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Mentoring Generations Today for Tomorrow’s Leaders
Sue Cary, MN, APRN, NP, CNN, ANNA President-Elect
Guided
by the ANNA strategic plan, each incoming President of ANNA identifies
a focus and goals for the coming year. I have chosen “Mentoring
Generations Today for Tomorrow’s Leaders” for 2008-2009. This theme
encompasses concepts from the ANNA strategic plan goals of recruitment
and retention, membership, and leadership.
Four Generations
Generational
issues have been a part of our personal lives (between parents and
children, grandparents and grandchildren) and have become a part of our
professional lives as well. This is new territory for many nursing
leaders as they face the challenges of both generational and nursing
shortage issues. “Today’s nursing workforce presents unique leadership
challenges as staff and nursing leaders from four generations
representing different attitudes, beliefs, work habits, and
experiences, work together on nursing teams.” (Sherman, 2006, p. 1)
The four generations represented in today’s workforce are defined in the literature with slight variations in birth years.
In John C. Maxwell’s book “Developing the Leader Within You” (Maxwell, 1993, pp. 201-202), he wrote the following:
- Veterans/Traditionalists
(born 1925-1945): World War II and the Great Depression had a major
influence on their lives. They place importance on respect of authority
and rules; discipline is prominent in their work habits and they
possess strong work ethics.
- Baby
Boomers (born 1946-1964): Baby Boomers were born into a world that was
just getting over two world wars. They value life-long learning and
respect. They are highly competitive, with work often defining their
self-worth, and are willing to sacrifice now for success later.
- Generation
X (born 1965-1980): Many members of Generation X were raised in
single-parent homes with their parent(s) often working outside the
home. They value self-reliance and individualism; are loyal to
themselves rather than the workplace; and value a balance of personal
life and work life. Technology advancements made a major impact on
Generation X and they are very technoliterate.
- Millennials/Generation
Y (born 1981-1999): The Millennial generation is a very diverse
generation that is highly comfortable with technology. They want a
voice in the workplace; are used to instant communication; have high
expectations of themselves and employers; and are drawn to their
families for safety and security (Brosse, 2007; Pitt-Catsouphes &
Smyer, 2007; Sherman, 2006).
Views
of work and how it is accomplished differ by generation. Baby Boomers
and Veterans/Traditionalists seek meaningful work and accept the work
demands, while work flexibility is important to Generation X and
Millennial nurses (Sherman, 2006). Since Veteran/Traditional colleagues
have a strong work ethic, they tend to follow orders well and expect
others to do the same. Baby Boomers, on the other hand, prefer to have
meetings and reach a consensus as to how the job will be accomplished.
Generation X nurses often want to do the tasks themselves and
Generation Y members generally do not care who does the job as long as
it gets done (Kupperschmidt, 2006).
Generations of Nurses
The most recent National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (RNs),
conducted in 2004, found the average age of RNs to be 46.8 years with
about 41% of all RNs over the age of 50 and only 8% under the age of 30
(USDHHS, 2004). According to Sherman (2006), “the Baby Boomer
generation is the largest cohort in the nursing workforce and currently
occupies many nursing leadership positions” (p. 2).
The current nursing shortage is expected to worsen significantly as
this Baby Boomer generation of nurses begins to retire. Nephrology,
like other areas of health care, is experiencing a nursing shortage due
to both the shortage of nurses and the increasing number of patients.
The projected number of patients with end stage renal disease is
expected to reach 785,000 by 2020, an increase of 60% from the 485,000
in 2005 (Kidney Disease Rates Continue to Rise, 2008).
The aging nurse population is even more pronounced in nephrology
nursing. The 2007 ANNA Membership Survey (2000 surveys distributed with
433 responses) found the average age of nephrology RNs to be 50.1
years. With regard to generations, 3.78% were Veterans/Traditionalists,
62.9% were Baby Boomers, 33.99% were Generation X, and 0.25% were
Millennials.
Recognition and Respect
While it is important not to stereotype individuals because of the
generation in which they were born, it is also important to understand
the values and strengths of each generation and why they were formed.
