Building a New Cadre of Nursing Faculty
Principal Investigator: Nadine Nehls, PhD
This project team seeks to generate insights into the prospects for early-entry doctoral programs (admitting pre-baccalaureate students and recent graduates) to increase the number and productivity of future nurse faculty. A case study will compare early-entry, mid-entry, and late-entry doctoral students enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing to identify distinctive decision-making processes and to document differences in productivity, rates of academic progression, and pursuit of faculty positions. In-depth interviews with students (targeting the entire population) will provide the major source of data (e.g., identifying influences on entering a doctoral program, previous related experiences, other career and educational options considered, financial considerations, career aspirations, intent to join a nurse faculty, reasons for withdrawing from the doctoral program); another prime source of data will be the School’s student records (e.g., on academic progression, demographic characteristics, academic and research performance). Qualitative and quantitative analyses will produce findings that will be widely disseminated among members of the nursing academic community, nursing students, and policy-makers.
