Characteristics of Maine and Massachusetts nurses interested in advanced nursing degrees

Maine (ME) and Massachusetts (MA) nursing programs aim to develop collaborative training programs, but need to identify which nurses have interest in such programs.

We sought to determine sociodemographics of nurses seeking advanced nursing degrees nationally, and in ME and MA using the 2018 publicly available, National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN).

Weighted multivariable logistic regression for advanced degree-seeking, adjusted for sociodemographics.

Of the n = 47,274 nurses (weighted n [Wn] = 3,608,633), 90.7 % were female, 74.1 % were white, and 15.8 % sought an advanced nursing degree on average 12.7 (SD 0.2) years after their first. Females vs. males had lower odds (OR 0.63, 95%CI [0.44-0.90]) and Black vs. White race had higher odds (OR 1.30, 95%CI [1.05-1.60]) of seeking doctorates. In Maine (Wn = 20,389), age 24-29 had higher odds (OR 2.98 (95%CI [1.06-3.74]), but in Massachusetts (Wn = 101,984), age 30+ had lower odds (OR 0.32, 95%CI [0.13-0.78]) of degree-seeking vs. <24 years. Initial nursing degrees earned between 1980 and 1989 had higher odds (OR 1.99, 95%CI [1.06-3.74]) in Maine, but between 2010 and 2014 had lower odds (OR 0.32, 95%CI [0.14-0.72]) in Massachusetts of degree-seeking, vs. before 1980.

Targets for advanced nursing training programs may vary by state and sociodemographic profile.