The role of doctoral‐educated nurses in the clinical setting: Findings from a scoping review

Abstract

Aims and objectives: To map and summarise published studies on the career opportunities and roles of doctoral-educated (PhD and DNP) nurses in the clinical setting; to collate actions as proposed in the literature to promote career opportunities and roles for PhD and DNP nurses in the clinical setting.Background: To improve healthcare outcomes and strengthen leadership in nursing practice, there is the need to place nurses with a doctorate in clinical settings.However, available evidence has never been summarised to map the state of the science in this field. Design: A scoping review, in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for scoping reviews statement (PRISMA-ScR). Methods: An electronic database of literature was searched by accessing CINAHL Complete and Medline (on EBSCO Host) and SCOPUS to identify studies published between January 2009-December 2019. A thematic analysis was performed by identifying emerging patterns in the research questions. Results: Ten studies were found with three types of clinical engagement: (a) a practice influencer/developer; (b) a clinical leader; and (c) a clinical teacher for students. Working in clinical areas, doctoral-educated nurses might influence several outcomes at the patient, research, staff and organisational levels.Conclusions: Clinical roles for doctoral-educated nurses are still uncommon. However, in the last ten years, a debate has started to identify the possible careers in clinical settings, the needs and the challenges encountered while developing clinical academic roles, as well as the outcomes and actions that should be undertaken.Relevance to clinical practice: Academic nursing bodies, working with professional bodies and healthcare institutions at different levels, are called on to develop career frameworks, allowing the opportunity for doctoral-educated nurses to be involved in clinical practice and to influence its quality and performance; this might in turn lead to an increase in the quality of research.

Clinical practice experience of doctor of philosophy nurses in South Korea: a qualitative study

“…In a systematic review study of PhD nurses’ roles and functions in clinical care (M. L. Orton et al, 2021 ), the role of bridging between theory and practice by contributing their scientific knowledge to the implementation of patient care was emphasized, and they can serve as an attractive role model for colleagues. Another scoping review study on the roles of PhD nurses in clinical settings also described similar findings such as a practice influencer to colleagues as well as clinical leader and a clinical teacher for students (Dobrowolska et al, 2021 ). Columbia University School of Nursing and participating health systems in the USA established a Joint Nurse Scientist Role, where PhD nurses are responsible not only for student education but also for conducting research with institutional nurses and providing mentorship.…”

Perceived barriers and enablers of nursing research in the Italian context: Findings from a systematic review

“…At the system level, designing and promoting PhD education has been widely recognized as fundamental ( 28 ). The first Italian PhD programme was established in 2006 and the number of nurses with PhDs has increased over the years, although numbers remain limited ( 13 , 22 , 23 ).…”

Leadership of PhD‐prepared nurses working in hospitals and its influence on career development: A qualitative study

“…PhD‐prepared nurses build inter‐ and intra‐disciplinary networks to generate high‐quality innovative, evidence‐based knowledge and apply it meaningfully in clinical practice, education and policy development (Cashion et al, 2019 ; van Oostveen et al, 2017 ). PhD‐prepared nurses have the potential to be leaders in the clinical setting by developing nursing practice, be clinical leaders and be clinical teachers for nurses and students (Dobrowolska et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Although many PhD‐prepared nurses work in nursing faculties with roles in research and teaching, some continue to work in clinical settings (Andreassen & Christensen, 2018 ; Dobrowolska et al, 2021 ). Clinical academic careers for nurses are highly valuable as they support research on clinical relevant topics and implementation of evidence to support nursing care and clinical decision making by nurses (van Oostveen et al, 2017 ).…”