LETTER TO THE EDITOR Year : 2022  |  Volume : 35  |  Issue : 3  |  Page : 109-110

Talking about my and your generation: Innovation of the three-generational communication training program for millennials

Takuya Saiki, Koji Tsunekawa, Kaho Hayakawa, Chihiro Kawakami, Rintaro Imafuku
Medical Education Development Center, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan

Date of Submission12-Sep-2018Date of Decision12-Nov-2022Date of Acceptance18-Apr-2023Date of Web Publication08-Jun-2023

Correspondence Address:
Dr. Takuya Saiki
Medical Education Development Center, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1194
Japan

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

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DOI: 10.4103/efh.EfH_247_18

How to cite this article:
Saiki T, Tsunekawa K, Hayakawa K, Kawakami C, Imafuku R. Talking about my and your generation: Innovation of the three-generational communication training program for millennials. Educ Health 2022;35:109-10
How to cite this URL:
Saiki T, Tsunekawa K, Hayakawa K, Kawakami C, Imafuku R. Talking about my and your generation: Innovation of the three-generational communication training program for millennials. Educ Health [serial online] 2022 [cited 2023 Jun 9];35:109-10. Available from: https://educationforhealth.net//text.asp?2022/35/3/109/378162

Dear Editor,

As the evolution of social networking platforms can reduce the opportunities for face-to-face multigenerational communication,[1] university students may live in a narrowly delineated society where they can share similar topics and values only within a homogeneous community.[2] Developing interpersonal communication skills related to heterogeneous generations, to broaden the understanding of the meaning of diverse social experiences and lifecycles, is essential for students belonging to the Millennial generation. We report on an educational innovation to address this issue.

We developed a three-generational communication training program in which 1st-year Japanese medical students communicated with citizens from multiple generations over 6 weeks. This phase consisted of six 3-h interactive sessions in which a group of 3–4 students were encouraged to communicate and build better relationships with a group of citizens, which included diverse segments from mothers with toddlers to elderly people. During the encounters with three generations of individuals, students talked about a variety of topics, such as work-life balance, childbirth, marriage, and death.

Drawing on Kolb's experiential learning,[3] we gave students time to reflect on and discuss their experience at the end of each session. Moreover, they were required to create and submit their reflective reports in an e-portfolio after the class. Faculty members provided feedback on student reports to facilitate students' deeper reflection, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation.[3] Analysis of the students' reflective reports and faculty members' participatory observations indicates that this program could have a positive impact on both students and citizens.

We found that these interactions allowed students to promote self-awareness and deeply reflect on how their communication approaches differed across the generations through reiterative trial and error in their interactions with the citizens. Students gradually understood the concept of a lifecycle and realized that they have grown due to the support from their parents, family, and community through their communication which was more empathetic than earlier. At the end of the practice, they deepened and developed their self-concepts in society and professional identity as future physicians [Figure 1].

Figure 1: Students' deepening perspectives of understanding of the self through the experiential learning of three generational communication

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In addition, the citizens realized that volunteering for the program was worthwhile, as they gained a new awareness of their own life through interactions with the Millennials. We observed that the elderly experienced a sense of contribution to society by sharing about their life experiences, such as losing their spouse. By establishing trustworthy relationships with the students, the mothers became hopeful that the students would become good doctors in future and would be able to treat their children. They also mentioned that their children looked forward to seeing the students every time and enjoyed themselves during the programme.

As Dimock pointed out, “Generations are a lens through which to understand societal change, rather than a label with which to oversimplify differences between groups.”[4] Although further studies are needed, we believe that this innovation has the potential means to develop an understanding of social connectedness with citizens that can be accelerated by face-to-face communication across different generations.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

 

  References 
1.Griffiths MD, Kuss DJ, Demetrovics Z. Social networking addiction: An overview of preliminary findings. In: Kenneth PR, Laura CF, editors. Behavioral Addictions: Criteria, Evidence, and Treatment. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Academic Press; 2014. p. 119-41.  
    2.Kolb DA. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: FT Press; 2014.  
    3.Pempek TA, Yermolayeva YA, Calvert SL. College students' social networking experiences on Facebook. J Appl Dev Psychol 2009;30:227-38.  
    4.Dimock M. Defining Generations: Where Millennials End and Post-Millennials Begin. Available from: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/01/defining-generations-where-millennials-end-and-post-millennials-begin/. [Last accessed on 2020 Nov 09].  
    
  [Figure 1]