Nature and Prevalence of Mentoring Support Reported by Air Force Nurses
Abstract
The Air Force Mentoring Program may never achieve its potential success because mentoring received by Air Force members is mandated and the manner in which it is delivered, predetermined. This study's purposes were to learn: (1) what type of mentoring support Air Force nurses reported most frequently, and (2) differences in reported mentoring support between demographic groups of: (a) gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) age, (d) rank, (e) level of education, and (f) number of duty assignments. A cross-sectional convenience cluster sampling design was utilized for this descriptive study. Four types of mentoring support: career mentoring, coaching, collegial social, and collegial task support, were measured using the Mentoring and Communication Support Scale. Participants (N = 467) were registered nurses with at least 12 months of active duty experience as an Air Force nurse, Overall, collegial task support (72%) and collegial social support (56%) were reported more frequently than career mentoring (43%) or coaching (33%). Participants' level of education and number of duty assignments produced significant statistical differences in reported perceived types of mentoring support. Masters-prepared participants (n = 177) perceived more mentoring support than participants (n = 286) with baccalaureate degrees. Participants (n = 272) assigned to less than 3 duty assignments perceived less mentoring than participants (n = 195) assigned to 4 or more duty assignments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 25, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA392130
Entities
People
- Deedra L. Zabokrtsky
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology