Every generation has had some version of “these kids today!” followed by a head shake. And like every previous generation, they bring assets and their own “flavor” to the table. Generalizing to millions of people is a tough sell however. Some may, some may not.
I did have one situation where I had once been a staff member as a float for years in all three of these units. I had students in those ICU/CCU/CVICUs for their final, integrated practicum before graduation. Some of those students over the years and other students from elsewhere were hired for an internship in critical care. The nurse manger explained to me after a few years around a decade ago, why they had stopped doing it. The new grads felt perfectly fine calling in whenever they felt like it with blue sky flu. Basically, it was a nice day and they didn’t feel like working. You can’t run a unit like that. And it is not professional behaviour. So, they had different ideas of what was important. And it closed a door.
Was that generational or a few irresponsible people? Was that essentially, a cultural difference? All sorts of ways to look at things. And, frankly, I’m already figuring I’m going to die with my not so little white shoes on, so to speak, because we’re losing so many new nurses. If the message they’re getting is, you aren’t good enough, where does that leave us? We all need to work on the idea that people who want to take care of patients need to be welcomed, transitioned successfully, and that perhaps, a few old sacred cows need to be put to pasture in terms of ideas and rituals. There may be new, better ways of doing things that would benefit all of us, and our patients.
The question asked was very neutral language. I have heard from nurses who have been in the field a long time and new ones. And there is a lot of debate and not a lot of harmony here. We are in the same profession. I really wish we could stop eating our young every generation.
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