Learning to be a doctoral supervisor: Experiences and views of nurse supervisors of higher degree research students

Abstract

Given the importance of doctoral training to the future of the discipline, we sought to gain insight into nurse doctoral supervisor's experiences of supervision training and preparation and their views on what quality training for doctoral supervisors in nursing would look like. Doctorally prepared nurses have been found to contribute significantly to improvements in knowledge to inform patient care; yet there is little focus on the development of this aspect of the nursing workforce, and little evaluation of supervisor training, confidence and competence. Qualitative storytelling, semi-structured interviews were conducted via a videoconferencing programme, audio-recorded and thematically analysed with twenty-one experienced nurse doctoral supervisors. Findings are reported in line with the COREQ guidelines. Thematic analysis revealed four themes: 'I had a great mentor': the importance of mentorship and role modelling; 'Sometimes it's just trial and error': learning through experience; 'It's like tick a box': strengths and limitations of formal supervisor training; and 'The training should be more holistic': what should be in supervisor training. We recommend doctoral supervisors be encouraged to seek mentoring for supervision, formal mentoring and clinical supervision for the first five completions and the formation of discipline-based supervisor learning groups in nursing as an adjunct to generic mandatory supervisor training. Further development of clinical nursing is inextricably linked to quality nurse-led research, and doctorally prepared nurses are essential to the continued development of nursing as an evidence-informed practice discipline. Quality doctoral supervision for and by nurses is crucial and we argue that focus must be given to ensuring the development of a skilled doctoral supervision workforce in nursing.