A Phenomenological Study of Nurse Administrators: Leading the Multigenerational Workforce of Registered Nurses

Nurse shortages and nurse turnover are major issues in the health care industry. As 4 generations of nurses are working side by side for the first time in history in the health care industry, nurse leaders need to understand the generational differences in order to bridge the gap on retaining the nurses in the workforce. The primary focus of this applied dissertation study was to explore and obtain the lived experiences of leading the nursing intergenerational cohorts, as well as the strategies that nurse leaders or nurse managers can utilize to meritoriously attract, retain, and motivate the generational nursing workforce. The Leadership Questionnaire, designed in 2008 by Dr. Nelson, was utilized to interview 5 nurse administrators of the phenomenon to comprehend how the health care nurse administrators can utilize productive techniques of leading the nursing generational cohorts. The target population was members of a professional long-term care association. Once the nurse administrators agreed to participate on the study and signed the consent form, the researcher scheduled an initial 45-minute interview of three 15- to 30-minute interviews over a 3-month period. The data collected as a result of this study revealed findings: (a) the intergenerational educational gap in the nursing workforce, (b) the needs of the intergenerational nurses, (c) the critical aspect of continuing of professional education training development for the nurses, and (d) the critical leadership values on leading the intergenerational nursing cohorts. This applied research study dissertation intended to assist nurse leaders to reframe perceptions regarding the nurses’ intergenerational group (e.g., Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y) differences and to view these differences in attitudes and behaviors as potential strengths