Dissertation Completionin Doctoral Nursing Education

Ellen B. Daroszewski PhD, APRN

College of Graduate Nursing

Western University of Health Sciences

Joint Southern California STTI Chapters Nursing Odyssey 2011

Doctoral Nursing Program Components

“Easy” part Courses Research/lab/clinical experiences Qualifying or other exams

“Hard” part Final “project”

Most significant work of the program Dissertation

PhD - original research DNP – practice-based project with many

forms

Dissertation Definition Cambridge dictionary

"long piece of writing on a particular subject"

Oxford dictionary

"long essay, especially one written for a university degree or diploma”

Britannica Encyclopedia

"an extended usually written treatment of a subject specifically:

one submitted for a doctorate"

Dissertation Essence(The Academic Research Group, 2010)

Simply put, a doctoral dissertation is a scholarly document

Ultimate demonstration of the student’s competency in their field/discipline

Generally lengthy  Trend is toward shorter documents Unusual does not exceed 300 pages

Focused on a narrow topic

Contains extensive references to other work and experts in the field

The Future of Nursing(IOM, 2010)

Recommendation 5

Double the number of nurses with a

doctorate by 2020

The Registered Nurse PopulationThe 2008 National Sample Survey

of Registered Nurses (USDHHS HRSA, 2010)

Registered Nurses With Doctorates

Series1, 1, 3063162

Series1, 2, 15229

Series1, 3, 13140

1 2 3

RNs with Doctorates 0.9%

28,369

All RNs 3,063,162

Nursing 0.4%

Non Nursing 0.5%

The Registered Nurse Population

with Double the Number of Doctorates

All RNs 3,063,162

Double the Number of RNs with Doctorates

1

2

RNs with Doctorates 1.8%

56,738

All RNs 3,063,162

Number of Nursing Doctoral Programs and Students 2010

(AACN, 2011)

DNP 153 programs 7, 034 students (2010)

PhD (in nursing) 124 programs 4,611 students (2010)

Total RN Doctoral Students 2010

11,645 (nursing)

+ 11,645 (estimate non nursing)

23,290

11,645

Potential Increase in Doctorally Prepared RNs by 2020

(5 years to graduation)

Nursing 11, 645 students X 5 = 58,225

Non nursing 11, 645 students X 5 = 58,225

New RNs with Doctorates by 2020

116,450 !!! From 0.9% to 3.8%

QuadrupleSo what’s the

problem?

Problem: Doctoral Completion Rates 20-50% of nursing doctoral students finish

their degree (Cohen, 2011) Dissertation completion is the major obstacle

to doctorate completion

Takes a LONG time Women and minorities take the longest Students who works on their dissertation for

more than 2 years likely to never finish

Cohen found completion MOST affected by Program problems

Conflicts Delays

Life demands Parental responsibilities Work

52 Nursing PhD Programs 6 Year Graduation Rate

PhD Graduation in 6 Years

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Mean = 51.8%

Mitchell-Kernan, 2008, www.phdcompletion.org/resources/CGSNSF2008_MitchellKernan.pdf-

me

Mitchell-Kernan, 2008, www.phdcompletion.org/resources/CGSNSF2008_MitchellKernan.pdf-

6-10 years

Mitchell-Kernan, 2008, www.phdcompletion.org/resources/CGSNSF2008_MitchellKernan.pdf-

Mitchell-Kernan, 2008, www.phdcompletion.org/resources/CGSNSF2008_MitchellKernan.pdf-

All-But-Dissertation (ABD) DNP Student Survey

Study aim

To describe the

helpfulness of program supports

and

affect of lifestyle factors

on dissertation completion

ABD Survey Methods Two part 25 item self-report

15 internal program support (PS)

10 external life factors (LF)

Written comments

Distributed using Qualtrecs software 53 ABDs 37 (70%) completed the survey

Very Helpful (+2) Somewhat Helpful (+1) Not Helpful (-2) Did Not Use(0)

Very Helpful (+2) Somewhat Helpful (+1) Negatively Affected My Dissertation Progress (-2)

Did Not Affect My Dissertation Process (0)

Results: Internal Program Supportmean=42.8, SD=9.2, range =29, 24-53 (74 to -74 possible)

Ranking Score Internal Program Supports

1 53 Dissertation guidelines

1 53 Dissertation proposal tips

1 53 Course paper (vulnerable populations)

4 51 Lit review throughout program

5 50 Dissertation seminars

6 48 Chair feedback

6 48 Dissertation Website

8 44 Course paper (research)

9 40 Faculty feedback

9 40 Other student feedback

9 40 Course paper (theory & philosophy)

12 34 Other support

13 33 Committee feedback (Academic member)

14 31 Committee feedback (Community member)

15 24 Other college & university support

Very Helpful

Somewhat Helpful

Not Helpful

Results: External Life Factors mean=28 SD=21.6, range=60, -5-55 (74 to -74 possible)

Ranking Score External Life Factors

1 56 Computer

2 55 Skill in using technology

3 53 Motivation to complete

4 35 Friends/colleagues

5 33 Time management

6 17 Employer/Employment

7 14 Health

8 12 Family/family obligations

9 10 Finances

10 -5 Other life factors

Very Helpful

Somewhat Helpful

Negative Affect

Council of Graduate SchoolsPhD Completion Project

7 year, 2 phase study of doctoral completion and attrition

Main factors that contributed to completion

Mentoring/advising

Family support

Financial support

Ph.D. Completion and Attrition: Findings from Exit Surveys of Ph.D. Completers (2009)

Discussion ABD survey results supported the

findings of Cohen & the PhD Completion Project

Life demands were found to be least helpful and have the most negative affect on dissertation completion Family & financial support important for

completion

Doctoral programs supports help ABDs

Mentoring is important Dissertation Chair

Recommendations

“Everyone” has to get better at supporting doctoral completion Programs have to build in steps

and support for students Students have to learn to manage

their live demands

Respect and support for the difficulty of the dissertation process Advisors/Chairs

Questions …?

Dissertation or Die