Presenters:
Donna Marie Williams-Newman and Caroline Smikle, Ron and Kathy Assaf College of Nursing
Objective - The purpose of this session is to understand critical influences that affect educating multigenerational students in the classroom and adequately preparing them for the current workforce. To effectively function in a team, nurse students need to understand the
generations that they are studying and will work with in healthcare. Educators must be able to prepare each generation for this role.
Background - One of the challenges of today’s health care
workforce is learning how to collaborate with and appreciate the unique
preferences, habits, and behaviors of colleagues who grew up in different times than they did. With each generation comes differences in attitudes, ideologies, beliefs, financial responsibilities, and work habits. As educators, the aim is to educate the modern learner in a multigenerational classroom and ensure they are adequately prepared for the workforce.
Methods - A scoping literature review was conducted using the various computerized databases. Citations were limited by language to
English and by subject to the exploration of the phenomenon Results.
Implications - It is the role and responsibility of educators to promote and encourage intergenerational connections by building a corporate culture of caring that capitalizes on the strengths of everyone from every generation.
Discussion - Educators can no longer teach the way they
were taught because that healthcare system no longer exists. The nurse educator must engage nursing students of all generations to develop the core interprofessional competencies that prepares them to provide competent care and teamwork.
Learning Outcomes:
Participants will:
- recognize the needs of other generations and understand their perspectives.
- link the generations and promote intergenerational understanding and respect.
- understand the value that every generation brings to the classroom and challenge biases to be more inclusive.
- show respect each other's experiences and differences in opinion
- utilize interpersonal skills and learn to communicate freely and pleasantly in an inclusive learning environment.
