Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are sometimes perceived to be helpless, incessant complainers, and members of the workforce who choose to take the proverbial "easier road" career-wise. However, there is one positive attribute this generational cohort has in comparison with those who precede it: a focus on good health. Millennials are individuals born between the years of 1980 and 1995, although some authors say 1981 and 1996. The oldest millennial is now approximately aged 42 years, and the youngest is now approximately aged 27 years. Sometimes high school and traditional college age students are mistakenly classified as millennials, but millennials are actually a vital part of today's workforce, and many have families of their own.
Millennials came of age in an era in which the public not only began to learn more about various health and diseases states through the internet and social media platforms but used these mediums as a way to educate themselves on methods of disease prevention and wellness. According to Nermoe (2022), 53% of millennials value health and wellness as second in importance after family. They also smoke less, consume healthier diets, and exercise more. They often use technology applications to monitor their daily exercise habits.
Although Baby Boomers and Generation X view the millennial approach to work as "job hopping," millennials are just in constant pursuit of a work-life balance that allows them to maintain their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. As Baby Boomers retire and more millennials begin to grow in numbers in the workforce, health care organizations will need to support this work-life balance to attract and retain millennial health care workers. The days of mandated overtime hours and no frequent work breaks are no more, because the millennials will not tolerate it. They value their health more than climbing up the corporate ladder. More millennial nurse practitioners (NPs) will leave their intrapreneurships at large health care macrosystems to start entrepreneurships at their own innovative health care practices which not only allow them to provide the best care for their patients but also maintain optimal care of their own health.
Several characteristics of millennial learners should be studied because they speak volumes about how we can better approach both teaching and the dissemination of knowledge through publication. Millennials tend to have shorter attention spans than previous generations of learners. They prefer interaction and collaboration when learning. In addition, it is important to remember that multitasking millennials embrace technology and somewhat expect it to be involved when they are engaged in learning. They naturally gravitate toward informal and stimulating environments (Sanchez, 2016). Online learning, podcasts, research briefs, and other short communication forms such as infographics are more appropriate for many millennials than the teaching and publication styles traditionally used.
Today, there are many millennial-aged NPs in our workforce. The journal welcomes contributions from our millennial colleagues and will continue to provide a variety of ways of engaging with our content so that all NPs recognize how the growing field of NP science can support their careers.
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