Mind the Gap: Exploring the Needs of Early Career Nurses and Midwives in the Workplace

Source: Summary report from Birmingham and Solihull LETC Every Student Counts Project. Published by Health Education England.

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Publication format: PDF

Date of publication: May 2015

Summary of driver: This is the report of a project looking at recruitment and retention of early career nurses and midwives (currently consisting of Generation Y). Research was conducted among final year students and newly qualified staff showing that early career nurses and midwives wanted, among other things, clear progression pathways, care and support from team leaders, spiritedness, meaningful work, developmental support and flexibility to achieve work-life balance.

It also looks at the differing needs of four different ‘generations’ of nurses and midwives (Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z) in terms of support required for their career, and also the differing values, expectation and motivations of each generation. Generation Z are those just entering higher education now, born after 1995, so will be entering the workforce shortly.

Key features of driver:

  • Overviews of the characteristics of each generation as infographics
  • More detailed information about the workplace needs of Generation Y (born 1980 – 1994) who make up 35% of the NHS workforce

Primary audience: Health Education England, employers and education providers

Impact on library policy/practice:

It’s difficult to pinpoint specific implications for library services, as the report is focused on the work environment, and the generational cohort descriptions are very stereotyped. It may be that characteristics shaped by differing learning styles may have a bigger impact for us.

Date last updated: August 2016

Due for review: August 2017

Group member responsible: JC

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