Development of the First PhD (Nursing) Program in Atlantic Canada: Lessons Learned

1
Development of the First PhD (Nursing)Program in
Atlantic Canada Lessons Learned

• Patricia L. Sullivan, PhD, RN
• Professor and Director
• Dalhousie University School of Nursing
• CASN Doctoral Forum
• Toronto
• May 27, 2010

2
History

• By fall, 1995, there were four doctoral programs
  in nursing in Canada
• University of Alberta
• University of Toronto
• University of British Columbia
• McGill University/Universite de Montreal
• No doctoral programs in nursing east of Montreal
• The need to establish a doctoral program in the
  Atlantic Region was identified by ARCAUSN (1998)

3
Milestones

• Steering Committee established to develop a PhD
  (Nursing) program at Dalhousie University
• Doctoral program proposal submitted in 2002
• Proposal approved, January, 2004
• First doctoral students admitted, September, 2004
  (n2)
• Current enrollment (n20)
• First graduates, May 31, 2010 (n3)

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Program Overview

• Goal To prepare nurse scholars who will provide
  leadership in the advancement of nursing
  knowledge, nursing theory and practice, and
  health policy through scholarly research and the
  dissemination of research findings
• Focus Nursing Sensitive Health Outcomes and
  Womens Health Outcomes

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Program Overview

• Program Requirements
• Minimum of four core courses
• Contemporary Views of Nursing Science
  Philosophy, Research and Practice
• Two courses in the students substantive area of
  study, one of which will be on health outcomes
• Advanced research methods/design course
• Doctoral Seminar
• Comprehensive Examination
• Thesis

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Lessons Learned

• Build faculty resources
• School of Nursing
• Increase number of faculty with earned doctorates
  in nursing or related fields
• Record of scholarship and extramural funding
• Experience in teaching and supervision of
  graduate students
• Sufficient numbers to withstand illness,
  sabbaticals, retirements and resignations or the
  HBAB test

7

• Develop cross-appointments
• Within the Faculty of Health Professions
• Occupational Therapy
• Physiotherapy
• Social Work
• Health and Human Performance
• Pharmacy
• Within the broader University
• Community Health and Epidemiology
• Sociology and Anthropology
• Psychology
• Philosophy
• Medicine
• Law

8
Lessons Learned

• Develop adjunct appointments
• With Schools of Nursing in Universities in the
  Atlantic Region, Central and Western Canada
• With clinical practitioners

9
Proposal Planning

• Expect resistance
• Prepare for multiple issues and barriers
• Social, political, financial
• Be collaborative and inclusive
• Amass evidence
• Evidence of provincial, regional and national
  need for program
• Priority for CNA (1976), CAUSN and CNF (1978)
• Advancing Doctoral Preparation for Nurses
  Charting a Course for the Future. Proceedings of
  the Conference on Doctoral Education, 1990

10
Proposal Planning

• Evidence of proposed demand by students
• Assessing Demand for Doctoral Education for
  Nurses in the Atlantic Region, ARCAUSN, 1998
• Dalhousie University School of Nursing Steering
  Committee Survey, 2001

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Proposal Planning

• Seek expert advice through consultation and
  external reviews
• Seek statements of support from other
  Deans/Directors/Chairs of Faculties/Schools of
  Nursing and professional associations
• Seek funding to support students

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Implementing the Program

• Keep program small and focused
• Solidify program and build quality
• Accept qualified students whose goals are
  consistent with faculty expertise and
  institutional resources

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Challenges

• Students are mainly women combining full-time
  work, family, and doctoral studies
• Most students were faculty from Dalhousie and
  Schools of Nursing in the Atlantic Region
• Potential for conflicts of interest managing
  simultaneous roles as student/faculty
• Special procedures developed to minimize
  potential for conflict
• Ceasing to be problematic as PhD is now a
  requirement for tenure-track positions

14
Challenges

• Limited time available to spend at the university
• Find creative ways to stimulate and nurture the
  development of a community of scholars
• SCHOLARS Seminar Series (Teleconferenced)
• Nursing Knowledge Exchange Series (Videotaped and
  posted on website)

15
Challenges

• Faculty are stretched to find balance among the
  teaching, research, service, and practice
  components of their academic roles
• Need a well-developed infrastructure to foster
  quality research
• Need a system to facilitate collaboration among
  students and faculty to support and enhance
  scholarship and research productivity

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Evaluate, Evaluate, Evaluate

• Concern being expressed globally re the
  overproduction of PhDs of low academic quality
• Important to conduct regular formative and
  summative evaluations
• Conduct frequent in camera discussions about
  progress whats working whats not
• Implement needs-based professional development
  programs to enhance faculty competence, i.e.,
  best practices in student supervision

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Evaluate, Evaluate, Evaluate

• Conduct periodic formal evaluations by external
  consultant (i.e., At end of Year 3)
• Implement
• Yearly exit surveys of graduating students
• One- and five-year follow up surveys of graduates

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Evaluate, Evaluate, Evaluate

• To generate data to inform quality improvement,
  evaluation must be
• Ongoing
• Flexible
• Systematic
• Comprehensive
• Process and outcomes oriented

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Evaluate, Evaluate, Evaluate

• And include
• Curricula
• Faculty
• Students
• Research activity of faculty and students
• Program administration
• Employers
• Summative Evaluation
• Usually conducted by Faculty of Graduate Studies
  on a 5-7 year cycle

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Summary of Lessons Learned

• Build faculty resources
• Expect resistance
• Be collaborative and inclusive
• Amass evidence to support program need and demand
• Seek expert advice and support from other SONs,
  Departments, and professional associations
• Seek funding support for students

21
Summary of Lessons Learned

• Keep program small and focused
• Create innovative ways to nurture development of
  a community of scholars
• Build systems to foster quality research and
  collaboration among faculty and students
• Conduct frequent formative and summative
  evaluations
• To ensure continuous improvement of the program
  needed to develop and expand nursing science and
  to prepare our future educators, scholars,
  leaders and policy makers