PERCEPTIONS OF NEED FOR DOCTORAL EDUCATION BY SELECTED NURSES IN FIVE MIDWESTERN STATES (IOWA, MINNESOTA, NEBRASKA, NORTH DAKOTA, SOUTH DAKOTA).
Contributors: University of South Dakota.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 176
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Education.
Description: Problem. To determine the perceptions of selected nurses as to the need for a doctoral program in nursing. Further, the study determined nurses' preference for the Ph.D. or D.S.N., as well as examined the demographic and external variables which influenced the participants' preference.

Procedure. The survey instrument, a needs assessment, was developed by the investigator. A reliability co-efficient was obtained through the test-retest reliability procedure on the faculty of a small mid-western college.

Population. The participants for this study were registered nurses who are enrolled or have completed a Master's Degree in Nursing, who resided in the State of South Dakota, northwest Iowa, southern Minnesota, and selected areas of Nebraska and North Dakota which are contiguous to the State of South Dakota.

Findings. A doctoral degree in nursing is seen as needed by the respondents in the specified geographic areas. The perceived need for a doctoral program in nursing was dependent on the respondents' intention to enroll. The nurses who responded to the questionnaire, preferred a D.S.N. to meet their needs for doctoral education. If a doctoral program in nursing were made available to nurses within the specified area, these nurses would enroll in a doctoral program in nursing. If a doctoral program in nursing were available, age or marital status would not be a variable that would impact on their decision to attend a doctoral program in nursing. Factors identified as necessary to meet the nurses' needs are as follows: (A) Financial considerations; (B) Research opportunities; (C) Prestige of the University; (D) Flexible program; (E) Faculty concerns; (F) Academic affairs; (G) Variety in research; (H) Discrete.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-07, Section: B, page: 2842.

Thesis (ED.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA, 1989.

School code: 0203.