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Senior nurse involvement in project development : how best to utilize the skills of senior nurses in the workplace

University of British Columbia

Encouraging senior nurse participation in project development aimed at transferring knowledge from older to younger generations may increase retention of nurses nearing retirement and attract new nurses looking for institutions that offer innovative education and support programs. Senior nurse involvement in project work is not without challenges. Coping with the current nursing shortage and the conflicts of a multi-generational workforce make the design and implementation of senior nurse projects complex. With funding support from the BC Nurses Bargaining Association 12 focus groups were conducted with nurses 55 years of age and older to assess what senior nurses are currently doing and what resources they would need to formalize their project ideas in order to pass on their expertise to others. Participants generated a high level of interest and a number of ideas; such as mentoring programs and strategies to enhance quality and safety in the workplace. Focus group participants also identified current practice facilitators and barriers; such as the need for back-fill to cover time away for project development and implementation. Based on focus group results, this thesis will discuss focus group findings and provide insight on how senior nurses are involved and what potential exists for future development of projects. Senior nurse project work may facilitate the transfer of knowledge from older to younger nurses and increase retention of senior and millennial nurses.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-11-10

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/14727

Nursing

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/