The “Millennials”: First year in practice

Each year, thousands of novice nurses join the workforce. The overwhelming majority begin their careers in an acute care facility. Most of what we know about novice nurses comes from studies conducted over the last several decades. These studies have focused heavily on issues such as novice/expert differences on the performance of tasks. While they illuminate differences in judgment and decision-making skills, they provide little information on the reality of the novices' clinical practice. What is missing in the literature is an insider's look from the perspective of the millennial-born (1980–1999) novice nurse. Millennial novice nurses have both educators and experienced nurses searching for communication and learning strategies to engage the newest members of the nursing profession, yet the perceptions of millennial novice nurses have not yet been identified. This is a qualitative interpretive longitudinal study that utilized phenomenology as the philosophical and context method to illuminate the perceptions of millennial novice nurses. Audio-taped interviews were conducted at 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. Findings have implications for both nurse educators and nurses in acute care facilities, especially those orienting the newest generation of novice nurses.