{"id":11259,"date":"2018-05-30T23:09:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T06:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nursemk.wpengine.com\/learn-millennial-nurses-want-their-jobs\/"},"modified":"2022-03-02T15:39:50","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T20:39:50","slug":"learn-millennial-nurses-want-their-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nurse.com\/solutions\/blog\/learn-millennial-nurses-want-their-jobs","title":{"rendered":"Learn What Millennial Nurses Want From Their Jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a recent study confirming millennials are becoming nurses at twice the rate of baby boomers,<\/a> it behooves nurse recruiters, human resource professionals and hospital administrators to understand what makes millennials tick.<\/h2>\n

They may want to learn what attracts the millennial generation to the nursing profession and what aspects of the job add to the likelihood of retaining them as employees.<\/p>\n

A recent Nurse.com salary survey highlighted some of the values and expectations that millennial respondents hope to achieve with regards to their nursing jobs <\/a>and employers.<\/p>\n

Tuition remission is an effective millennial hiring incentive<\/h3>\n

A whopping 79% of millennials surveyed by Nurse.com are considering higher education, certification or additional training to increase their salaries. Armed with this fact, should employers consider offering tuition remission for their nurses?<\/p>\n

The answer is a resounding yes, said Nicole Smith, PhD, research professor and chief economist at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce<\/a> in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still find significant pockets in urban and rural settings where there is a shortage of nurses,\u201d she said. \u201cOffering tuition remission is a type of carrot.<\/a> If employers then require nurses to stay in their jobs for a time to help pay off their tuition remission, it can help with retention and ease workforce shortages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith said the use of tuition remission by healthcare organizations tends to occur cyclically.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen there are shortages and it\u2019s an employees\u2019 market, employers have to compete for nurses and put tuition remission on the table as one of the many items they may offer in a basket of goodies and benefits to help lure staff to come work for them,\u201d she said. \u201cIf it\u2019s an employers\u2019 market, this is one benefit you may see employers pull. We\u2019re expecting some organizations may begin offering tuition remission again in the next year or so, to help sweeten the pot for nurses as the market tightens and the U.S. population continues to age.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Higher levels of education for an organization\u2019s nurses is something that has benefits for both the nurses\u2019 employers and their patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a growing body of evidence that indicates when nurses have more education, there are improved patient outcomes, an increase in work productivity and an economic return on investment for the employer,\u201d said Joanne Spetz, PhD, professor at the Institute for Health Policy Studies, Department of Family and Community Medicine, and School of Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco.<\/p>\n

She also is associate director for research at the Healthforce Center at UCSF<\/a> and director of the UCSF Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trends show rise in BSNs and advanced practice for millennials<\/h3>\n

Millennial nurses have 16% more BSNs than Generation X and the highest number of BSNs at 63% of the total number of nurses surveyed by Nurse.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These findings are to be expected said, David I. Auerbach, PhD, external adjunct faculty member for the Center for Interdisciplinary Health Workforce Studies at Montana State University<\/a> in Bozeman, Mont.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d expect to see more BSNs in millennials as over the last several years [since] more and more hospitals are requiring a BSN even for entry level positions,” Auerbach said. “Many millennials are aware of this trend\u00a0 in hiring and are getting their BSNs right away, rather than getting an associate degree first.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Even for bachelor\u2019s prepared RNs, offering tuition remission can be a good enticement. And as RNs move into advanced practice roles this becomes even more important.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number of nurse practitioners has been growing very quickly the last few years, and faster than the number of RNs,\u201d Auerbach said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing the rates for NP growth at 5% to 6% per year, compared to RN growth at 2% to 3% per year. From an employer\u2019s point of view, it would help attract and retain nurses to offer not only a pathway for a BSN, but also for advanced practice education, especially in a competitive hiring environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

How job satisfaction relates to nurse retention<\/h3>\n

Only 15% of the millennial nurse respondents in the Nurse.com salary survey said they were \u201cvery satisfied\u201d with their jobs. And 13% of the millennials surveyed said they\u2019re considering leaving the nursing profession altogether.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese numbers aren\u2019t too surprising,\u201d said Artem Gulish, MSHSA, senior analyst at Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce in Washington, D.C. \u201cNursing is not an easy profession. It\u2019s difficult physically and mentally with its long hours, long stretches of time spent standing and the idea that if you make a mistake, it could cost someone\u2019s life. Some millennials may not have fully realized what they had to deal with when working in a hospital environment in terms of stress.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On the flipside, 31% of the millennials surveyed said they were satisfied with their jobs.<\/p>\n

Gulish said nursing is attractive to many millennials<\/a> because it is an established profession that offers growth potential.<\/p>\n