Self-entitled, self-absorbed and selfie-obsessed. These are just a few adjectives critics use to describe the millennial generation of today’s 16-to-36-year-olds, born between 1980 and 2000. Born in the early 80s, I both understand the criticism levied against my generation and simultaneously empathize with many of my peers who were raised in the digital revolution and, thus, see the world differently. The unique and, at times, bewildering views of millennials pose challenges to the health care industry and to the U.S. workforce, which, as of 2015, is now primarily composed of millennials.

So, who are today’s millennials, and how can mid-and-late career physicians engage millennial employees, attract millennial patients and impress potential millennial partners? Before we can fully understand millennials, we must first understand the results of studies about millennials — their technology, their potential impact on electronic health records (EHR) and their values.

Smartphones

More than 85% of millennials own a smartphone, and 18-to-29-year-olds send or receive, on average, 88 text messages daily compared with 27 daily text messages for those ages 30 to 49 and 11 for those ages 50 to 64. Furthermore, text messaging is a vital tool to reach millennials, as 98% of text messages are opened compared with just 23% of emails. Smartphones are now a mainstay for millennial learners, with 59% of Canadian medical students and 77% of residents reporting smartphone use more than once a day to access medical resources online, with the most popular being UpToDate, Epocrates and Medscape.

Tips to keep up with millennials:

• Texting is to millennials as talking is to baby boomers. Don’t be afraid to text (professionally, of course) your millennial colleagues or employees instead of contacting them via a phone call or voicemail.
• Consider setting up text-based appointment reminders for millennial patients. And please, on behalf of all millennials, learn to text with one (or two!) thumbs simultaneously. Nothing says “old school” to a millennial like a pointer-finger-texting baby boomer.
• When interacting with millennials in clinical settings, whether as trainees or as patients, recognize that what may appear as disinterest may actually be a millennial using his or her smartphone to Google the various medical conditions, terminology, diagnoses or treatment options being discussed.
• Set up a guest Wi-Fi at your office waiting room as the 21st-century equivalent of the Readers Digest and Sports Illustrated that adorned waiting rooms in years past.
• Establish a strong professional social media presence, with Facebook being, by far, the most popular social network among millennials, followed by Instagram, Twitter and others.

EHR and patient portals

Today’s millennial physicians were raised in the digital age of computers, learning to both type and write cursive, a skill that is no longer even included in common curricula. Most millennial physicians today have NEVER written a patient progress note by hand, and, despite their predecessors reminiscing about “the good old days” of paper charts, many millennials would still prefer to type their notes. While still too early to tell, it seems fair to speculate that millennial physicians may hasten the adoption of EHR, as many young physicians (myself included) specifically seek training programs and practice settings with an established EHR. Millennial patients may also further adoption of patient portals, as 43% of millennials want to be able to access patient portals using their smartphones, 44% would like to use portals to obtain personalized health-related recommendations, and 23% would like industry news about health topics of interest to them. Finally, more than 70% of millennials would like their physician to use mobile devices to review health records and schedule appointments.

Tips to keep up with millennials:

• Consider the adoption of EHR as not only a method to satisfy meaningful use requirements but also as part of a growth strategy to attract millennial doctors to join your practice.
• Explore ways to engage millennials’ desire for online health information and patient portal access.
• Publish YouTube videos of your surgeries, start a practice-centered blog, ensure that your practice website and patient portal are mobile-optimized and offer to email a copy of your patient’s visit summary.

Qualities, values, and life priorities

Perhaps the most interesting social research among millennials involves their qualities, values and life priorities. Despite being publicly criticized as self-centered and entitled, millennials do NOT rank salary as the highest factor when seeking employment, and they are, in fact, willing to forego a higher-paying job for benefits such as health and life insurance. Millennials have high rates of volunteerism and financial donation, believe families have a responsibility to care for elderly parents, greatly value paid parental leave and relocation to be near family and are more optimistic about the future than any prior generation.

Tips to keep up with millennials:

• Emphasize health insurance and retirement benefits when seeking to hire millennials.
• Increase millennial engagement and job satisfaction by encouraging volunteerism and sponsoring charity events.
• Seek opportunities for millennials to work remotely when able.
• Offer the option of paid time off instead of cash incentives/bonuses.

Summary

Millennials, like every generation, are characterized by well-defined, and often misunderstood, stereotypes. By appreciating what is inside the millennial mind, the background, the skillset and the unique views of this digitally driven generation, we can better engage millennials to make a positive difference in the workplace and the world.

Steve Christiansen is an ophthalmology resident who blogs at EyeSteve.  He can be reached on Twitter @EyeSteve.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com