Exploring the Experiences of Nurses Studying Professional Doctorates

Recently there has been a rapid increase in the number of professional doctorates being undertaken in the UK. Nursing doctorates in particular are relatively new to the UK and therefore little is known about nurses’ experiences of them, especially from a qualitative perspective. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of nurses studying professional doctorates in health
care, and in particular to determine what factors influence nurses in undertaking the programme, and to identify any challenges they encounter. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and a purposeful sample of five was selected from a total of 24. Data were analysed using a grounded theory method. The desire to enhance professional and personal identity was the core influential factor, while challenges included the balance between family, social, work and academic responsibilities. Nurses created a system through the use of a range of coping mechanisms to overcome these challenges. Findings from this study could be informative for prospective students, academic staff and practitioners involved with doctorate students. This study could also be used as a preliminary analysis to form the basis for theoretical sampling in a larger scale
study.