Researchers from University Medical Center Utrecht are conducting a line of research under the title ‘Strengths & capabilities: designing nursing practice in a changing nursing environment.’ Researchers Dewi Stalpers, Marloes Veenstra and Lisette Schoonhoven are examining questions regarding the optimisation of nurse employability, the role of job crafting* in this respect, and what this means for nurses, the team and the organisation. 
The hypothesis is that differentiation based on individual strengths and capabilities could contribute towards:
•    providing nurses with insight into their individual strengths and how to make the best use of them (reflective professionals);
•    showing nurses what kind of impact they could make on patient care and how much influence they have;
•    providing organisations with insight into how to make the best use of nursing professionals’ capabilities (organisational support);

Special attention is also given to developments in the role and tasks of nurses, and how nurses deal with changes in their work. The final topic deals with the question of what effects these have on the quality of patient care, and on job satisfaction among nurses. The FD Tool is an important source of data in this substudy. This is an instrument that provides hospitals with insight into the effects of differentiated practice on quality with respect to patients, staff and organisations. 

*Definition of job crafting: Facilitating changes in the characteristics of a person’s job in order to better align that job with personal needs, interests and capabilities.