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Dissertation Completion in 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 Population The 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (USDHHS HRSA, 2010) Registered Nurses With Doctorates RNs with Series1, 3, 13140 Doctorates 0.9% Series1, 2, 15229 28,369 Nursing 0.4% Non Nursing 0.5% All RNs 3,063,162 Series1, 1, 3063162 1 2 3 The Registered Nurse Population with Double the Number of Doctorates Double the Number of RNs with Doctorates RNs with Doctorates 1.8% 56,738 All RNs 3,063,162 All RNs 3,063,162 1 2 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) 11,645 Total RN Doctoral Students 2010 11,645 (nursing) + 11,645 (estimate non nursing) 23,290 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 Quadruple 116,450 !!! So what’s the problem? From 0.9% to 3.8% 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 0 PhD.org, 2011 Nursing PhD Programs Catholic U of America New York U U Michigan Ann Arbor U Miami Loyola Chicago U Kentucky 80 U Florida 100 U Pittsburgh U Missouri - Kansas City U Iowa U Texas Austin U Cincinnati - Main Pen State - Main Florida Atlantic U Wisconsin Madison UCLA Yale U Missouri St. Louis U Arizona UCSF U So Carolina Columbia U Penn U Connecticut Boston College U So Florida - Main Emory % Graduate in 6 years 52 Nursing PhD Programs 6 Year Graduation Rate PhD Graduation in 6 Years 120 Mean = 51.8% 60 Series1 40 20 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- 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) Very Helpful (+2) Somewhat Helpful (+1) Not Helpful (-2) Did Not Use(0) 10 external life factors (LF) Very Helpful (+2) Somewhat Helpful (+1) Negatively Affected My Dissertation Progress (-2) Did Not Affect My Dissertation Process (0) Written comments Distributed using Qualtrecs software 53 ABDs 37 (70%) completed the survey Results: Internal Program Support mean=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 Schools PhD 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