UMN PhD 2018

GreyDay · Feb 23, 2018

Howdy again folks,

If anyone has any advice for a PhD interview in general (not just for UMN), I'm all ears.

saheckler, PhD, RN · Aug 21, 2018

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 love to hear about your experience and what you're going to do this fall. How did you decide on a nursing PhD when you're not a nurse (no judgment, just curious!) Best of luck to you this fall, whatever you're going to end up doing!

GreyDay · Aug 21, 2018

Hi there! Thanks for asking! Yep, I've relocated 1700 miles and orientation at UMN is next week! I'm insanely excited.

How did I decide on a nursing PhD as a non-nurse: I have a MS in a health-related field and I was really struggling to sort out how to best use my degree when I no longer wished to do that direct patient care work, and quite frankly, I no longer wished to work in my current field. I kept going back to nursing. When I looked at nursing programs, I didn't want to do another masters just to apply to a PhD and I definitely knew that I was done with direct patient care from an emotional labor perspective. The thing that really spoke to me about a nursing PhD was the synthesis of data and empathy, and career-wise, the ability to teach and do research (two things I've done in my current field, rather enjoyed, but there's not a lot of work there). The bottom line when looking at ANY degree program is: how will I make my living with this degree? will this degree enable me to apply for the jobs/career I want? For me, it ticked all the boxes. Does that help?

Feel free to reply if you have any other questions, I'm happy to help in any way I can.

saheckler, PhD, RN · Aug 31, 2018

Hi there! Thanks for asking! Yep, I've relocated 1700 miles and orientation at UMN is next week! I'm insanely excited.
How did I decide on a nursing PhD as a non-nurse: I have a MS in a health-related field and I was really struggling to sort out how to best use my degree when I no longer wished to do that direct patient care work, and quite frankly, I no longer wished to work in my current field. I kept going back to nursing. When I looked at nursing programs, I didn't want to do another masters just to apply to a PhD and I definitely knew that I was done with direct patient care from an emotional labor perspective. The thing that really spoke to me about a nursing PhD was the synthesis of data and empathy, and career-wise, the ability to teach and do research (two things I've done in my current field, rather enjoyed, but there's not a lot of work there). The bottom line when looking at ANY degree program is: how will I make my living with this degree? will this degree enable me to apply for the jobs/career I want? For me, it ticked all the boxes. Does that help?
Feel free to reply if you have any other questions, I'm happy to help in any way I can.

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 years of mostly oncology. I'm struggling right now deciding between a PhD in nursing or public health. Did you ever consider public health (or another field) for your PhD and if so, how did you make your decision? I agree that making a living and job opportunities are huge factors. I'm afraid that nursing may be more clinically oriented than what I would like. I really want to study health disparities and possibly public policy solutions to disparities. What do you want to study?

Hope your program is off to a great start!

toriphile23 · Oct 26, 2019

Hello GreyDay,

Can you please share with me how your PhD interview went and what type of questions did they ask?

Thank you!