{"id":11215,"date":"2019-10-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nursemk.wpengine.com\/5-key-strategies-to-recruit-millennial-nurses\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T13:33:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T17:33:19","slug":"5-key-strategies-to-recruit-millennial-nurses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nurse.com\/solutions\/blog\/5-key-strategies-to-recruit-millennial-nurses","title":{"rendered":"5 Key Strategies To Recruit Millennial Nurses\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Healthcare\u00a0systems must be proactive to attract younger millennial nurses.<\/h2>\n

With large numbers older workers retiring and nurses in high demand, nurse recruiters, hospital administrators and others involved in the hiring process<\/a> must be proactive to attract younger millennial nurses.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Millennials are] the future of the workforce,\u201d said Carol McDaniel, director of talent acquisition at Johns Hopkins All Children\u2019s Hospital <\/a>in St. Petersburg, Fla.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough sheer numbers, millennials can exert a lot of pressure on a healthcare facility, institution or organization,\u201d added Jaciel Keltgen, PhD, an assistant professor at Augustana University<\/a> in Sioux Falls, S.D., who focuses on research about millennials in the workforce. \u201cAnd if (organizations) right away have a dialogue with their incoming personnel, they will be able to adjust to the needs and wants of new employees. Millennials are the largest generation in the workplace right now. What they believe matters.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data found that as of 2015, more than one-third of U.S. workers, 53.5 million, were millennials. Millennials, between the ages of 19 and 36 in 2017, now surpass Generation X as the largest portion of the U.S. workforce.<\/p>\n

So what are these nurses looking for and what works for bringing them on board?<\/p>\n

Here are five key things millennial nurses are looking for when searching for jobs in the healthcare field.<\/p>\n

#1 \u2014 Offer career opportunities with growth tracks<\/h3>\n

\u201cMillennials want opportunities for growth,\u201d said Harriet R. Feldman, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the College of Health Professions and the Lienhard School of Nursing, Pace University<\/a> in New York. \u201cThey also want to help serve people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feldman indicated millennial nurses are attracted to Magnet-designated hospitals<\/a> because these facilities offer nurses an opportunity to make decisions, be part of a team and have more autonomy.<\/p>\n

Those hospitals typically also offer learning opportunities and career ladders.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

McDaniel agreed millennial nurses are seeking opportunities for career growth and continuing their higher education. Many of her new hires continue in a master\u2019s program while starting a new job.<\/p>\n

The hospital offers tuition reimbursement<\/a> and is supportive with scheduling around school assignments. It also provides continued opportunities for nurses with master\u2019s or doctoral degrees to work at Johns Hopkins All Children\u2019s, according to McDaniel.<\/p>\n

Kate Christmas, RN, senior talent sourcing specialist at SCL Health<\/a> in Broomfield, Colo., said most millennial nurses want an organization that values education and upward mobility, and they want to become leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are very goal oriented and want to advance in their careers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

#2 \u2014 Attractive employee benefit plans help<\/h3>\n

Millennials also are interested in the benefits facilities can offer.<\/p>\n

Many new nurses are coming out of school in debt. That could make a hospital offering college loan forgiveness quite attractive, according to Christmas.<\/p>\n

Monetary concerns and student debt are a reality, Keltgen added.<\/p>\n

Among the benefits she finds millennials seek are signing bonuses<\/a>, loan forgiveness, tuition assistance, help with childcare and health insurance benefits for their partners and their families.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Millennial nurses also want work-life balance<\/a>, Christmas, Keltgen and Feldman agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are not just working to advance or make a difference \u2014 they want fulfilling lives,\u201d Christmas said.<\/p>\n

Keltgen said employers need to be cognizant of how important flexibility is to this generation.<\/p>\n

New nurses not only want amenities such as onsite fitness centers to work out, but also the time to visit it. They want time to enjoy life, not spend all of their time working.<\/p>\n

#3 \u2014 Draw in millennials with residency programs<\/h3>\n

Millennial nurses coming out of BSN programs want to be hired into a residency program, according to Feldman.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are looking for ways to have some mentoring on their first job,\u201d Feldman said. \u201cMost have been precepted<\/a> in their fourth semester and want to start their first job with mentoring and learning experiences.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

More and more hospitals have established residencies, Feldman said. These programs combine additional classroom education with hands-on experiences, simulation and support.<\/p>\n

Johns Hopkins All Children\u2019s offers a two-year transition-to-practice residency program to nurses completing a BSN program. It teaches new graduates how to interact with others on the healthcare team, patients and families.<\/p>\n

New nurses are assigned a mentor and work on a project. Nurses must stay for two years.<\/p>\n

The hospital has doubled the size of its program from 15 to 30 new graduates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe invest a lot of time, money and effort into marketing our residency program because we want the best of the best,\u201d McDaniel said. \u201cWe are helping [them] become professional nurses.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

#4 \u2014 Foster a collaborative culture<\/h3>\n

Millennials work well on a team and want to belong and feel valued.<\/p>\n

\u201cCollaboration is the key word for them,\u201d McDaniel added. \u201cThey have a lot of opinions and want their opinions heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keltgen calls that sharing of their knowledge and thoughts \u201creverse mentoring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe seasoned nurses help them adjust to the culture, life beyond college and workplace realities,\u201d Keltgen said. \u201cThe younger nurses like to do some training about the advances and research they learned about in college. Both the younger nurses and older nurses feel valued.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Feldman agreed millennial nurses want to join a team that welcomes their participation and values their opinions. These younger nurses are receptive to establishing their careers in outpatient or home health settings as more healthcare delivery moves to community settings, she said.<\/p>\n

Millennial nurses also want to be involved in research projects, advancing the profession\u2019s knowledge base and coming up with new and better ways to provide care, McDaniel and Christmas noted.<\/p>\n

#5 \u2014 Communicate with millennials through technology<\/h3>\n

Millennial nurses are technologically savvy. They have used the internet and smart phones nearly their entire lives and feel at ease communicating on these devices.<\/p>\n

Social media<\/a> plays a role in millennials\u2019 lives. Hospitals often will post items of interest to this audience.<\/p>\n

The Facebook page at Johns Hopkins All Children\u2019s features fun activities and inspiring stories of nurses that are going on at the hospital.<\/p>\n

Postings show nurses dancing with children on Fridays. Another social post features a nurse talking about how her work makes her smile and how caring for her patients doesn\u2019t even seem like work.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nurses applying at All Children\u2019s typically ask about different types of technology that are used at the hospital, according to McDaniel.<\/p>\n

She said millennial nurses are comfortable using a wide variety of technologies, including video interviewing.<\/p>\n

Christmas finds these nurses are attracted to:<\/p>\n