Nursing PhD Program Research Articles

Student Reflections on Learning in a Doctoral-Level Writing Course.

Programs to improve student writing have been deployed widely in nursing graduate education, but few operational indicators exist for measuring their value. The challenge of measuring outcomes reflects the complexity of what transpires when graduate students write. Better understanding is needed of what it means to students to "learn" from writing support. A full-semester writing course was implemented in a nursing science PhD program. In formative course assessment activities, students identified problems in early drafts of their work, which they subsequently learned to detect and resolve. In this article, students report what was learned. Writing skills, like clinical skills, are intertwined with intellectual maturation and sense of professional identity. Writing, like clinical learning, requires an investment of time and labor far beyond what is typical in didactic approaches to classroom-based graduate education. Our experience suggests a need to reconceptualize writing pedagogy in nursing.

Strategies to Strengthen Nursing PhD Enrollment: An Ecological Systems Perspective.

Nurses with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree are essential to developing nursing knowledge, promoting health outcomes, and educating the next generation of nurses. Declining enrollment in nursing PhD programs calls for purposeful action. Guided by Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Framework, this article outlines barriers and facilitators, and offers strategies to increase PhD enrollment. Extant literature and the authors' cumulative experiences in PhD education and research were reviewed to identify strategies to increase PhD enrollment. Multilevel influences impede or facilitate enrollment in PhD programs. Strategies addressing individual and interpersonal influences included intentional personalized recruiting and early outreach to students at various levels of education. Institutional and organizational strategies included research partnerships and programs, and financial and infrastructure support. Sociocultural strategies included image branding and a positive social media presence supporting nurse scientists. Strategies to enhance PhD enrollment across all levels can spark interest in nursing science and PhD enrollment. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(12):669-678.].

Incorporating Omics and Precision Health in a Nursing PhD Program: The Perspectives of Student Nurse Scientists.

To engage in innovative and novel precision health and omics research, nurse scientists need to be knowledgeable about the genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors that impact health outcomes. This article illustrates the benefits of a nursing omics PhD curriculum at a state university. The purpose is to provide students' perspectives and research interests that were inspired by the omics and precision health curriculum. Exposing these early-career PhD nursing student scientists to omics and precision health engaged them to think broadly about the potential to generate original nurse-led research.

Nursing Education in Some European Higher Education Area (EHEA) Member Countries: A Comparative Analysis.

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has aimed at unifying, harmonizing, and ensuring consistency of higher education systems in Europe for over two decades. The objective of this study was to investigate the similarities and differences in the training programs of nurses in selected EHEA member countries. Comparative analysis was used. Based on three sources: research articles, internet databases, and emails sent to nursing education institutions. Three databases, namely Science Direct, PubMed, and ERIC, were utilized. Regarding educational institutions, the majority of countries' nurses graduated with a Bachelor's degree, except for Estonia, Russia, and North Macedonia. Russia had the shortest education duration (2 years and 10 months), while other member countries had programs lasting between 3-4 years. In countries where colleges were still active, diploma or certificate programs were offered, such as in Estonia and Russia. Only North Macedonia did not offer any continuing education for nurses, and Estonia, Latvia, and France did not have PhD programs in nursing. Nurses constitute the largest occupational group in healthcare, and the quality of medical care relies on their theoretical and practical training. Despite efforts to unify nursing curricula through the Bologna Process, significant differences still exist.

Perspectives and corrective processes: Evaluating social justice in a nursing PhD program

Efforts to integrate tenets of social justice into PhD nursing programs are long-standing but have intensified in the past few years in response to civil unrest, threats to human rights, and health inequities exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we present an overview of our School of Nursing’s efforts and processes to evaluate and ensure that social justice principles were reflected throughout the PhD program. Components of this initiative included (a) forming a Social Justice Taskforce, (b) conducting listening sessions with alumni and currently enrolled PhD students to understand student experiences, (c) surveying PhD students to aid in prioritization of recommendations for improvement, and (d) convening key stakeholders to connect student priority areas to institutional programs and practices. Lessons learned through these activities highlighted the importance of gaining the perspective of diverse constituents and stakeholders, acknowledging areas for improvement, engaging students in transformative action, and partnering with faculty, staff, and leaders in solution development as we work to eliminate systemic injustices in PhD nursing education.

Research focused doctoral nursing education in the 21st century: Curriculum, evaluation, and postdoctoral considerations.

