Exploring nurse mentors' job crafting: A longitudinal study on missed nursing care across student supervision

Aim: To compare the job crafting strategies nurse mentors use when mentoring students versus during periods of respite and to assess the effectiveness of these strategies in reducing instances of missed nursing care (MNC). Background: Nurses who serve as mentors may have to train a group of nursing students on top of their routine nursing duties. The corresponding high workloads and limited resources may force them to decide which nursing care to delay or omit (i.e., MNC). The mentors’ initiative and the actions they take to address the multiple job requirements which do not align with the organization's resources are referred to as job crafting strategies. Mentors can use these strategies to shape their role as nurses as well as their role as mentors, depending on their motives and personality. Design: A longitudinal study with data collected at two time points. Methods: One hundred nurse mentors completed validated questionnaires assessing job crafting strategies, MNC and work overload while actively mentoring students. Eighty returned for a follow-up during a non-mentoring period three months later. Data analysis included paired t-tests and hierarchical multivariable linear regressions. Results: No significant differences were found in MNC between the two points (1.83 SD 0.6 vs. 1.82 SD 0.75; p=0.942). A decrease in hindering demands was noted during active mentoring compared with respite (2.6 SD 0.97 vs. 2.84 SD 0.96; p=0.038). Enhancing structural job resources was significantly negatively correlated with MNC during active mentoring, while enhancing challenging job demands was positively correlated with MNC during these periods (β=0.48, p=0.18 and β=-0.35, p=0.014, respectively). Conclusion: Nurse mentors can effectively reduce MNC by focusing on enhancing structural resources and limiting challenging demands during mentoring periods. It is essential for healthcare organizations to support nurse mentors with manageable workloads and necessary resources to maintain high-quality care.