The nurse manager role may need to be redesigned to appeal to nurses from Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) and millennials (born between 1981 and 2000), according to a viewpoint article in The American Journal of Nursing.
The article, penned by Muriel R. Moyo, a nurse manager in the radiology department at Keck Hospital at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, states that nurses tend to associate the nurse manager role with more stress because of increased responsibilities and organizational politics.
Ms. Moyo suggested the following strategies to help organizations attract younger nurses to manager roles. The strategies are based on information from the American Organization of Nurse Executives' guiding principles for nurse leaders and from supporting literature.
1. Identify younger nurses who aspire to leadership roles and promote them.
2. Provide structured nurse manager training that is specific to an organization's culture, policies and procedures as well as training on administrative tasks, such as payroll and scheduling.
3. Offer flexible scheduling so nurse managers can have a better work-life balance.
4. Provide professional development and mentoring programs as well as support for continuing education.
5. Offer meaningful recognition and creative feedback that helps young nurses know they are doing well.