The document discusses the significance of generational differences in the workforce and educational settings, outlining six living generations in America, their defining characteristics, and the impact of these differences on expectations and communication. It emphasizes the need for educators to adapt teaching strategies to a more inclusive and participatory learning environment. Key recommendations include using diverse media, providing regular feedback, and teaching effective communication skills.

1. Communication Across Generations
Jac Levesque, A.Ed.
Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Faculty Affairs

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Disclosures
• The speaker has no financial or other conflicts of interest to
disclose.

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Objectives
• At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
– Define the meaning of “generations” in the United States, and why these
groups share a cultural identity;
– Identify the five (5.0) generations in today’s workforce/educational
environment;
– Recognize how generational differences can effect expectations,
communication and learning styles;
– Develop strategies to create a more inclusive learning environment;
– Utilize your personal generational attributes to guide your student’s
professional development.

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What is a generation?
• Viewed as the average familial time period for a child to grow
up, become an adult, and have children of their own.
– 30 years
• Groups which tend to believe/behave in a similar way because
they grew up experiencing the same “things” in the same
format.
– For cultural generations, we examine approximately 20 year spans

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Why the Difference?
• Think of cohorts – 20 year span leads to common life
experiences
• Five key variables which lead to generational differences:
– Family/Parenting
– Social Movements
– World Events
– Technology
– Economy

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Six Living Generations in America
• GI Generation (Born 1901 – 1926)
• Mature/Silents (Born 1927-1945)
• Baby Boomers (Born 1946 – 1964)
• Generation X (Born 1965 – 1980)
• Generation Y/Millennium (Born 1981 – 2000)
• Generation X/Boomlets (Born after 2001)

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Generations in America
• Five are generally in the workplace together.
• By 2021, the two youngest generations will make compose
nearly 70% of all global employees.

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GI Generation (The Greatest Generation 1901 – 1926)
• Children of WWI generation and fighters in WWII
• Young during Great Depression – strong models to overcome and
progress
• Excellent team players
• Community-minded
• Very loyal
• Strongly interested in personal morality; near-absolute standards of
right/wrong
• Avoid debt
• Grew up without a/c, tv, airplanes

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Mature/Silents (1927 – 1945)
• Korean and Vietnam War generations
• Formative years were during an era of strong conformity
• Most women stayed home; teacher, nurse, secretary
• Men pledged loyalty to a corporation
• Married for life
• Avid readers, especially newspapers
• Most free-spending retirees in history
• Beginnings of Civil Rights

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Baby Boomers (1946 - 1964)
• Born just after WWII – two sets (Hippies and Yuppies)
• “Me” generation
• Buy it now and use credit
• Ushered in free love and societal “non-violent” protests which triggered
violence
• Women began working outside home in record numbers
• First tv generation; first divorce generation
• Optimistic, driven, positive about hierarchy and tradition
• One of the largest generations in history with 77 million

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Generation X (1965 - 1980)
• “Latch-key kids”
• Entrepreneurial; very individualistic
• Government and big business mean little; cynical of many institutions
• Want to save their neighborhood, not the world
• Commit to self; average seven (7.0) lifetime career changes
• Raised in transition of written world to digital
• Late to marry and quick to divorce
• Into labels and brands; most deeply in credit card debt
• Self-absorbed and short on loyalty
• AIDS first disease which could not be quarantined

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Generation Y/Millennium (1981 - 2000)
• Nurtured by parents
• Learn early that the world is not a safe place
• Schedule everything; feel enormous academic pressure
• Most socialization from the internet
• Prefer digital literacy
• Want to work in teams
• Unlimited access to info; fast and immediate processing
• Expect the world to treat them as special
• Want hand holding and accolades
• If they can find the information they have a “right” to it

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Generation Z/Boomlets (after 2001)
• 2006 record number of US births; 49% of those born were Hispanic
• Most common name in US changed from Smith to Rodriguez
• Two subgroups:
– Tweens (8-12): $51B spent by them with an additional $170B by parents for them
– Toddler/Elementary: 4M have their own cell phones
• Never known world without computers and cell phones
• Eco-fatigue
• Over-saturated with brands; savvy consumers
• Leave toys behind at younger age

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Today’s Faculty
• Average age of practicing physician is 52
– 70% are 40 – 69 years old (Baby Boomers)
– 20% are 30 – 39 years old (Generation X)
– 10% are older than 69 (Silents)

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Today’s Residents
• Those entering residencies in 2019…
– Grown up with bottled water
– Never knew the Berlin Wall
– Pete Rose has never played baseball, and Nelson Mandela has always been free
– Women have always served as police chiefs in major US cities
– Eastern Airlines never existed; smoking on airlines has never been allowed
– Fox has always been a major news network
– MTV has never shown music videos
– Films have never been rated X, only NC-17
– Google has always been a verb
– Madden has always been a game, not a coach

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What am I dealing with?
• Don’t read; shorter attention span
• Seek multiple sources of info; poor judge of quality (Wikipedia)
• No need to memorize anything they can look up
• Want to participate in tasks they view as valuable; no value in “scutwork”
• Loss of connectivity is a natural disaster
• Beginning of “shift worker” mentality
• Medicine is more a job; less a profession

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What am I dealing with?
• Do not automatically respect experience; low social awareness
• Multi-taskers; little comprehension of time or place
• Why should I care??
• Constant feedback; constant EXPLICIT feedback
• Risky to try to “light a fire”
• Communication styles relate more to texting than the King’s English

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What does this mean for today’s medical
educators?
• Communication styles relate to texting
• Must have technology in their hand
– Losing aptitude to problem solve
• Lack the ability to “read the room”
• Expectations must be explicit

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What does this mean for today’s medical
educators?
• Global – want those experiences
• Mobile – hesitant to stay in one location
• Not afraid of risks
• Lifelong learners
• Adaptable
• Want their life to matter

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Teaching Strategies
• Replace long lectures with problem-solving experiences (hand-on)
• Variety of media for lectures (i.e podcasts)
• Discuss valid sources of info; train in methods of research
• Be prepared to explain the value of scutwork and memorization
– Be prepared to explain the value of EVERYTHING

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Teaching Strategies
• Set expectations and boundaries; dress codes, arrival times, putting up
cell phones, chain of command
• Provide regular feedback – but tell them first
• Expect to be questioned; teach how to learn from experience
• Teach them how to communicate

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References
• Deloit Mindset List - (themindsetlist.com).
• Longenecker, Beth A., DO, FACOEP, FACEP, CS. (2016). American Association of College of Osteopathic Medicine, Annual
Conference. Washington, DC.
• The Six Living Generations in America. (www.marketingteacher.com/the-six-living-generations-in-amercia).
• Pappas, Christopher. 8 Important Characteristics of Millennials eLearning Professionals Should Know. (elearningindustry.com/8-
important-characteristics-of-millennials-elearning-professionals-know). (2016).
• Pruitt, Shane. 10 Characteristics of Generation Z. (shanepruitt.com/10-characteristics-generation-z).
• CGK The Center for Generational Kinetics. Generational Breakdown: Info About All of the Generations. (genhq.com/FAQ-info-
about-generations/).
• Bennett, Mary R.Ph. (2017). A Breakdown of the Five Generations of Employees in the Workplace. (www.navexglobal.com).
• The Deloit Global Millennial Survey 2019. (https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/About-
Deloitte/deloitte-2019-millennial-survey.pdf).

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Contact Info
Jacqueline (Jac) Levesque, A.Ed.
Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Faculty Affairs
713/743-9564
jelevesq@central.uh.edu