 Almost
weekly, I am asked about my choice to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy in
nursing. The frequency of this makes me wonder if the general public
only sees nurses as bedside handmaidens who take orders from physicians.
The more frustrating thing is when these probing questions come from
other PhD students.
I was shocked the
first time I was asked by a non-nursing PhD student, “What do you do
with a PhD in nursing?” I’ve now grown used to hearing this question
from my doctoral colleagues outside the school of nursing. Still, it’s
quite bothersome, because the question usually isn’t framed as an
inquiry about what area of research I’m interested in or what type of
employment I plan to seek upon graduation. It’s more, “Why in the world
would a nurse want a PhD?”
Before I
became accustomed to the question, I wasn’t sure how to answer it.
Oftentimes, it was difficult to decipher whether or not the person
asking was trying to be sarcastic (especially if the question came from
another PhD student). At one point, I became irritated by the question
and started giving a pretty snappy reply: “The same thing you do with a
PhD in anything else!”
After
completing a year of doctoral studies, however, I now realize that the
general public is unaware of all the wonderful avenues available to
nurses. So, now I view the question as an opportunity to educate.
 What
do you do with a PhD in nursing? Whatever you want! There are
PhD-prepared nurses who teach, conduct research, evaluate programs,
write books, lead health care organizations and work for the government.
With a doctoral degree, the sky is the limit. One thing I doubt most
nurse PhDs want to do is work full time in direct patient care. At the
doctoral level, nursing is less about hands-on patient care and more
about the abstract thinking that helps move the profession forward. More
than anything else, a nurse with a PhD has the training needed to
conduct research and add to the body of available nursing research
knowledge. While not all PhD-prepared nurses choose to work as
researchers, all have been exposed to great amounts of research and have
had to demonstrate their ability to conduct high-quality research on
their own.
Three jobs I’ve noticed that
most PhD-prepared nurses consider are listed below. The job
descriptions provided are based on my observations of nurses employed in
these positions, and they may vary from facility to facility:
Nursing faculty member—A
nurse educator who works in an AS, BSN, MSN or PhD program as a
classroom instructor. Nurse faculty members are also responsible for
creating, implementing and evaluating program curricula and mentoring
nursing students. Oftentimes, in addition to their teaching
responsibilities, they are expected to conduct research. They typically
disseminate this research in scholarly journals and at research
conferences.
Director of nursing research—a
nurse researcher who serves as administrator of the nursing research
department of a health care facility or coordinator of the facility’s
nursing research program. The director may supervise other nursing
research employees, or he or she may be responsible for overseeing all
nursing research projects conducted within the facility. The director of
nursing research is typically the go-to person within the facility for
questions regarding the design and implementation of a desired research
study. He or she may or may not be responsible for dissemination of
research findings.
Director of clinical services—a
clinical administrator who oversees daily operations of patient care
departments in a health care facility. He or she is the liaison between
upper management and department managers. Although the director is not
involved in direct patient care, he or she is aware of the work flows in
each department that promote optimal patient care. The director may
generate or receive reports addressing the efficiency of departmental
work flows, and this information is then given to each department
manager in an effort to increase efficiency and patient satisfaction.
Other
jobs available to PhD-prepared nurses include research or high-ranking
administrative positions in pharmaceutical companies, research
institutes, health advocacy organizations, health care information
technology corporations and nursing or other health-related publishing
companies. A nurse who has attained a PhD can practically work anywhere
that research, education, or program evaluation takes place. The
important thing to remember is that graduation from a reputable PhD
program ensures that a nurse has received proper research training.
If
you have any additions to the types of jobs held by nurses with PhDs,
please post below. I’d like to learn of new opportunities for nurses
with the terminal degree. RNL
|
No comments:
Post a Comment