how much RN experience prior to PhD

FawkesFyre · Dec 18, 2018

I think what you should do just depends on what you really want. I don't think there is any need to be an NP prior to a PhD program unless your area of interest requires it. If what you want is research, and you have a research area in mind, I think you should apply to programs....some require that you have a Masters before the PhD program (like Vanderbilt) but others don't require that (like Medical University of South Carolina).

I finished my BSN back in 2001, spent a lot of time home with my kids and returned to the bedside in 2015. I'm almost done with my Masters and have applied to PhD programs for Fall 2019. Everyone's path is different, and there is no reason to model your path on someone else's life plan.

I hope that's helpful. I think it's awesome that you know what you want.

Sam

llg, PhD, RN · Jan 7, 2019

I have a couple of main thoughts on this topic:

1. To get your first faculty job after graduating with your PhD, you will probably need to be able to teach at least undergraduate clinicals. (Yes, there are always exceptions, but that is what is expected of most brand new faculty.) So, you'll need enough bedside experience to be able to do a good job of that type of teaching.

2. You'll also need to teach undergraduate classroom classes. So you'll need enough clinical and general nursing knowledge to be competent and confident doing that.

3. I have seen many people who jump into grad school soon after getting licensed change their minds about their research and career focus interests after getting a little experience. From the outside (as a student), they think a certain field looks interesting. But once they get a little experience in the field, they discover that they don't like it as much as they thought they would. So I always recommend that young nurses get enough experience in their chosen focus area to be sure that they want to spend many years working in that field before investing in a graduate degree in that field. It's sad to see so many people graduating with MSN's, DNP's, and PhD's deciding that they are not really interested in their chosen fields anymore.

So I recommend at least 2 or 3 years of experience working in the specialty that you plan on focusing your research on to be sure you have developed competence in the practice of that specialty field and to be sure it will interest you for a long time.

I worked as a staff nurse for 2 years before going back to school for an MSN (focusing on CNS role, not NP). Then I worked for 10 years in CNS and Staff Development roles before entering my PhD program. I think the 2 years of staff nurse was worth it. I could have shorted my 10 years in between grad programs by a couple of years.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

mecha-sorah · Feb 4, 2019

Thanks for the response. I found out that I wanted to do research when I was in undergrad. My mind works with systems and populations instead of helping people one by one and discovered my passion for public health. After working at a hospital for a year, I learned that I don't really see myself as a hospital nurse long term. I aspire to work with underserved populations in the community- maybe along the lines of primary care, homeless shelters? My research interest is on how people with mental health disorders can better manage their cardiovascular health- focusing on health equity, social determinants of health. My original plan was to go straight from BSN to a PhD after a few years of clinical experience but was later told that I should become either an FNP or AGPCNP so that I can have a better understanding of the issues in the primary care setting but never really considered the NP route. (I never really shadowed an NP but while working in the hospital- I learned that Im not a super hands on patient care person) There are benefits to working as an NP as I would have a better understanding of the problems patients and providers face in the primary care setting. I started volunteering as an intake nurse in a non-profit community clinic serving uninsured individuals knowing that it is a good idea to get experience in a field that I want to research on. However, its not so much like in the trenches as some of the volunteer NPs experience in the clinic. I was also considering academia in an R1 university and going tenure track and heard that they prefer ppl with MSN and PhD vs someone with a BSN straight to PhD.

Do you have any thoughts on whether it is best to pursue an NP first, work a few more years to gain competence or just going straight to a PhD after this year?

I applied to MPH programs this year to further increase my knowledge and exposure my population of interest and am also considering going for a masters in advanced public health nursing.

I spoke to a professor in nursing and she said that as PhD prepared RNs, we will be teaching theory courses based on our research interests- so I guess for me, that will be public health?