Assignment: Creating a Welcoming Workplace for the Older Worker

Assignment: Creating a Welcoming Workplace for the Older Worker

Assignment: Creating a Welcoming Workplace for the Older Worker

NURS 6221: MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES – Assignment 10 (Grading Rubic Attached and Sample Format APA template attached)
Assignment: Creating a Welcoming Workplace for the Older Worker

The nursing workforce is aging rapidly. In fact, Baby Boomers constitute the largest group of nurses currently practicing. This aging workforce poses two significant ramifications for nurse managers. First, due to the volatility and uncertainty in the world and national economy, many Baby Boomers have shifted their retirement plans and are staying in the workforce. This is requiring creative responses on the part of employers. Conversely, as these highly experienced and knowledgeable nurses do begin to exit the active workforce, experts anticipate a “brain drain” that will affect all levels of health care environments.

In this week’s Assignment, you critically assess your current organization or one with which you are familiar to determine why older workers may stay in or leave their positions. In addition, you suggest strategies that could help to retain and further engage this specific population of nurses.

To prepare

Review the article, “From Veterans to Nexters: Managing the Multi-Generational Nursing Workforce.” Reflect upon the key ideas: the challenges and implications of managing a multi-generational workforce, common generational differences, interventions for increasing generational motivation, and strategies for retaining the older nurse.

Reflect on your current organization or one with which you are familiar and determine the demographic breakdown of employees based on age. Then, consider how this specific work environment might present difficulties for older workers and think about factors that might cause these employees to leave your setting.

Use this week’s Learning Resources, as well as your own scholarly research, to identify strategies that could engage and retain this population of nurses.

To complete

Submit a 3- to 5-page paper in which you do the following:

Identify the demographic breakdown of employees in the organization. If you are unable to access exact demographical data, provide your best estimate for each of the following age ranges: 20–30, 30–40, 40–50, 50–60, and 60–70, and 70+.

Describe at least two ways the work environment is conducive to older workers and at least two difficulties it might present. Support your response by citing authentic examples from the workplace and this week’s Learning Resources as applicable.

Propose at least four specific strategies you could implement to engage and retain older workers.

Minimum number of references required is 5.

Required Readings

Beheri, W. H. (2009). Diversity within nursing: Effects on nurse-nurse interaction, job satisfaction, and turnover. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 33(3), 216–226.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Beheri’s article examines the effects of diversity in nursing. The study found that nurses who are satisfied with their jobs and have a higher level of education are more likely to tap into the potential offered by cultural diversity.

Collins-McNeil, J., Sharpe, D., & Benbow, D. (2012). Performance potential. Aging workforce: Retaining valuable nurses. Nursing Management, 43(3), 50–51.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Due to the increasing connectivity between patient safety and government-sponsored financial incentives, it is important for nurse managers to understand the specific language used by finance. This article examines the importance of this topic.

Harton, B. B., Marshburn, D., Kuykendall, J., Poston, C., & Mears, D. A. (2012). Self-scheduling: Help or hindrance? Nursing Management, 43(1), 10–12.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This article discusses the possibility of allowing nurses to create their own schedules to boost retention.

Outten, M. K. (2012). From veterans to nexters: Managing a multigenerational nursing workforce. Nursing Management, 43(4), 42–47.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

The author of this article addresses the need for effective management of a multigenerational workforce. Increased nurse turnover and interpersonal conflict are some of the consequences of overlooking this type of diversity.

Wisotzkey, S. (2011). Will they stay or will they go? Insight into nursing turnover. Nursing Management, 42(2), 15–17.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

In this article, the author focuses on creating a work environment that will decrease the effects of nurse turnover. The author states that organizational commitment has the most direct effect on these turnover rates.

Optional Resources

Manion, J. (2009). Managing the multi-generational nursing workforce: Managerial and policy implications (White Paper). Retrieved from International Centre for Human Resources in Nursing website: http://www.hrhresourcecenter.org/node/2377

Hatcher, B. J. (Ed.). (2006). Wisdom at work: The importance of the older and experienced nurse in the workplace (White Paper). Retrieved from National Academy on an Aging Society website: http://www.agingsociety.org/agingsociety/links/wisdomatwork.pdf

Chambers, P. D. (2010). Tap the unique strengths of the millennial generation. Nursing, 40(2), 48–51. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/nursing/Citation/2010/02000/Tap_the_unique_strengths_of_the_millennial.18

Files: pf4qyp1ea6.doc, 804z403tkf.doc

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.