saheckler PhD, RN

Hmm.. that's a good question. Most of the programs I've looked at are pretty interdisciplinary and there seems to be a lot of overlap and a lot of opportunity to take classes and work with faculty in both nursing and public health, which is wonderful...

I get what you're saying about the Ivy League education; it has a strong pull. But Rutgers also has a great reputation and it sounds like the program is a much better fit for your professional goals. I think there is a high enough demand for nurse pr...

Wow, 1700 miles is quite a move! Congratulations! The start of an exciting adventure. I think we have some things in common. I'm no longer interested in patient care because it wasn't a great fit for me to begin with and I really burned out after 6 ...

I should have clarified initially that I'm already a nurse and I meet the admissions criteria for both nursing and public health PhD programs. I'm just having trouble deciding which discipline is my preference. I will likely apply to both and see whe...

I know that I want to study LGBTQ+ health disparities; my problem is there are opportunities to study this in nursing and in public health, so it's very hard to decide which one to choose! Maybe this is a good problem to have.

That is a really excellent point! Thank you! I'm struggling because my interests really lie within public health (and not at all within clinical nursing), and so a PhD in public health would maybe make a bit more sense than a PhD in nursing. However,...

An MPH in epidemiology is very different than an MPH in health behavior, health promotion, or health education. My understanding is an MPH in epidemiology is much more marketable and much more in demand as well as better paying. It might be worth it ...

What are you hoping to get out of APRN certification? Are you hoping to do clinical practice as an advanced practice nurse? If not, you probably don't really need the APRN certification. Or if you are hoping to practice as a nurse practitioner, you m...

It sounds like you took the job! How's it going? I think that the field of nursing has so many opportunities in so many areas, it's totally reasonable that you followed your heart. The cost of continuing to be that stressed and miserable is too great...

I know this thread is old by now and you've probably already found out if you've been admitted and made your decision, but I was wondering what ended up happening! I'm considering applying to UMN's program this fall (as well as a few others) and I'd ...

I'm sure it's less common, but I know some nurse faculty who have an EdD and not a PhD in nursing. They may have a master's in nursing, so maybe that would be a necessary first step, but that might be a good idea anyway because there are tons of nurs...

If you are interested in online programs, have you considered doing an online program through a more traditional/established university? It may not be bad to get a PhD from a for-profit institution, but I wonder if you will have more support (financi...

It sounds like you already got into a program, so congratulations! I think it should be fine to do psych research without a psych background, especially if you are able to find excellent mentors in your area of interest, if you can take electives rel...

I wonder if an EdD in Nursing Education might be a better fit for you because the PhD program is heavily focused on research. However, if you're interested in research your research focus could be nursing education. From what you're saying and what I...

I just reread my original question and it is very unclear! Sorry about that! I will have my doctorate either way (I'm applying to PhD programs in public health and in nursing); I'm just wondering if I get my PhD in public health if I will still be ab...

I unfortunately don't have my MPH. I definitely don't want the DrPH because that is more practice-related than research-related, and I really want to move away from practice and into research. I think you are probably right that public health would i...

Thank you! That's a helpful way to look at it. I appreciate your insight!

Thank you! You've been extremely helpful! It's good to know that I should consider R2 universities too, or at the very least some of the smaller and friendlier R1 universities. Thanks!

Thank you! That's really helpful!

Ok that's good to know. Thank you!

Thank you so much! That is extremely helpful!!! I really appreciate your input. It's really great to hear that if I were to choose a nursing program well, I will be getting a very thorough and rigorous education. Do you have any recommendations for s...

The problem is how would I be able to anticipate which schools I will want to be a professor at when I'm 5-6 years away from applying to faculty positions (3-4 year PhD program and a 2 year post doc)? Based off your advice, maybe it's a good idea to ...

Thanks for your reply! Do you have any tips for deciding which feels more like an "academic home"? I think part of why I'm confused is that a lot of people with PhDs in public health and psychology are faculty researchers at the school of nursing res...

Thank you! I have found a few programs with faculty who share my research interests. I will definitely be doing my PhD full time and not be working (aside from an assistantship or something else related to the program), so funding is important to me ...

Does anyone have advice on how you chose your PhD program? Did you only look at how well your interests matched with faculty? Did you look at what courses were offered and/or required? Did you base your decision mostly on location? Did reputation of ...