1. Dissertation Completion in Doctoral Nursing Education
Ellen B. Daroszewski PhD, APRN
College of Graduate Nursing
Western University of Health Sciences
Joint Southern California STTI Chapters
Nursing Odyssey 2011

2. Doctoral Nursing Program Components
“Easy” part
Courses
Research/lab/clinical experiences
Qualifying or other exams
“Hard” part
Final “project”
Most significant work of the program
Dissertation
PhD - original research
DNP – practice-based project with many forms

3. Dissertation Definition
Cambridge dictionary
"long piece of writing
on a particular subject"
Oxford dictionary
"long essay, especially one written for a university degree or diploma”
Britannica Encyclopedia
"an extended usually
written treatment of a subject specifically:
one submitted for a doctorate"

4. Dissertation Essence (The Academic Research Group, 2010)
Simply put, a doctoral dissertation is a scholarly document
Ultimate demonstration of the student’s competency in their field/discipline
Generally lengthy 
Trend is toward shorter documents
Unusual does not exceed 300 pages
Focused on a narrow topic
Contains extensive references to other work and experts in the field

5. The Future of Nursing (IOM, 2010)
Recommendation 5
Double the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020

6. The Registered Nurse Population The 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (USDHHS HRSA, 2010)
RNs with Doctorates 0.9% 28,369
Nursing 0.4%
Non Nursing 0.5%
All RNs 3,063,162

7. The Registered Nurse Population with Double the Number of Doctorates
RNs with Doctorates 1.8% 56,738
All RNs 3,063,162
All RNs 3,063,162

8. Number of Nursing Doctoral Programs and Students 2010 (AACN, 2011)
DNP
153 programs
7, 034 students (2010)
PhD (in nursing)
124 programs
4,611 students (2010)
Total RN Doctoral Students 2010
11,645 (nursing)
+ 11,645 (estimate non nursing)
23,290
11,645

9. New RNs with Doctorates by 2020 116,450 !!! From 0.9% to 3.8%
Potential Increase in Doctorally Prepared RNs by (5 years to graduation)
Nursing
11, 645 students X 5 = 58,225
Non nursing
New RNs with Doctorates by ,450 !!! From 0.9% to 3.8%
Quadruple
So what’s the problem?

10. Problem: Doctoral Completion Rates
20-50% of nursing doctoral students finish their degree (Cohen, 2011)
Dissertation completion is the major obstacle to doctorate completion
Takes a LONG time
Women and minorities take the longest
Students who works on their dissertation for more than 2 years likely to never finish
Cohen found completion MOST affected by
Program problems
Conflicts
Delays
Life demands
Parental responsibilities
Work

11. 52 Nursing PhD Programs 6 Year Graduation Rate
Mean = 51.8%
PhD.org, 2011

12. me
Mitchell-Kernan, 2008,

13. 6-10 years
Mitchell-Kernan, 2008,

14. Mitchell-Kernan, 2008, www. phdcompletion
Mitchell-Kernan, 2008,

15. Mitchell-Kernan, 2008, www. phdcompletion
Mitchell-Kernan, 2008,

16. All-But-Dissertation (ABD) DNP Student Survey
Study aim
To describe the
helpfulness of program supports
and
affect of lifestyle factors
on dissertation completion

17. ABD Survey Methods Two part 25 item self-report
15 internal program support (PS)
10 external life factors (LF)
Written comments
Distributed using Qualtrecs software
53 ABDs
37 (70%) completed the survey
Very Helpful (+2) Somewhat Helpful (+1)
Not Helpful (-2) Did Not Use(0)
Very Helpful (+2) Somewhat Helpful (+1) Negatively Affected My Dissertation Progress (-2) Did Not Affect My Dissertation Process (0)

18. Internal Program Supports
Results: Internal Program Support mean=42.8, SD=9.2, range =29, (74 to -74 possible)
Ranking
Score
Internal Program Supports 1 53
Dissertation guidelines
Dissertation proposal tips
Course paper (vulnerable populations) 4 51
Lit review throughout program 5 50
Dissertation seminars 6 48
Chair feedback
Dissertation Website 8 44
Course paper (research) 9 40
Faculty feedback
Other student feedback
Course paper (theory & philosophy) 12 34
Other support 13 33
Committee feedback (Academic member) 14 31
Committee feedback (Community member) 15 24
Other college & university support
Very Helpful
Somewhat Helpful
Not Helpful

19. Results: External Life Factors mean=28 SD=21
Results: External Life Factors mean=28 SD=21.6, range=60, (74 to -74 possible)
Ranking
Score
External Life Factors 1 56
Computer 2 55
Skill in using technology 3 53
Motivation to complete 4 35
Friends/colleagues 5 33
Time management 6 17
Employer/Employment 7 14
Health 8 12
Family/family obligations 9 10
Finances -5
Other life factors
Very Helpful
Somewhat Helpful
Negative Affect

20. Council of Graduate Schools PhD Completion Project
7 year, 2 phase study of doctoral completion and attrition
Main factors that contributed to completion
Mentoring/advising
Family support
Financial support
Ph.D. Completion and Attrition: Findings from Exit Surveys of Ph.D. Completers (2009)

21. Discussion
ABD survey results supported the findings of Cohen & the PhD Completion Project
Life demands were found to be least helpful and have the most negative affect on dissertation completion
Family & financial support important for completion
Doctoral programs supports help ABDs
Mentoring is important
Dissertation Chair

22. Recommendations
“Everyone” has to get better at supporting doctoral completion
Programs have to build in steps and support for students
Students have to learn to manage their live demands
Respect and support for the difficulty of the dissertation process
Advisors/Chairs

23. Questions …?
Dissertation or Die