Assessing nursing student intent for PHD study

SummaryBackground g faculty shortages threaten a countryʹs ability to produce the amount of nurses necessary to sustain the delivery of healthcare services. Programs that “fast track” graduate education options for registered nurses are one solution to the problem. ives evaluate admission criteria into PhD programs for direct entry from a bachelorʹs degree; 2) ascertain bachelors and masters degree nursing studentsʹ perspectives on pursuing a BSN to PhD course of study; 3) clarify factors that influence studentsʹ decision-making processes behind pursuing a PhD and identify characteristics of those who would be likely recruits for PhD study; 4) to test the survey questions to develop an instrument for future use. s-sectional pilot study. g ing program at a large urban university in the United States of America with an enrollment of over 1400 students. ipants tly enrolled bachelorʹs, masterʹs, and doctor of nursing practice students. s ts were sampled via a 10-question (including one open-ended question) electronic mail survey that included 1385 eligible subjects. s the 606 respondents (57% response rate), 63% were between ages 18 and 30 and 87% indicated that full tuition funding with a living stipend would make them more interested in pursuing a PhD. Current program track was a significant predictor of course of study and area of interest (p = .029). Analysis of the 427 respondents to the open-ended question revealed themes around “time” and “money” as the main barriers to study. The desire to gain clinical experience prior to PhD study was the third theme and an unanticipated finding. sions estionnaire offered some predictive ability for gauging intent to study for a PhD among bachelorʹs and graduate degree prepared nurses. The results do offer some suggestions for nursing workforce development to help address faculty shortages.