Support for Doctoral Nursing Students in PhD Programs in the United States

The number of PhD nursing programs in the U.S. has increased, but the number of nursing students entering and completing these programs remains stagnant. It is crucial to consider innovative approaches to recruit, nurture, and graduate more diverse nursing students.

This article presents the perceptions of PhD nursing students regarding their programs, experiences, and strategies to support their academic success.

This study used a cross-sectional, descriptive design. Data were obtained from an online 65-question student survey completed between December 2020 and April 2021.

A total of 568 students from 53 nursing schools completed the survey. Five themes emerged regarding the barriers students experienced during their programs: Faculty issues, time management and balance, insufficient preparation for dissertation research, financial barriers, and COVID-19 impact. Student recommendations for improving PhD nursing programs were also captured in five themes: Program improvement, coursework improvement, research opportunities, faculty, and dissertation. The low numbers of male, non-binary, Hispanic/Latino, minority, and international survey respondents indicate a need for innovative recruitment and retention strategies to increase diversity of PhD students.

PhD program leaders should complete a gap analysis based on the recommendations in the new AACN position statement and perceptions of PhD students reported from this survey. By doing so, PhD programs will be better positioned to implement a roadmap for improvement to better prepare the next generation of nurse scientists, leaders, and scholars.