The AACN position statement on The Research-Focused Doctoral Program in Nursing: Pathways to Excellence was revised in 2022 by an AACN Task Force charged with creating a new vision for the PhD and similar programs in nursing. This document, which was informed by hundreds of academic nursing stakeholders, yields expectations and recommendations for PhD program curriculum, program evaluation, post-doctoral competencies, and resources. Results of an AACN 2021 survey indicated increased enrollment in PhD programs 2017-2000. Fifteen percent of students were enrolled in BSN-PhD, programs, 70% of schools reported external review, and overall average time to degree completion was 5years. Considerations for the education for the research doctorate include development of curriculum that fosters the scholarship of discovery and scientific inquiry and implements systematic evaluation of program outcomes while advancing postdoctoral competencies and resources, including the post-doctoral fellowship. Comprehensive assessment of the PhD program promotes ongoing program analysis and quality. Postdoctoral fellowships advance the science of nursing via the creation of a culture and workforce for nursing research. Successful postdoctoral programs have mentors, resources, and infrastructure to adequately enable the fellow to progress in their line of inquiry and develop as an investigator.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholars program: An overview

BackgroundFollowing the 2010 report, “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health,” Robert Wood Johnson Foundation created the Future of Nursing Scholars program to increase the number of PhD-prepared nurses who could assume leadership roles earlier in their careers by shortening the PhD education trajectory and developing leadership skills. PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the state of the field at program launch, the program development, and operations. MethodsA descriptive narrative was used, which relied on literature review focused on nursing PhD program completion and presentation of FNS program objectives and findings. FindingsNurses from 46 schools pursued their PhDs as Future of Nursing Scholars. As of May 1, 2022, 181 scholars graduated with 20 scholars still enrolled. Preliminary results suggest accelerate PhD programs featuring intensive mentoring and financial support can produce well-prepared nurse researchers ready for postdoctoral positions and leadership roles. DiscussionProgram attributes including financial support and leadership development initiatives may be replicated.

Fostering Scholarly Development in Nursing Science: The Promise of Dimensional Analysis.

Scholarly development in nursing science is a challenging process of academic evolution. In doctoral programs, students move from mastering technical research skills toward developing scholarly identities. This article explores the utility of dimensional analysis as a method of inquiry for nursing PhD students seeking to deepen their scholarly development when completing course assignments and reaching doctoral program milestones. Using a brief case study, dimensional analysis was described as an interactionist method used to develop grounded theory and illustrate application of the method throughout a 3-year nursing PhD program. Nursing PhD students have the opportunity to drive the depth of their own scholarly development through engaging with theory, method, and independent inquiry. Dimensional analysis holds promise for scholars to simultaneously develop methodological skill, derive situation-specific theory, ground a program of research, and anchor that program of research with theory and method. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(2):112-115.].

Assessing postgraduate outcomes of research-intensive nursing science PhD programs: Methods and metrics

BackgroundAcross disciplines and within higher educational systems, assessing postgraduate outcomes is essential for evaluating doctoral programs, including research-intensive nursing science doctoral programs. However, there are limited reports regarding methods and metrics related to postgraduate longitudinal evaluation of research-focused nursing doctoral programs. PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to summarize studies in the area of postgraduate outcome assessment and provide recommendations regarding outcome methods and metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of research-focused nursing doctoral programs. MethodsPubMed/Medline, CINHAL Complete, and Google Scholar databases were searched using key words including PhD program, doctoral program, longitudinal evaluation, evaluation, program evaluation, PhD alumni survey, education outcomes and PhD program outcomes. We excluded non-English and full-text articles that were not available for review. DiscussionBased on a review of the literature, there are few reports on methods and questionnaires for postgraduate outcome assessment. There is a critical need to develop standardized core metrics/questions, longitudinal assessments, and a shared data repository. The latter will allow for comparisons across nursing doctoral programs. ConclusionRobust standardized longitudinal assessment of nursing doctoral programs is a necessary step for comparison across programs and re-envisioning the nursing doctoral education of the future.

Strategies for success in a nursing PhD program and beyond.

The purpose of this article is to inform newly enrolled PhD students of program expectations, strategies for success, and next steps in the career of a nurse scientist. We used empirical evidence and insights from the authors to describe strategies for success during a nursing PhD program and continued career development following graduation. Measures of success included maintaining health, focus, integrity, and a supportive network, identifying mentors, pursuing new knowledge and advancing research to transform health outcomes. Nursing PhD programs help to shape future researchers and leaders. Choosing to obtain a PhD in nursing is an investment in oneself, the discipline, and the science. Nursing PhD programs offer opportunities to advance science, impact healthcare and health outcomes, and prepare for a variety of career opportunities. Informing newly enrolled PhD students may better prepare them for what lies ahead and facilitate student retention.

