Why Are Millennials Embracing Nursing Professions

Millennials who were born between 1982 and 2000 are 60% more likely to become registered nurses than the Gen X’ers born between 1965 and 1981. These are exciting statistics that are a bit confusing. Why are millennials becoming the driving force in nursing today?

Millennials have been negatively characterized as the “Boomerang Generation” because of their tendency to move in with their parents. They don’t seem to want to embrace the adulthood rites of passage like marriage, family, and career. Millennials are also characterized as lazy, continually jumping from job to job and are narcissistic. These are not the characteristics of someone who longs to take care of others.

But, those are just stereotypes, and it's unfair to judge.

Negatives misconceptions surrounding millennials

Paint a picture of a millennial by reading a story in Time Magazine that painted millennials as selfish wanting flexible work schedules, more “me time’ on the job, continual feedback, and career advice from managers. Another article in Time titled “The Me Me Me Generation,” states, “They’re narcissistic. They’re lazy. They’re coddled. They’re even a bit delusional.” These articles claim such stereotypes of the 80 million Americans born between 1980 and 2000 are supported up by over ten years of sociological research. The article goes on to point out that millennials are simply adapting to a world “undergoing rapid technologic change.”

In studies working with millennials, researchers found that this generation feels they are entitled. Entitled to good wages, quick promotions, and less work. There are those who are very smart, willing to work and take on new duties, and eager to climb the ladder.

Millennials tend to be civically and politically disengaged and focused on materialistic values. They are less concerned about helping in the community. The trend of Millennials is a weight on extrinsic values like fame, image, and money. They don't emphasize intrinsic values like community and group affiliation, plus self-acceptance. Two databases including 9 million high school seniors and college freshmen were the basis of this study.

Why then, would the "me me me" people want to be nurses or work in the nursing profession? Look at their positives, and maybe that will provide an explanation.

Positives of millennials

Millennials are more open-minded and supportive of the differences in people and are strong supporters of minority rights. They tend to be confident, liberal, upbeat, self-expressive and receptive to new ways of living. There is a continual argument about whether millennials are self-entitled, narcissist, or open-minded do-gooders. The answer may lie somewhere in between the two extremes.

The self-centered characteristics might just be due to the rise of individualism and free thinking in society. Igor Grossman, a psychologist at the University of Waterloo, said, “There is a very consistent and reliable trend where all indicators of individualism (have) been on the rise over the course of the last 100 years.”

Why are millennials looking into the nursing professions? Another suggestion states that millennials are trying to find more meaningful work. Work that they care about and can stamp as their own. Millennials seem to be seeking professions that are high in integrity, core values, and self-sacrifice.

Characteristics of nursing professionals

Nursing is a profession that gives an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people who need care. Great nurses contribute to the stability of health care and the physical, as well as, mental wellbeing of their patients. They have book knowledge but give part of themselves to every patient. Those who succeed in nursing have the most personal fulfillment from start to finish in their careers. Millennials look for satisfaction and praise in a profession, and a nursing career will give them that gratification.

Perhaps breaking down the characteristics of the nursing profession, will provide the answers to why millennials seeking nursing fields. Listed are some of the traits of a successful nurse:

• Caring is important. To be an effective nurse, you must be caring and have the ability to empathize with patients. No discrimination or judgment is allowed. Millennials have the trait of being non-judgmental and working for the rights of everyone.

• Compassion is having a deep sympathy for someone else’s suffering without judgment. A nurse cannot be judgmental, and this is a positive trait of a millennial. Compassion helps lessen a patient’s pain and being non-judgmental is part of that compassion.

• Respect is a part of being non-judgmental. Helping patients maintain their dignity through medical procedures takes respect. An honest and straightforward communication. Millennials are known to say what they mean and mean what they say. They generally behave fairly and ethically under challenging circumstances.

• Being calm under pressure is a trait that all nurses need to have. With the laid-back attitude and fairness attitude of millennials, being calm is seems to be deep within your usual millennial. Keeping your cool is vital. Those who are level-headed make great nurses. When a millennial has learned a skill, they take it to heart. Education and skill make you confident.

• A nurse must be detail-oriented. Patients, as well as doctors, rely on nurses to be focused, detail-oriented and careful. Meticulous, paying attention to details helps the patient feel secure and important.

• A sense of responsibility is a part of a nurse’s characteristics. They have a significant role in treating patients, have the responsibility of keeping track of medical records and be flexible with their time. Emergencies can occur at any time, and nurses need to be on call all the time.

• Communication is critical in the nursing fields. You work one-on-one with patients and doctors and communication in tense situations means far more than handing you medicine or starting an IV. Nurses must talk to patients and help them understand medical conditions which are scary to a patient. Clear communication may not be a positive trait held by millennials, but when they talk, millennials say what they mean.

• Knowledge is important in a nursing position. Critical thinking, assessment skills, disease management protocols and care plans are only a few of the things a nurse does. Millennials as a group are intelligent people. Maybe more intelligent than some since they know how to save a dollar (by living at home?).

Nursing fields are demanding emotionally and physically. Those who are dedicated to caring for patients the benefits and rewards far outweigh the challenges. Health professionals are people, and millennials are definitely their own people.

Why millennial nurses are needed

The nursing field is still dominated by women, and in 2017 it was determined that women are about 83% of the registered and licensed practical nurses in the United States. The number of new entrants into the nursing field has plateaued in the last several years, and Millennials are critically needed in the nursing field. The millennial generation's embrace of the nursing profession should help compensate for the retirement of baby boomer nurses.

Millennials entering the nursing fields will determine whether this supply of nurses will combat the nursing shortage that society is recently suffering. The needs of an aging population will determine the course of nursing careers. Yes, it is a field with many openings, good salaries, and opportunities, and it takes a special type of person. Millennials are up to the challenge.