title: Fast-track for fast times: catching and keeping generation Y in the nursing workforce.
abstract: There is little doubt we find ourselves in challenging times as never before has there been such generational diversity in the nursing workforce. Currently, nurses from four distinct (and now well recognised and discussed) generational groups jostle for primacy of recognition and reward. Equally significant is the acute realisation that our ageing profession must find ways to sustain itself in the wake of huge attrition as the 'baby boomer' nurses start retiring over the next ten to fifteen years. These realities impel us to become ever more strategic in our thinking about how best to manage the workforce of the future. This paper presents two exciting and original innovations currently in train at one of Australia's leading Catholic health care providers: firstly, a new fast-track bachelor of nursing program for fee-paying domestic students. This is a collaborative venture between St Vincent's and Mater Health, Sydney (SV&MHS) and the University of Tasmania (UTas); as far as we know, it is unprecedented in Australia. As well, the two private facilities of SV&MHS, St Vincent's Private (SVPH) and the Mater Hospitals, have developed and implemented a unique 'accelerated progression pathway' (APP) to enable registered nurses with talent and ambition to fast track their career through a competency and merit based system of performance management and reward. Both these initiatives are aimed squarely at the gen Y demographic and provide potential to significantly augment our capacity to recruit and retain quality people well into the future.
authors.affiliation: St Vincent's Private Hospital, Sydney NSW and School of Nursing & Midwifery, The University of Tasmania, Hobart TAS and Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, University of Technology, Sydney NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Walker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D002322:Career Mobility; D015988:Cohort Effect; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004518:Education, Professional, Retraining / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales; D015401:Nursing Administration Research; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010563:Personnel Turnover; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012179:Retirement