Policy education in a research-focused doctoral nursing program: Power as knowing participation in change

Nurses have moral obligations incurred by membership in the profession to participate knowingly in health policy advocacy. Many barriers have historically hindered nurses from realizing their potential to advance health policy. The contemporary political context sets additional challenges to policy work due to polarization and conflict. Nursing education can help nurses recognize their role in advancing health through political advocacy in a manner that is consistent with disciplinary knowledge and ethical responsibilities. In this paper, the authors describe an exemplar of Elizabeth Barrett's “Power as Knowing Participation in Change” theory as a disciplinary lens within a doctoral nursing health policy course. Barrett (radically) emphasizes “power as freedom” instead of “power as control.” This approach is congruent with nursing disciplinary values and enhances awareness of personal freedom and building collaborative relationships in the policy process. The theory was used in concert with other traditional policy content and frameworks from nursing and other disciplines. We discuss the role of nursing ethics viewed as professional responsibility for policy action, an overview of Barrett's theory, and the design of the course. Four student reflections on how the course influenced their thinking about policy advocacy are included. While not specific to policymaking, Barrett's theory provides a disciplinary grounding to increase students' awareness of freedom and choices in political advocacy participation. Our experience suggests that Barrett's work can be fruitful for enhancing nurses' awareness of choices to participate in change across settings.     

Incorporating health services research into nursing doctoral programs

Despite the successes of the US health care system, problems associated with access, affordability, and quality of care remain to be solved. Health services research (HSR) has the potential to aid nurses in addressing these issues; yet the importance of its inclusion in the academic preparation of nurse researchers has not been consistently recognized. This article discusses the relevance of HSR to nursing, provides a brief review of the history of HSR and its imperatives, and presents rationale for nursing's involvement in HSR. Problems identified by the Re-envisioning PhD project conducted by the University of Washington are assessed for relevance to HSR and nursing doctoral preparation. Recommendations are included for integrating HSR into nursing doctoral programs and meeting HSR capacity building needs for the future.     

Characteristics of nursing doctoral programs in the United States.

The expansive growth of doctoral programs in the United States has necessitated a need to determine demographic attributes of the academic program, characteristics of the students, admission criteria, and curriculum patterns. Seventy-eight doctoral programs were sent a researcher-designed survey and 48 (62 per cent) responded. Results show an increasing shift away from clinical doctorates to the research doctorate, although few differences exist within the research focus of doctoral nursing programs. Consistent with previous reports in the literature, curricula are fairly standard and few differences were noted based on a number of criteria including geographic location, type of degree granted, Carnegie classification of the university, or by the length of time the program has been in existence. Discussion of these findings is included.     

Evaluation of doctoral nursing programs by doctoral students in Japan: Cross‐sectional questionnaire survey

Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the current state and issues of doctoral nursing programs from the perspective of recipients of the educational process. Methods: All 46 doctoral nursing programs in Japan in 2008 were asked to participate in this study and 28 programs agreed to participate. The questionnaire had 3 sections that evaluated the quality of doctoral education, which are 17 items on the program features, 12 items on the quality of faculty, and 9 items on resources. Results: The questionnaire was distributed to 304 graduate students and 127 students returned by mail. Most of the students agreed that the program goal and curriculum were consistent with the philosophy and mission of the university. The quality of the faculty and of the resources, such as library and computing facilities, were highly rated, while faculty mentorship and support staff for student research were viewed as areas for improvement. Only 30% of the students reported that a periodic assessment of the doctoral program was available in the university, and even when such an assessment did exist, students and graduates were not often involved in the program evaluation. Conclusions: To improve the quality of doctoral nursing education in Japan, there is an urgent need for faculty development and the provision of research support services for faculty and students including more technical and support staff. Furthermore, it is imperative to conduct periodic evaluation of doctoral nursing programs in Japan.     

Integrating health services research into nursing doctoral programs: the evolution of nursing research

Traditionally, nursing research has focused on the effect of an intervention on selected patients without considering the influence of the system of care and its myriad characteristics. Health services research (HSR) focuses on organization and financing of health services; access to health care; quality of care; clinical evaluation and outcomes research; informatics and clinical decision making; practitioner, patient, and consumer behavior; health professions workforce; health policy formulation and analyses; and health care model and service use. Doctoral students can benefit from HSR's broad perspective if it is included in existing nursing curricula. Ultimately, HSR could help the nursing profession achieve the capacity to develop health policy and new systems of health care for the 21st century.     

A prebaccalaureate PhD option: shaping the future of research-focused doctoral education

The future of PhD education in nursing is at a crossroads. Our current practice of primarily enrolling post-master's students with years of clinical experience is not producing an adequate number of graduates who are able to make significant and sustained contributions to nursing research. Therefore, it is timely to consider educational innovations that encourage a different population of students to consider doctoral research training. A prebaccalaureate or early-entry option to the PhD in nursing is a means toward this end. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a select group of prenursing students and students beginning the nursing major are offered an early admission to PhD education. A key component of the Early Entry PhD Option is immediate and intensive research training with an established nurse faculty researcher. In this article, the authors describe the curriculum of a prebaccalaureate, research-focused doctoral option and its early results.     

Selecting doctoral programs in nursing: resources for students and faculty.

Sixty-nine doctoral programs in nursing are currently offered at 75 universities in the United States. Resources to assist prospective doctoral students in making decisions concerning successfully pursuing doctoral education are collected and organized by a variety of nursing organizations. Nurses in academic settings access these lists and specialty publications through their deans' offices and professional affiliations. Prospective students, on the other hand, are largely employed in clinical settings and are often unaware of the existence of this information, which could assist them in their decisions. The purpose of this article is to provide prospective doctoral students and the faculty that may advise them with a current information to use in selecting a doctoral program in nursing.     