Recognition and respect of generational differences can also improve
nursing work environments and reduce conflict in the work place.
Generational information can be used to recruit and retain nurses in
nephrology nursing and ANNA, and to mentor nursing leaders.
Mentoring
One way to improve the work environment and recognize the value of
working with multiple generations in the work place and within
organizations is to participate in mentoring. Billye Brown,, EdD, RN,
FAAN, Past President of Sigma Theta Tau, has said that “The opportunity
to mentor another nurse is an honor, a privilege and personally
rewarding. The opportunity to be mentored by someone can be a
life-changing event” (Brown, n.d.). Mentorship is a relationship
between an experienced person and a less-experienced partner who looks
to the mentor for guidance. Mentorship crosses generational lines. Jim
Boushay (2006) refers to this as “intergenerational mentoring.” The use
of intergenerational mentoring is a way to inspire a greater
understanding of each other’s values and work ethics, and is also a
means to develop trust in professional relationships.
Mentoring Generations Today for Tomorrow’s Leaders
In order to have sufficient RNs to provide care for the increasing
number of nephrology patients and to assure the future success of ANNA,
we must retain members of the Baby Boomers and Traditionalist
generations and recruit RNs who are in the Generation X and Millennial
generations. Intergenerational mentoring can be used formally or
informally to retain and recruit nurses to nephrology nursing and to
membership in ANNA. Intergenerational mentoring gives all generations
an opportunity to appreciate each other, improve communication, and
enhance career opportunities and patient care. By mentoring generations
today for tomorrow’s leaders, there is a shared accountability for
creating an environment that encourages respectful interactions among
generations within nephrology nursing. It also encourages a continuous
influx of nurses into nephrology nursing and leaders into ANNA by using
knowledge and experience generated from wisdom of the past, hopes of
the present and visions of the future.
Pearls of Wisdom and Guidance
It is important to recognize that there are four generations in the
workforce and to understand the value this brings to the recruitment
and retention of nephrology nurses. Nephrology nurses will find
challenges, strength, and exciting opportunities by experiencing the
richness of working with four generations of nurses. Now is the time to
acknowledge the pearls of wisdom those before us have shared and to
offer guidance to those coming after us.
References
Boushay, J. (2006). Intergenerational mentors.
Resources Unlimited Foundation. Retrieved February 10, 2008, from
http://www.resourcesunlimited.org/intergenerational_mentoring.htm and
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk: Mentorship
Brosse, P. (2007). Louisiana State Nurses’ Association (LSNA) president’s message. The Pelican News, 63(4), 1-3.
Brown, B. (n.d.). Board leadership development program. Indianapolis,
IN: Sigma Theta Tau International. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from
http://www.nursingsociety.org/LeadershipInstitute/Omada/Pages/omada_main.aspx
Kidney disease rates continue to rise. (2008). Renal Business Today,
3(1). Retrieved March 10, 2008, from http://www.
renalbusiness.com/articles/kidney_disease_rates_continue_to_rise.html
Kupperschmidt, B. (2006). Addressing multigenerational conflict: Mutual
respect and carefronting as strategy. The Online Journal of Issues in
Nursing, 11(2). Retrieved April 8, 2007, from
http://www.nursingworld.org/ojin/topic30/tpc 30_3.htm
Pitt-Catsouphes, M., & Smyer, M. (2007). The 21st century
multi-generational workplace. The Center on Aging & Work, Issue
Brief 09. Retrieved February 10, 2008, from
http://www.bc.edu/agingandwork
Sherman, R. (2006). Leading a multigenerational nursing workforce:
Issues, challenges and strategies. The Online Journal of Issues in
Nursing, 11(2). Retrieved January 27, 2008, from
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/536480
United States Department of Health & Human Services (USDHHS).
(2004). The registered nurse population: Findings from the 2004
national sample survey of registered nurses. Washington, DC: Author.
Retrieved March 10, 2008, from
http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/rnsurvey04/
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