Implementation and preliminary evaluation of a nursing PhD constellation mentorship model

Given an 8.3% decline in nursing PhD enrollments between 2013 and 2018 and persistent nursing faculty vacancies nationwide, training the next generation of PhD-prepared nurse faculty remains a priority for the nursing profession. High quality nursing PhD mentorship is linked to improved career development and student retention, yet the traditional faculty-student dyad often does not meet all student needs due to multiple factors including faculty time constraints. The purpose of this paper was to describe the initiation of a new, student-led constellation mentorship program that involves one-on-one peer mentorship and inter-cohort mentorship via “Partnerships for Development.” We surveyed students on their experiences after initial program implementation. We summarize our experiences implementing the program, provide programmatic evaluation, and make recommendations for other nursing PhD programs interested in implementing a similar mentorship model. A constellation model may be an effective and sustainable model for mentorship, but further research is needed.

Overcoming Barriers to PhD Education in Nursing.

Doctoral programs continue to have high attrition rates. This article discusses barriers and success strategies for developing a new PhD program in nursing. A university in the southeastern United States surveyed current Master of Science in Nursing students and graduates regarding barriers to enrolling in a doctoral program. The faculty and administrators developed strategies to guide students to success in a new PhD program. Significant barriers to entering nursing doctoral education included financial constraints, job and family responsibilities, lack of program flexibility and faculty mentoring, and fear of research and the dissertation process. Strategies instituted were accelerated learning, convenient scheduling, and early guided dissertation work. Recommendations for strengthening doctoral education are aimed at three significant components to guide the dissertation process: commitment, connectedness, and continuous improvement. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(7):400-403.].

Completion and attrition of nursing PhD students of the 2001 to 2010 matriculating cohorts

PurposeTo examine completion and attrition of students in nursing PhD programs. MethodsTotal 5,391 students who matriculated into nursing PhD programs in 2001 to 2010 were selected from the AACN database. FindingsThe completion rate of the students was 74.2% and the attrition rate was 22.7%. On average, it took 5.7 years for the students to graduate and 3.7 years for the students who left without graduating to drop out. The mean age at matriculation and graduation was 42.4 and 47.5, respectively. Male students, part-time students, students of post-baccalaureate programs, students who were not faculty or held a part-time faculty position, students of the 2001 to 2010 matriculation cohorts, and students in PhD programs with 25% or more of the courses taught online were more likely to experience attrition. ConclusionThe study findings provide useful information for the nursing education community to better address the issue of nursing PhD shortage.

Educating PhD students in research-intensive nursing doctorate programs regarding teaching competencies.

In October 2019 an invitational summit was held addressing nursing PhD program competencies within research-intensive universities. One topic of discussion was related to whether or not teaching competencies should be included in the PhD program curricula of research-intensive universities, and where competencies should be learned. The discussion indicated a lack of uniform consensus. Rather, schools should be clear about their goals-to focus solely on developing nurse scientists, or a broader mission of preparing graduates to embrace the full scope of academic work inclusive of discovery, teaching, application and integration, or even possibly roles outside of academia. The discussion group coalesced around the notion that preparation in teaching be dependent upon mission clarification. Schools could then decide whether to incorporate teaching competencies or whether the best way to achieve their mission was to limit the acquisition of teaching competencies to elective experiential learning alone, or a combination of didactics, supervised practica and experiential learning. Based upon the summit conversation, this is something that each PhD program will have to decide based upon its own purpose and the environment it is preparing graduates to occupy. Nevertheless, preparing for a too narrow and specific career trajectory may not accommodate flexibility in the marketplace.

Making explicit the development of PhD-prepared nurses to steward the discipline

Leadership is a core curricular element of PhD programs in nursing. Our PhD faculty began a dialogue about being a leader, a steward of the discipline. We asked ourselves: (a) What expertise do PhD prepared nurse needs to begin to steward the discipline? (b) How do faculty engage PhD nursing students to assume responsibility for stewarding the discipline? Lastly, (c) How do we work with PhD nursing students to create their vision for how their work contributes to stewarding the discipline, from doctoral coursework throughout their career? We support the need for PhD graduates to have the skills to generate knowledge, conserve that which is important, and transform by disseminating new knowledge to a broad audience. Examples of nurses stewarding the discipline when pioneering research, critiquing traditional approaches to inquiry or trends in nursing practice, and developing policy, are highlighted along with examples of how PhD nursing students begin to steward the discipline.