A survey of current practices in data management education in nursing doctoral programs

BackgroundThe inclusion of data management instruction within nursing doctoral curricula has not been systematically examined.PurposeThe purpose of this study is to determine the extent of data management education within nursing doctoral programs.MethodSeparate surveys were created for DNP (332) and PhD (138) program directors. Survey questions were based on the stages of the UK Data Service Research Data Lifecycle.ResultsOne hundred and four nursing doctoral program directors responded, a 22% response rate. Sixty-seven (64%) were from DNP programs while 37 (35%) were from PhD programs. Although program directors reported that they were teaching stages of the research data lifecycle, data management is mostly being taught through individual mentoring or a single lecture within a required course, and that students' project data were not being preserved.ConclusionsNursing doctoral programs need to develop consistent data management education, build an awareness of data policies, and clarify student project data sharing and ownership.     

Global quality criteria, standards, and indicators for doctoral programs in nursing; literature review and guideline development

BACKGROUND: Nursing profession has intensified education and training of nurse researchers who could enhance the health of people through the discovery and dissemination of knowledge. This resulted in rapid increase in the number of doctoral programs in nursing in many countries in recent decades, but the guidelines for quality programs are lacking. OBJECTIVES: To develop guidelines for quality criteria, standards, and indicators for doctoral programs in nursing that may be used worldwide. METHODS: The work of the quality criteria, standards and indicators (QCSI) committee of the International Network for Doctoral Education in Nursing formed the basis of this paper and authors supplemented it by a literature review and consultation with international experts. FINDINGS: The major criteria of quality of doctoral program were: the nature of the mission, the quality of faculty, the students, the curriculum, program administration, and resources. Sub-criteria, standards and indicators for each of these criteria were identified in sufficient detail to provide guidance for quality doctoral programs in nursing. Concerns as to whether the QCSI would apply to those countries and doctoral programs that focus on a research thesis only, without formal coursework were addressed. Experts from across the world felt that the QCSI would be applicable for most program types. CONCLUSIONS: Global criteria, standards, and indicators for doctoral programs in nursing presented in this article may serve as guidelines for most doctoral programs in the world as these were developed by experienced nurse scholars representing eight countries from five continents. The degree of detail in these parameters is sufficient to enhance the utility of the QCSI for all doctoral programs worldwide.     

Selecting US research-intensive doctoral programs in nursing: Pragmatic questions for potential applicants

Nurses hoping to enter a research intensive doctoral program have a choice of program delivery modes, faculty expertise, and multiple points of entry in addition to the traditional post masters. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) lists doctoral programs in nursing in over 300 universities in the United States (U.S.) and Puerto Rico, with most institutions offering more than one type of doctorate. For prospective students who want to maximize their likelihood of significant, sustained scientific impact, identifying research-intensive Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programs with faculty who have a topic match is key. Embarking on a scientific career requires assessing the curricula and faculty at several institutions. The purpose of this paper is to give prospective students pragmatic guidance in selecting a U.S. research-intensive doctoral program in nursing. We provide a list of published quality indicators in PhD programs as well as potential questions to be addressed to key persons in schools.     

Evaluation of doctoral nursing programs - a review and a strategy for follow up

Enhancing and assuring the quality of doctoral nursing programs is currently of major concern to promote growth in quality and quantity of research in nursing. The aims of the paper were to review the literature about evaluation of higher education with focus on doctoral programs in nursing, and to present a strategy to evaluate a doctoral nursing program. A search of literature in relevant databases was done using the keywords doctoral program, evaluation, nursing, program evaluation and higher education. From the review it is concluded that more systematic evaluations are necessary to guide the development of quality in nursing. Attention must be given to the curricula, competence in the faculty, the research activity and to the students' involvement in courses and research. Therefore, a strategy for evaluation should be ongoing, flexible, systematic and comprehensive. It should involve students, graduates, employers and faculty members in evaluation, include process and outcome data and give possibility for comparison to internal and external standards. The strategy developed aims to facilitate ongoing and future improvement of the doctoral nursing program. This process is dependent on a methodological pluralism of evaluation to detect what is of most weight for growth in the process of research and education.     

Combining nursing quality assurance and research programs

This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of combining nursing quality assurance and research programs in clinical settings. The intended audiences and scopes of quality assurance and research differ, causing potential conflicts in combined programs. Such conflicts include the methods of disseminating findings, action taken on data obtained, analytic methods used, and issues of territoriality. However, advantages of combining these programs are great. Nursing research can be introduced into the clinical setting via quality assurance; resultant studies are more likely to be of direct clinical relevance; and results are more likely to be integrated into practice when programs are combined rather than separate. Combined programs are also cost efficient.     

Issues in doctoral education in nursing

In this article, I have traced some of the evolutionary threads that have contributed to current patterns of doctoral education in nursing. Although current programs may differ in the title of the degree offered, all are structured as research doctoral programs. Because they try to be all things to all people, they fail to prepare either competent researchers or applied practitioners. Cluttered with too much general content and not enough content specific to the particular career track of the student, they fail to provide an adequate foundation for future career pathways. As a result, preparation of leaders for academic and administrative roles, clinical teachers, practitioners, and researchers is limited. Nursing has a vital contribution to make to the health of the American people. To do so we must ensure that our researchers are providing a substantive knowledge base for the field, that our leaders in academic and practice fields have a solid knowledge base of nursing coupled with administrative preparation and applied research skills, and that our clinical teachers and practitioners are skilled in their clinical specialties and in applied research in their fields. Finally, we need expert practitioners who deliver and manage truly comprehensive, quality health care services for persons in all stages of the health-illness continuum.