If you’re a nurse who loves poring over research, or feels passionate about bringing evidence to the bedside, then doctoral nursing just might be your perfect career path.
Of course, earning a doctorate takes significant time and effort. But because nurses are always engaging in continuing education, “I don’t think the idea of doctoral nursing is so foreign to a nurse,” says Stephen Ferrara, DNP, FNP, interim executive director of Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare, a program that provides scholarship funding for nurses who are attaining a doctoral degree. Earning a doctorate in nursing allows a nurse to engage in such activities as research, apply for grant funding, teach, or enter into clinical leadership in an academic medical center, Ferrera says. It provides “lots of opportunities to take this newfound knowledge and really use it to impact the way that we’re caring for patients and ultimately to improve patient outcomes.”
Two types
As you may know, nurses can earn two types of doctorates. One is the classic doctor of philosophy (PhD) degree, and the other is the doctor of nursing practice (DNP). As of 2019, 37,852 employed nurses had earned a doctoral degree, according to one estimate.
Those who earn a PhD “are generally going to work on generating new knowledge, new research within the field,” Ferrara says. In contrast, the DNP degree “is really translating the knowledge that exists, or the evidence that exists, and applying it to clinical practice. So we think of the PhDs as generating new knowledge, whereas the DNPs are taking that new knowledge and applying it into clinical practice,” Ferrara says. He notes that the DNP has existed for roughly 15 years. (As editor-in-chief of the Journal of Doctoral Nursing Practice, Dr. Ferrara has considerable expertise on the topic of DNPs and their impact. The journal will publish its 15th volume in 2022).
You’ll likely need to invest two to four years to earn a PhD or DNP, depending on the program and whether your program is full or part time, notes Ferrara. PhD programs require a dissertation, while DNP programs require a final or “capstone” project. “The DNPs tend to be a little bit more streamlined in time, whereas the PhD programs are a little bit longer, just due to the nature of generating new research” and the challenges that may come along with that, Ferrara notes.
Systemic solutions
Doctoral nurses, Ferrara notes, can make an impact on systemic issues in healthcare. “We need evidence-based solutions that are easily deployed and constantly reviewed and garnering additional evidence so that we can truly design health systems that are patient-centric, that are not ones where clinical staff are burning out as a result of it. We are largely not present in those boardrooms and making those decisions that truly impact patient care and that’s where the doctoral nurse really can shine and really can escalate the conversation and offer meaningful intervention.”
Four impact areas
For its part, Jonas Nursing and Veterans Healthcare, which is part of Jonas Philanthropies, is designed to assist high-potential doctoral nursing scholars through scholarship funding as well as providing the expertise of subject matter experts. Celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2021, the program has invested more than $27 million in 1,400 nurse scholars in all 50 states, according to a press release.
In August, it announced its 2021-2023 scholar cohort of 76 doctoral nursing scholars in 49 nursing schools. Some 50 of these are PhD candidates and 26 are DNP candidates. Over half of this cohort will be representative of Black, Indigenous and other communities of color.
The program, notes, Ferrara, is founded on four impact areas: environmental health; mental health; veterans health; and vision health. Jonas scholars need to work primarily in one of those areas.
Jonas works closely with specific nursing schools to select the Jonas scholars. “It is actually through the recommendation of the faculty members that the students are encouraged to apply to the program,” says Ferrara. Applicants already have to be enrolled in a doctoral program. A Jonas scholar will be provided a total scholarship of $30,000 over two years.
For the first time, the 2021-2023 cohort will have the support of a group of subject matter experts to guide them in each area of expertise, according to the press release. “These subject matter experts will serve as a mentor, a guide, and a resource for the next generation of nurse scholars who are shaping the future of healthcare in this country,” says Lendri Purcell, vice president of Jonas Philanthropies, in the release.
Family and community
Besides the physical opportunity for doctoral students, the Jonas program brings a “family and community” component as well, says Pamela Wall, PhD, PMHNP, FAANP, who became a Jonas scholar in 2010 as a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania. Jonas currently is a clinical associate professor at the University of New Hampshire, teaching as a member of the psychiatric nurse practitioner faculty.
Wall notes that the Jonas scholars represent a diverse group that are “changing our health and leadership outcomes in the United States and globally.” A Jonas scholar directory provides a look at activities of the scholars.
“We are a family community of scholars that starts with your work in your doctoral program, but it extends beyond that. They have been a part of my community and my rhetoric and my family” since 2010, she notes. “It extends well beyond just the monetary component that Jonas brings to the table.”
Now a freelance writer and editor, he served as a Director at Elsevier, where he was instrumental in the development of major online nursing reference and procedure products. Previously, he served as Editorial Director at Nurses.com, one of the first nursing websites, and was Executive Editor at Nursing magazine, a premier large-circulation journal.
Today, he continues to serve nurses and other clinicians by reporting on developments and trends in healthcare with meaning, context, and insight.
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