Doctoral education for nurses today: the PhD or professional doctorate?

Objective: This paper seeks to stimulate discussion and debate about the future of doctoral education for nurses in Australia.

Setting: A large Magnet recognised acute care private hospital in New South Wales and a large regional university in Australia.

Primary argument: Healthcare today and into the future is increasingly more complex and requires ever more highly skilled healthcare professionals to meet the challenges of providing safe, quality care. Doctoral research and education based in the workplace and designed to improve healthcare while skilling up nurses and other professionals in research methods has never been more relevant and appropriate.

Conclusion: Nurses have generally not seen the PhD as the best fit for their higher professional development. The professional doctorate offers a compelling and dynamic alternative to the more academic focus of the PhD and prepares ‘inquiry-driven leaders’ for tomorrow’s challenges.