Gen Z is now well into its “internship era,” and a slew of research on the cohort’s first few years working in health-care signals a promising coincidence—it seems the TikTok generation’s life online may have inadvertently given it the tech-savviness, social consciousness and destigmatized view of mental health that the health-care system needs to modernize.
In a report this summer, the C.D. Howe Institute stated Canadian hospitals are “near the limit of the improvements that can be achieved” with their patchwork approach to adopting innovations in health-care. Meanwhile, a research review in Nurse Education Today looked at 14 studies on the perceptions of Gen Z’s health-care debut, and found they’ve been widely deemed the most tech-savvy the field has ever seen. They can pick up new tech easily and, crucially, they’re enthusiastic to continue using the latest versions of it (that tracks, after a childhood of bombastic smartphone and console launches).
Gen Z has also become known for a strong sense of social justice and high levels of empathy, compassion and self-confidence, which a study in RSIS International attributes to its formative years on social media. That study also points to social media as a driver of not just Gen Z’s openness in talking about mental health conditions, but its skyrocketing rates of experiencing them firsthand.
Gen Z’s strengths have been a boon for Dr. Jennifer Crosbie and her team at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. The Crosbie Lab works to tease apart the complex biological and environmental factors that contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders in children, particularly ADHD, as well as the impacts on child and youth mental health. For over six years, the lab has hired two to three students from the University of Toronto Scarborough’s Arts and Science Co-op Program, and Dr. Crosbie says her team is constantly surprised by how quickly these young students can adapt to the demands of a complex research environment, even with limited exposure and experience.
“Within a few weeks, they gain great confidence in navigating databases, contributing to discussions and managing their own deliverables,” says Dr. Crosbie, whose two current co-op students have been extracting data from clinical patient files and organizing them in the lab’s REDCap databases. “This level of professionalism is quite impressive, and it acts as a strong reminder of the potential young researchers bring when given the right environment and mentorship.”
Dr. Crosbie and her team have come to trust the co-op students from U of T Scarborough so much that their current ones are directly gathering and contributing data for a major province-wide project on the drivers of neurodevelopmental disorders. The co-op students must keep their study participants, many of whom are children with ADHD, engaged while administering cognitive tasks and gathering high-quality data. Student Cameron Gilbert says the kids enjoy some activities more than others (she and fellow co-op student Ayeza Ahmed use video games, virtual reality and other engaging mediums when able), but they’ve always found a way.
“We adapt to their moods, preferences and strengths to give them a better experience,” Gilbert says of their work with the kids. “Through the cognitive tasks we administer … I have come to love learning about how different people come to the same conclusion.”
Both Gilbert and Ahmed credit the lab for giving them a far more complex understanding of health-care and research. They’ve attended workshops, seminars and conferences with a gamut of researchers and professionals, expanding their networks and exposing them to the seeds of ideas they may eventually dedicate their careers to (Gilbert is expressly on the hunt to discover her “research niche”). They attend and participate in daily lab meetings, and while they both speak at length about the practical skills they’ve developed, Ahmed says what she’s working to gain from this experience is deeper than that.
“I wish to strengthen the way I operate in team environments, especially in a team where every individual wears multiple hats,” she says. “From acquiring new skills to adapting current ones, I want to continue expanding my skillset to continue being an asset in more ways than one.”
U of T Scarborough’s Arts and Science Co-op Program also supports the administrative side of recruitment and prepares its students with the tools, skills and goals to quickly start making an impact at their workplace.
“The structure of the co-op program at U of T ensures that students come in with clear goals, timelines, and academic support, which helps streamline onboarding and supervision,” Dr. Crosbie says. “We have also found it a great way to identify strong candidates for future roles, since co-op placements can often turn into longer-term opportunities.”
The co-op team at U of T helps health-care organizations get the support they need for short-term projects (of four, eight or 12 months), with students ready to help with research, communications, data analysis and much more. Connect with an expert and learn more about hiring a co-op student for your team.
By Alexa Battler
