PREPARINGtheNurse ScientistforACADEMIA and INDUSTRY

Abstract

The number of doctoral programs in nursing has been increasing. However, these programs tend to focus on preparing nurse scientists to conduct research, and many spend little time preparing doctoral students for the educator, clinical researcher, or administrator role. Leaders of doctoral programs have identified the need to prepare doctoral students in the functional roles they will assume upon graduation, in addition to the researcher role. This article describes a two-course (six-credit) sequence of courses within a research-focused PhD in Nursing program that provides didactic and experiential knowledge about the role of the nurse scientist in academia and industry settings. Students are highly satisfied with the courses, and report that the experiences have provided them with important knowledge and skills as they assume the scientist role.

Evaluating a New Doctoral Nursing Program: A Jordanian Case Study

“…The participants' comments on the shortage of eligible faculty to teach in doctoral programs are congruent with other reports indicating that worldwide faculty shortage is a key issue facing doctoral programs in nursing (Jackson et al, 2011;Lewallen & Kohlenberg, 2011). The university in the current study addressed this faculty issue by announcing the program as a national program structured within a global context where national and international experiences merged.…”

“…They reported active involvement in research, publications, presentations, and professional leadership which enhanced their sense of accomplishment as scholars. All study participants are currently employed in academia, agreeing with the literature citing that while nursing doctoral program graduates embark on diverse career paths, the majority of doctoral graduates are employed in academic institutions (Lewallen & Kohlenberg, 2011;Sakalys et al, 2001). Doctorally qualified nurses are needed globally to meet workforce demands and ensuring a sustainable academic workforce (Berlin & Sechrist, 2002;Potempa, Redman & Landstrom, 2009).…”

“…Doctoral programs prepare intellectual research scholars, leaders and academics (Kim et al, 2006;Lewallen & Kohlenberg, 2011). The participants agreed the curriculum did this.…”

“…recommended that doctoral education incorporate experiences preparing graduates for a broader spectrum of skills. A major challenge for faculty and adminstration is to be more flexible in course offerings for skill-set acquisition pertaining to a variety of expected future roles (Lewallen & Kohlenberg, 2011).…”

An Exploration of the Pre-Tenure and Tenure Process Experiences of Canadian Nursing Faculty

“…Some graduate students may have graduate assistant positions that expose them to clinical teaching, while others may have opportunities to become research assistants. Leaders of doctoral programs acknowledge the need to prepare graduates for more than the research scientist role (Lewallen & Kohlenberg, 2011). Kelly (2002) found that graduates of doctoral programs seek research careers because they feel inadequately prepared for a teaching role in academia.…”