The Learning Preferences and Work Values of Current Generation Nursing Students

Friday, March 27, 2020: 2:05 PM

Debra C. Hampton, PhD
College of Nursing, University of Kentucky College of Nursing, Nicholasville, KY, USA

Purpose:

A new generation of students, Generation Z, currently makes up the majority of students in the traditional baccalaureate nursing (BSN) classroom. These students, born in 1995 or after (Seemiller & Grace, 2016; Seemiller & Grace, 2017) are also completing RN programs and moving into nurse staffing roles. Generation Z was proceeded by Generation Y (Millennial generation) that make up a few of the BSN nursing students in today’s classrooms. How will Generation Z students and Generation Z nurses impact the classroom and work environment, as compared to Generation Y? What are the learning preferences of Generation Y and Z students and what values do they/will they espouse in the workplace? This presentation will describe classroom teaching methods that Generation Y and Z nursing students preferred and the work values that they identified as the most and least important.

Methods:

This study employed a descriptive, cross-sectional design through the use of a REDCap survey. Participants included students enrolled in a traditional baccalaureate nursing program at a university in the southcentral part of the United States. Preference for teaching methods were assessed through the use of a teaching preferences instrument previously used by the researcher that was adapted for use in this study and included teaching methods identified by college faculty as the methods primarily used in this setting. Work values were measured by the Lyons Work Values Survey, a 25-item instrument focused on factors that individuals identify as important in the work environment; this instrument consisted of four work value components: extrinsic/instrumental; intrinsic/cognitive; social/altruistic; and prestige/status (Lyons, Higgins, & Duxbury, 2010). This instrument was used in this study because it included work value aspects applicable to current generations based on information published to date (Hampton & Keys, 2016; Seemiller & Grace, 2016).

Results:

Participants included 120 traditional BSN students. Lecture with audience response clickers, followed by traditional lecture, were the most preferred methodologies for helping Generation Z nursing students learn (H, W, & W, 2019), while lecture with audience response clickers, followed by simulation and traditional lecture, were the most preferred methodologies for Generation Y nursing students. Assigned reading was the least preferred method for both generations. The work values component ranked most important by participants in both generations was social/altruistic, followed by instrumental/extrinsic.

Conclusion:

Innovative lectures that incorporate applicable visual images and audience involvement combined with other active methods of learning may encompass a teaching formula that will engage and foster learning for today’s nursing students. Generation Z nurses, the newest generation to enter the workplace, will make a strong impact in the healthcare workplace due to their desire to help people.

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