do you s'pose our instructors thought about us

Regardless of what they thought, they did not coddle us.


Not sure what they thought about others, but I was the nerdy type. Very eager to learn. Top of my class. I'm different from many of my peers though. My parents were black and of the Silent generation, born in the 1920s and 1930s. I was born in the 70s.  

If anything, they probably thought I was an over achiever.  

heron said:

 

What do you s'pose our instructors thought about us?

Probably worse. ? Had one complain we were wearing our shirts too tight to class.  ?? I was a cutie pie! 

Specializes in Education.
Quote

What do you s'pose our instructors thought about us?

They thought many things. Being people they applied or misapplied their paradigms as to the how and wherefores of nursing student instruction. Historically that meant using what they saw as successful from experience. There was little else to draw upon, currently, there are many more resources available to instructors. The good ones do their best to limit their paradigms and use reliable resources to enhance instruction. 

Dr. Pam-the-Nurse

Since the dawn of mankind every single generation has been whining about the preceding generation. Every older generation was perfect and did everything better, every younger generation was the demise of the species. 

I am convinced some old washed-up cavewoman was whining about how the young kids these days had it so good and were so lazy. 

I don't think the relationship between generations changes much, I think we as individuals just get old LOL and look at everything with rose colored glasses. 

Specializes in Education.

I am not sure what you meant by "Since the dawn of mankind every single generation has been whining about the preceding generation." or Since the dawn of mankind every single generation has been whining about the generation following. or Since the dawn of mankind every single generation has been whining about the subsequent generation. I think that is what you meant if I am reading your next sentence in context. Please correct me if I am wrong.

In that light, I would agree with you. There is a long history of generations viewing each other through a flawed lens. However, the original article was intended to surpass simply viewing a generation through a lens but to extend understanding via empathy. 

Did the article not succeed in that goal? 

 

PamtheNurse said:

I am not sure what you meant by "Since the dawn of mankind every single generation has been whining about the preceding generation." or Since the dawn of mankind every single generation has been whining about the generation following. or Since the dawn of mankind every single generation has been whining about the subsequent generation. I think that is what you meant if I am reading your next sentence in context. Please correct me if I am wrong.

In that light, I would agree with you. There is a long history of generations viewing each other through a flawed lens. However, the original article was intended to surpass simply viewing a generation through a lens but to extend understanding via empathy. 

Did the article not succeed in that goal? 

 

You are correct, I miswrote my comment but by the context you were able to decipher my meaning. My comment was not entirely directed to you but extended to the rest of the thread in general. 

 

Specializes in Education.

Asystole RN,

Thank you for your reply. The thread has taken on a "life" of its' own I fear, but the segue I am glad to see has given everyone involved an avenue to express their opinion.