PhD-DNP Collaboration: An Integrative Review of Scholarly Partnerships in Nursing

Nurses holding terminal degrees, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Doctor of Nursing Science (DNS), and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), fulfill different roles in nursing. The continued growth of nursing science and practice is dependent on alliances between these nurses that produce state-of-the-art knowledge and support the translation of evidence to practice. This integrative review described characteristics of scholarly collaborations between nurses holding a research-focused degree, the PhD, and those holding a practice-focused degree, the DNP. Five major nursing, medicine, and education databases were searched for peer-reviewed, original articles addressing or describing the characteristics of PhD-DNP scholarly collaborations, published through March 2023. In total, 15 articles met the inclusion criteria, and an integrative synthesis was conducted using constant comparison and thematic analysis. Findings included one overarching theme, Role Clarification, as well as four subthemes that emerged across the sample, describing key characteristics of collaborative PhD-DNP scholarship: (1) Mutual understanding and appreciation of strengths; (2) Strategic project planning and team building; (3) Clear organizational/administrative directives and guidance; and (4) Shared goals for the nursing profession. Articles describing the collaboration between nurses holding doctoral degrees are limited and provide primarily lower-level research evidence and evidence-based practice outcomes. Despite efforts to foster scholarly collaborations among nurses holding terminal degrees, more research is needed to clarify individual roles, offer tangible strategies for collaboration, and measure outcomes of collaboration benefitting healthcare systems, patient outcomes, and the nursing profession. This integrative review involved only the review of the extant literature.