Invitational summit: Re-envisioning research focused PHD programs of the future.

Ten years ago, in response to the growing discussions, a seminal report, The Research-Focused Doctoral Program in Nursing -Pathways to Excellence was endorsed by AACN members. A re-envisioning of PhD programs is urgently needed to ensure the advancement of nursing science and to situate research focused nursing PhD graduates for success - in academia and beyond. To address these issues, the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing held a summit in October 2019, Re-envisioning Research Focused PhD Programs of the Future, with stakeholders from 41 educational, governmental, professional and philanthropic institutions. Results from a pre-summit poll shaped the Summit agenda, which consisted of panels and roundtables. Prior to and throughout the Summit, attendees identified and discussed challenges facing research intensive nursing PhD programs, emerging innovations within programs, and suggested changes to re-envision the future training of nurse scientists. These changes include better preparing PhD program graduates to bridge the research and practice divide, redesign funding and support for accelerated PhD students, and to reconceptualize outcome measures and evaluations of graduates. A synthesis of roundtable discussions will be used to frame other manuscripts in this issue as well as to prepare a roadmap for next steps.

Opportunities and challenges presented by recent pedagogical innovations in doctoral nursing education.

The demand to expand the nurse scientist pipeline over the past decade has generated numerous pedagogical innovations in nursing doctoral education. A PhD nursing education summit was held at the University of Pennsylvania in October 2019 to discuss pedagogical innovations. The main pedagogical innovations discussed by Summit attendees included: 1) the expansion of both 3-year PhD programs and BSN to PhD programs; 2) changes in learning opportunities and curricula content; and 3) the role of postdoctoral fellowships. This overview examines the numerous opportunities and challenges generated by these innovations. Opportunities include producing scholars with research careers that are potentially longer than historically seen in the nursing profession, as well as the emergence of unique educational and mentoring opportunities both during and after doctoral studies. Challenges involve the impact condensed program timelines have had on both the content and delivery of curricula, as well as the research expertise and skillsets of nursing PhD program graduates. There is a need to conduct a national coordinated evaluation of PhD program using shared metrics in order to better evaluate the effect of these pedagogical innovations on the development of nurse scientists, and ultimately, the discipline.

Supporting dissertation work through a nursing PhD program federal grant writing workshop.

Nurse researchers need skills to secure external funding; therefore, we created a grant writing workshop for PhD students focused on the F31 Individual Fellowship and R36 Dissertation Grant. Describe a nursing PhD program federal grant writing workshop and present participant impressions and outcomes. We designed a three half-day workshop covering essential aspects of grant writing combined with mentor participation and follow-up. We assessed participant satisfaction in evaluations, subsequent grant submissions, project implementation, and time from PhD program entry to completion. Evaluations were overwhelmingly positive. Seventeen of 29 (58.6%) participants submitted 21 applications; five (23.8%) were funded. The majority (75.0%) conducted the proposed dissertation project regardless of funding. Writing and submitting a grant did not increase time to program completion. The workshop efficiently supports PhD students' dissertation research. Timing and mentor participation are key for success. We recommend schools of nursing implement PhD program grant writing workshops.

A Novice’s Experience with Merton’s Theory of Unanticipated Consequences and Being “Forced” into Qualitative Research

Qualitative research can be an unfamiliar type of research for some individuals in the nursing PhD program, and it can also be an unfamiliar aspect of any healthcare individual’s experience. This paper presents my first experience with different aspects of qualitative research and the application of Merton’s theory of unanticipated consequences to this experience.

Educating Nursing Scientists: Integrating Genetics and Genomics into PhD Curricula.

Nursing science is a diverse field of study, the scope of which has broadened to more fully incorporate genetics and genomics. In recent years, these topics have become focus areas for many nursing researchers. However, recent evidence suggests that doctoral level nursing students and nursing faculty may be underprepared to conduct independent research using genomic approaches. Furthermore, genetics and genomics are severely underrepresented in doctoral level nursing curricula across the United States. This article suggests a thorough, yet manageable three-part curriculum designed to educate doctoral level nursing students on genetics, genomics, and their use in nursing science. Recommendations are then given for the integration of the curriculum into existing nursing PhD programs.