DO GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES INFLUENCE THE USE OF EBP BY PROFESSIONAL NURSES?

Introduction

In the current clinical setting, it is often common to find that evidence based practice (EBP) is not being implemented. There are a number of causative factors that can be attributed to this observation. Some analysts have suggested that personal differences may be hindering implementation of EBP. It is therefore important to look into the validity of this factor with special emphasis given to age differences in the clinical setting.

Population of Interest
In order to foster a productive and feasible atmosphere in clinical practice, it is imperative for members of the organization to appreciate differences and to respect them. This means that gender, racial and ethnic backgrounds need to be understood and appreciated. The latter categories of diversity have been discussed at length in nursing practice and most people can understand them well. On the other hand, the issue of intergenerational differences can also be problematic if nurses do not understand it properly. In order to place this matter in context, it is essential to study the historical background of these different generations. The population of Interest falls within one of these categories. (Cordinez, 2002)

There are basically four generations that may be found within the clinical situation; these are Veterans (born between 1922 and 1945), baby Boomers (born between 1945 – 1960), Generation X (born between 1960 – 1980) and lastly the Millennial Generation (Born after 1980). All these generations underwent different experiences that subsequently shaped their respective professional and personal values. The first generation under consideration is the Veteran generation born during the Great Depression and the Second World War. The latter generation grew up under tough times but during their adulthood, the country’s economy began flourishing. Because of these matters, The Veteran Generation realized that hard work can be rewarded and that authority ought to be respected. It can therefore be said that the values most revered by this generation are authority, loyalty and respect. The latter generation falls within the population of interest.

The second generation of nurses in the field today is the Baby Boom generation. This group was born during a time of economic prosperity that was still characterized by some traditional values. This generation grew up around two- parent households in which one of the parents was the breadwinner. However, there were still a number of issues that they were confronted with at their time. They began challenging status quo and did not respect authority. According to members of this generation, real heroes are those ones with the courage to change systems as they are. Besides this, the latter generation had a lot room for growth within the nursing profession owing to the fact that economic times were relatively good. This generation is not that conversant with technology. Also, this generation falls within the population of interest. (Raines, 2003)

Intervention
Evidence based practice implementation in most health institutions is a recent development. Since the population of interest falls within the older generation, then it is imperative to find out whether their generational background could have led to current observations.

In order to attribute the lack of implementation of evidence based practice to this issue, it is essential to eliminate other causative factors. Additionally, problems causing this failure must be unique to the Baby boom and Veteran generation alone.
Comparison of interest

After examination of the historical backgrounds under which these various groups grew, one can now understand that the differences between these groups have been influenced by their past. The four generations of nurses have different perspectives on authority, workplace structures and things such as technology and also evidence based practice. (Spitzer, 2001)

This can be a problem owing to the fact that organizations have changed dramatically over the past few years. Most health institutions now respect team based approaches and individuals from different organizational levels are often required to work together thus challenging traditional organizational structures in which the older generation were highly respected; the latter view is synonymous to implementation of evidence based practice. As if this is not enough, the advent of technology has flipped organizational relationships. Baby boomers who had grown up with a deep respect for authority now highly depend on younger nurses to explain to them all the nifty gritty of computer technology. This has created renewed tensions between the latter groups because despite the dramatic change in organizational structures, nurse’s mental attitudes have still remained relatively stagnant and this has hampered implementation of evidence based practice.

Some nurses have failed to recognize where behavior patterns originate from and thus misunderstanding their colleagues from other generations. For instance, Baby Boomers usually think of generation Xers as being highly unreliable or disloyal. On the other hand, the latter generation regards Baby Boomers tendency to remain with one employer as a failure to cease new opportunities.

The latter matter can be useful in determining why there are different work relations approaches between older and younger nurses. On the other hand, this explanation needs to be directly related to Evidence Based Practice.
Outcomes

Evidence based practice in most health institutions may not be properly implemented owing to the fact that a substantial number of clinics fail to prepare their nurses through practical training. This means that nurses may be aware of the concept through literature but fail to have the ability to implement it.
In other health intuitions, nurses lack infrastructural support from hospital administrations that may have been fond of utilizing certain conventional methods. Such administrations fail to make shifts in their clinical practice and this may make it difficult for particular nurses to do the same.

Besides the latter issue, Evidence Based Practice is failing due to lack of proper orientation in these health institutions. Nurses lack a straight forward way in which thy can carry it out within a certain clinical setting. Consequently, the methods may end up failing. There is little literature to link evidence based practice with diversity issues let alone generational differences. (Hicks & Hicks, 1999)

Conclusion
In order for health organizations to flourish, there is a need to acknowledge differences between various generations of nurses. However, when it comes to evidence based practice, other issues take greater precedence over generation differences. A literature review has shown minimal correlation exists between evidence based practice and diversity. Instead, clinics need to look for ways in which they can boost administrative support, offer proper orientation and training to nurses.

References

Cordinez, J. (2002): Recruitment, retention and management of generation X; Health Care Management Journal, 47, 237
Hicks, R. & Hicks, K. (1999): Boomers, Xers and other strangers; Harper Collins
Raines, C. (2003): Connecting generations; CA, Crisp Publishers
Spitzer, R. (2001): A new world and new generation to come; Seminars for Nurse Managers, 9. 1367

The author of this article is a holder of Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard University and currently pursing PhD Program. He is also a professional academic writer. ResearchPapers247.Com>