As people are living longer than ever before, it will lead to nurses working longer than ever before. Exactly what this means is that at any given time there could be 3, and possibly even 4 generations of nurses working side by side. Is it possible they could work together without complications? After all, they are from totally; different era’s and things are very different today than they were 30 years ago.
Social Differences
A hospital post op floor has a diverse group of nurses working, Paige is 24, Miranda is 38, Bart is 49, and Louise is 68. Both Bart and Louise have worked as mentors with new nurses for years, and worked closely with both Miranda and Paige when they first began their nursing career. Working closely with the two experienced nurses, Paige and Miranda got to know them, and they became not on coworkers but good friends. Louise, who is almost 69 is still very active and the patients love her. She has a world of knowledge and experience that has proven to be very valuable to those she trains as they begin their careers. Louise is quick to point out that she also learns a great deal from her younger coworkers, saying she now knows what social media is, that having a tattoo does not mean you belong to a motorcycle gang, and hooking up does not mean catching a fish. These four nurses are different in age, but they have a mutual respect for one another and get along great together. They often compare what they have learned as nurses, how it was taught 50 years ago, versus how it's taught today. The one thing the multiple generations agree on is that while the senior of the nurses has kept up with modern medical methods, it would be difficult for the younger nurse to revert to a more primitive way. This prompted this particular group of nurses to start a program within their hospital, called back to basic nursing. This program does not distract from modern medicine, it simply covers some of the basics from previous years. The nurses all agree this could be beneficial in the event they ever needed to provide medical treatment and were not in a hospital with modern equipment.
As for working together, these multi generational nurses do just fine, and this seems to be the consensus with other similar situations in other hospitals. Provided each generation is open to learning from the others, it can be the best of all worlds. A mixture of experience and new learning state of the art techniques can bring the best of care to the patient's.
Related: 5 Ways to Soothe Your Feet after Working a Long Shift
Success in Multi generational Nursing
Nurses from different generations have the ability to offer the best care to patients. Balancing nursing teams with different generations has proven to be best for both the nurses themselves and the patients within the hospital. You have probably heard the saying, two heads are better than one- well two heads from different generations are actually a lot better than one, broaden your horizons and befriend a nurse from a generation of their than your own.
Related: International Nurses Association
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Social Differences
A hospital post op floor has a diverse group of nurses working, Paige is 24, Miranda is 38, Bart is 49, and Louise is 68. Both Bart and Louise have worked as mentors with new nurses for years, and worked closely with both Miranda and Paige when they first began their nursing career. Working closely with the two experienced nurses, Paige and Miranda got to know them, and they became not on coworkers but good friends. Louise, who is almost 69 is still very active and the patients love her. She has a world of knowledge and experience that has proven to be very valuable to those she trains as they begin their careers. Louise is quick to point out that she also learns a great deal from her younger coworkers, saying she now knows what social media is, that having a tattoo does not mean you belong to a motorcycle gang, and hooking up does not mean catching a fish. These four nurses are different in age, but they have a mutual respect for one another and get along great together. They often compare what they have learned as nurses, how it was taught 50 years ago, versus how it's taught today. The one thing the multiple generations agree on is that while the senior of the nurses has kept up with modern medical methods, it would be difficult for the younger nurse to revert to a more primitive way. This prompted this particular group of nurses to start a program within their hospital, called back to basic nursing. This program does not distract from modern medicine, it simply covers some of the basics from previous years. The nurses all agree this could be beneficial in the event they ever needed to provide medical treatment and were not in a hospital with modern equipment.
As for working together, these multi generational nurses do just fine, and this seems to be the consensus with other similar situations in other hospitals. Provided each generation is open to learning from the others, it can be the best of all worlds. A mixture of experience and new learning state of the art techniques can bring the best of care to the patient's.
Related: 5 Ways to Soothe Your Feet after Working a Long Shift
Success in Multi generational Nursing
- Consider the other person. Regardless if you are a new nurse, or a senior nurse, put yourself in their place and you may gain a better understanding of the person.
- Accept that not every nurse does things exactly the same way, however, if the common goals are the same, then it's working as is. There are almost always multiple ways to accomplish a goal, as long as the patient care is the number one concern, a different method of achieving it is not a bad thing.
- Different generations have different work ethics in many cases. Many older people assume the younger generation has a sense of entitlement. Never assume, and never judge. As a new nurse adjusts to their environment they will change, so be patient, give them time to come around. Offer to be a mentor, that will enable you to give advice and become better acquainted with them, sharing experience and welcoming them into the field of nursing.
Nurses from different generations have the ability to offer the best care to patients. Balancing nursing teams with different generations has proven to be best for both the nurses themselves and the patients within the hospital. You have probably heard the saying, two heads are better than one- well two heads from different generations are actually a lot better than one, broaden your horizons and befriend a nurse from a generation of their than your own.
Related: International Nurses Association
Please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and Twitter
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