Experience before PhD

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I'm wondering what kind and how much experience nurses have had before they matriculated into a PhD program. Also, did you have to finance your PhD yourself or did your institution give you a tuition waiver or living stipend of some kind?

Out of curiosity.

My thought is that nursing education really is going to he!! in a handbasket ... :rolleyes:

I wish it was more science-y and less artsy.

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Hey TacomaBoy3, were you thinking of going to UW's PhD in Nursing? If so, what did you decide? I am asking, because I have been eyeing it recently. I am in PLU's Direct Entry MSN (first degree Statistics and first job stat. research) and deciding what my next steps are. I have liked working in the ED in my preceptorship, but not sure I want to work there long term and would like to do some research in my nursing career.

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On 5/2/2017 at 9:52 AM, elkpark said:

What nursing program offers a PhD in nursing that doesn't require students to be nurses?

University of California, Davis does. As a clinical research coordinator I have worked with a person with a Ph.D in nursing who was NOT an RN. A the person wasn't the only non-RN in the program either. Interestingly, the person wasn't very upfront about this fact. The person would say that having a PhD from UC Davis was more important than the type of PhD. It seems that unlike registered nursing, in research, which school and who you advisor is, really can make a difference in your career if your goal is to become a principal investigator (i.e. run the show).

Not being an RN has not at all slowed the person's career, but the person's research is not directly related to nursing either. It's more about public health policy. The person works as a professor at a university, as a consultant for a large well-known company, and on other projects on the side. So again, long story short, yes you can get a PhD in nursing without being an RN.

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Specializes in Research.
Tacomaboy3 said:

I'm wondering what kind and how much experience nurses have had before they matriculated into a PhD program. Also, did you have to finance your PhD yourself or did your institution give you a tuition waiver or living stipend of some kind?

Out of curiosity.

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I had about three years of RN experience before I started my PhD in nursing. I also had a Masters degree in nursing and had worked at the University's School of Nursing as a grad research assistant.

I was still working at the University while I was doing my PhD so almost all of my tuition was covered. There was a couple semesters where the school didn't quite cover all of my tuition and so I had to pay a few grand for each of those semesters.

I was given a stipend during that time of $20k if I recall correctly. It was also a rule of my PhD program that I was not allowed to work more than ten hours outside of my work role at the school. But I am married and so we were able to make it work financially.

 

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