What Job should you look for after Getting your PhD? So you have earned your PhD in nursing, and now you wonder exactly what you want to do. Well, the answer is pretty simple‌ but complicated. A nurse with a PhD can teach, conduct extensive research, evaluate programs, and lead health care organizations or work within government. With a doctoral degree, you will soon learn the sky is essentially the limit. Most nurse PhD’s do not work in direct patient care. At the doctoral level nursing is actually less about hands on patient care and more about thinking and planning, that directs the profession forward. A nurse with a PhD had the necessary training needed to conduct research and add to knowledge and awareness of other nurses. Some PhD prepared nurses opt to work in research; all have exposure to a great amount of research and had to demonstrate their ability to conduct accurate and high quality research, sometimes with the aid of another person. Nurse Practitioner Currently you only need an MSN to work as a nurse practitioner; however that may change in the future. Earning an MSN prior to earning a PhD is a good idea and will help you tremendously in preparing to go into higher education. Earning and working with an MSN provides you with the administrative skills that you can utilize later after earning your PhD. In some states if you have a PhD in nursing you can open and operate your own practice without the supervision of a physician. Nurse Researcher A nurse researcher develops and organizes difficult data that is necessary to convince hospital administrators that reform and changes are necessary. As a nurse researcher you can hold a university position, or work in a teaching hospital, organizing the academic health care program. Related: International Nurses Association - Nurse Practitioners Nurse Educator Nurse practitioners are in high demand, but nurse educators are even more sorely needed. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing has found that nursing schools had to turn down more than 60k qualified potential students in the year 2010 alone, because they didn’t have enough instructors to educate them all. There are currently around 1500 open faculty positions in nursing schools, and more than 90 percent of those positions require the successful candidate to have a doctoral degree in
nursing. As a nurse educator, you’ll get to train the next generation of nurses and work regular hours with weekends and holidays off. Chief Nurse Anesthetist An MSN will allow you to be a nurse anesthetist, but you’ll need a Ph.D. or a DNP in order to supervise an anesthesia team. In addition to performing many of the same tasks as any other nurse anesthetist, you’d also oversee the other anesthetists and be responsible for scheduling and organization. Nursing Manager RNs and NPs concern themselves mostly with patient care. As a nursing manager, you’d be responsible for managing a nursing staff instead. Your responsibilities would include hiring and training new employees, as well as supervising and evaluating the nurses you already have on staff. You would deal with budgeting information and issues, and also analyze reports about the quality of your hospital’s services and its patient outcomes. A PhD in Nursing can prepare you for opportunities that aren’t available when you only have a BSN or an MSN. For the greatest job security and the biggest of career options, you can’t go wrong with a Ph.D. This degree will leave you prepared to do any type of nursing work you set your mind to, whether it’s clinical, academic, or administrative. If you plan to further your education and earn a PhD in nursing, it will take 4-6 years, and the study itself is quite a bit more intense and demanding than many nursing programs. It would be in your best interest to avoid a full time demanding job; you will need plenty of hours of research and study to successfully earn your degree. Related: A Survival Guide for your First Day General Requirements for Admission (for BSN to PhD) • Earned BSN from an accredited NLN or CCNE School of Nursing •
GPA 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale
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The GRE is waived if an applicant's cumulative undergraduate GPA is 3.4 or higher. Satisfactory performance on the GRE is required if your cumulative GPA is below 3.4
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Resume or CV
• Current licensure as a registered nurse in the state in which practice will occur
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Undergraduate statistics course
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Transcripts from all post-secondary institutions
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Three letters of reference pertaining to academic ability, professional competency and personal character
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Personal statement
• Telephone or in-person interview may be a part of the admission process Admission Requirements for Nurses with MSN to PhD • Earned master's in nursing in an advanced nursing practice specialty from a nationally accredited CCNE or NLNAC program or master's degree from a regionally accredited institution in a health related profession •
Certification as an advanced practice nurse (if applicable)
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GPA 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale
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Resume or CV
• Current licensure as a registered nurse in the state in which practice will occur •
Graduate research methods and inferential statistics course(s)
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Transcripts from all post-secondary institutions
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Three letters of reference pertaining to academic ability, professional competence and personal character
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Personal statement
• Telephone or in-person interview may be a part of the admission process Each state and school may critique the requirements slightly; however, these are across the board general requirements to enter a PhD Program.
Determining if a PhD is right for you You have researched and think that you can meet the requirements to enter a PhD program, now you have to decide if you are certain that you have the dedication required to follow through and complete the program. It can be a
long and tedious process, and not one to be taken lightly. It will require a desire and determination to complete your PhD program, and if you do not have a strong enough passion to do so, you may in fact have difficulty completing the program. You will require a good internet connection for research work and homework, and you may even need to access a library on occasion. You will be expected to do extensive research, which will occupy a good portion of time, so again, you need to be prepared to concentrate primarily on your education as you complete it. Make plans well in advance of starting your PhD studies. Allow for adequate study time in a quiet environment. It may be beneficial to schedule a certain time each evening to be alone to do your research or studies, it is going to require concentration. During your designated study and research time, avoid all phone calls or distractions, the more you can focus on your work at hand the better it will be for you. Related: Skilled Nurse Sharon C. Rodriguez, DNP, MSN Ed, LHRM, RN, to Be Published in the Worldwide Leaders in Healthcare Please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and Twitter