Generation Next
Campaign calls upon nurses to draw young people into the fold

By Beth Ulrich, Ed.D, RN, South Central Editor
October 29, 2001

Increasing the supply of registered nurses will require the efforts of many people. One group that is making an impressive start is Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow, a coalition of 32 nursing and health care organizations working on a communication campaign to attract young people to the nursing profession. Sigma Theta Tau serves in a coordinating role for the coalition, with Elizabeth Dole and Luci Baines Johnson serving as honorary chairs.

The coalition first sought to discover how children perceive nursing as a professional career. In August 2000, group interviews took place with more than 1,800 schoolchildren in grades two to 10 from 10 cities across the United States. The results were dismaying, but uncover the real challenge we face in recruiting future nurses.

First and foremost, students saw no compelling reason to become nurses. They could not visualize where nurses work. The students had been exposed to a lot of positive talk about becoming doctors, but virtually none about becoming nurses. Many weren't sure what you had to do to become an RN and were worried about job security, having heard about hospitals closing and problems with Medicare.

They saw nursing as a woman's job that is scary and stressful, technical instead of professional, supportive to physicians rather than a separate job and with no career advancement opportunities. In addition, they didn't like the hours or the idea of wearing a uniform. Few knew of the grants and loan programs that could help them pay for a nursing education. While we all would agree with some of their perceptions, we must help them see the broader view of our profession to have any chance of recruiting these children into nursing.

Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow has launched an extensive ad campaign to do just that. Seven print advertisements and a public service announcement have been designed and the announcement has been distributed to more than 200 television stations around the country.

The message of the ads is that nursing is a career for everyone. Professionalism, teamwork, leadership and the many job options available to nurses are the themes of the campaign that runs with the tagline "Nursing. It's Real. It's Life." Other plans include helping to educate teachers and guidance counselors about nursing as a profession and improving students' awareness of educational funding options.

To be successful, the coalition needs the help of individuals and organizations. Organizations can contribute money, but even better, can help place the ads in their local community media. NURSEWEEK is contributing more than $125,000 in advertising to Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow.

Individual nurses can contribute in many ways. You can talk to children about nursing opportunities and help them access loans and scholarships. You can help educate teachers and guidance counselors at your children's schools about nursing as a profession.

It is a unique event for this many nursing organizations to come together in pursuit of a common goal. It is a goal we can all adopt. Nursing, like every other profession, has its pluses and minuses. We need to make sure that both sides are known. The future health care of our nation depends upon it.

For additional information and resources, visit Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow
at www.nursesource.org.

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