The Nurse PhD : A Leader in A Vital Profession
At present, barely half of the nursing faculty members in the US have a doctorate degree. Considering the many advances made in the way different chronic illnesses are treated, there is obviously a need for research aimed at helping patients in coping with their illness. Such research invariably requires nursing professionals with a PhD degree.
One of the reasons for the lack of nurse PhDs is because often nurses tend to have their careers interrupted more often. Many nurses are women who also have to fulfill other responsibilities. Therefore, many continue their education through part-time courses. Moreover, clinical experience is considered as a prerequisite for graduate education. As a result of this requirement, we find fewer nurses completing the doctorate early in their career, thus reducing their chances of going on to become researchers, academics, and administrators. Nowadays, in order to reverse this trend, a number of nursing schools have created programs for admitting students into their graduate programs directly on completion of undergraduate or master’s programs.
Curricula of PhD Programs in Nursing
A doctorate degree in nursing prepares students for pursuing careers in education, health administration, clinical research, as well as advanced clinical practice. Besides, doctoral degrees produce experts within the nursing profession confident of assuming leadership roles in clinical and academic settings, research, and course work. The emphasis of the PhD in Nursing program may vary from health education to policy research. Most of the doctoral programs for nurses confer the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree on students who have to work individually on research projects and then complete a dissertation. Doctorate degree programs can be pursued on a part or full time basis.
Nursing Research
Today, nurses are involved in clinical research in various areas, such as cancer care, diabetes care, and eating disorders. During the last two decades, medical advances have mainly involved advancing treatment, but not cures. But often the treatment itself may cause problems for patients, like for example, the undesirable side effects that chemotherapy produces. Nurses have opportunities for finding solutions to such problems through research, or studies related to managing illness and treatment.
PhD in Nursing – Average Salary
Faculty salaries may vary by rank and institution but they usually range from $50,000 for assistant professors to above $100,000 for professors. Salaries of nurse executives too vary, the lowest salaries being offered in the small rural hospitals while the highest is offered by complex university medical centers. However, average salaries are over $100,000, often reaching nearly $200,000. Salaries for consultants though wide-ranging often include a base salary plus some amount of contracted work. So, a doctoral degree provides nursing professionals with a range of opportunities and salaries matching their education and level of responsibilities.
Undoubtedly, there’s a high demand for nurses with different levels of experience and education. But of these, the nursing profession is most in need of nurses with doctorate degrees to work primarily as researchers and faculty. The shortage of faculty at the national level will soon reach critical proportions, impacting the availability of educational programs for future generations of nurses.
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