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Put an end to the age gap in nursing

Nurse Leader Weekly, May 15, 2006

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During a recent HCPro audioconference, Dr. Betty Kupperschmidt, EdD, RN, CNAA, BC, associate professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing, and cospeaker Barbara J. "BJ" Hannon, RN, MSN, the Magnet coordinator at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, joined forces to get to the bottom of the great generational divide among nurses in hospitals nationwide.

During the 90-minute audioconference "Effectively Manage Multigenerational Work Forces: Strategies to Bridge the Generation Gap," Kupperschmidt and Hannon discussed the generations that work side-by-side today, as well as the issues that arise from mixing staff members with such varied characteristics and experiences.

Through nursing focus groups, Hannon said that she learned ageism, or discrimination based on age, is a little talked about yet highly destructive problem in nursing. To stop ageism and improve relations between nurses, Hannon suggested practicing the following:

• Implement a zero-tolerance policy regarding ageism
• Organize multigenerational focus groups
• Make available information dispelling ageist myths
• Offer continuing education units for courses teaching generational topics, if possible
• Create displays within your hospital that celebrate the accomplishments of older Americans

To help bridge the age gap between multigenerational nurses, Hannon suggested valuing the contributions of younger nurses, while celebrating the expertise of older nurses so they feel appreciated and want to remain working for your organization. And most importantly, said Hannon, be sure that nurses of all generations work together, side-by-side, whenever possible.

How to hold onto older, experienced nurses

To learn what older nurses (those age 50-59) want from their institutions, Hannon and her colleagues created multigenerational nursing focus groups.

She suggests rewarding older registered nurses by

• Rewarding tenure with clinical ladders that include years of service.
• Offering more committee assignments during the week.
• Allowing more nonpatient care time to magnify their expertise.
• Giving them time to work on nursing projects.
• Allowing them to use their accrued paid leave time without penalty.
• Offering time off. Many older nurses are interested in receiving additional time off because they may be primary caregivers for older parents or grandchildren. If they can't obtain flexible scheduling, they may be forced to retire.

Scheduling is the key to keeping older nurses working, says Hannon. Allow job sharing and offer weekend options, self-scheduling, and shorter shifts, she suggests.

Source: The Staff Educator, March 2006, HCPro, Inc.

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