Nursing plans Ph.D. program

As the School of Nursing looks to increase its presence in the University's research community, the school is forging ahead with plans to institute a doctoral program as early as 2005.

Duke's nursing program, ranked first in 2000 among schools without doctoral degrees, has finally secured a crucial number of faculty members and plans for new facilities to work toward a doctoral program.

"We've always felt we've needed to get into research, [as] Duke has always been a research institution," said Mary Champagne, dean of the School of Nursing.

Although specific plans for a Ph.D. program are in their very early stages, the overall vision of Elizabeth Clipp and Ruth Anderson, co-chairs of the doctoral program steering committee, is crystal clear.

The doctoral program of study would encompass nursing research methods, statistics, courses in the philosophy of science and ethics, and special topics in an area of the doctoral candidates' concentration of choice.

"We are focusing exclusively on developing nurse scientists," said Clipp, also a professor in the School of Nursing.

The goal of nurse scientists, Champagne explained, is to address the most important issues surrounding a patient - care, quality of life and therapy.

The nursing school is already making important strides towards achieving its research initiatives. Currently, the school boasts an exploratory research center - the TRAC Center, funded for three years by the National Institutes of Health - that is helping move plans forward.

Building the faculty furthers the department's long-standing goal to develop a doctoral program. "The predominant faculty on board we had hired with the Ph.D. program in mind," Champagne said. "We were very clear we would build infrastructure [first].... We needed to be the kind of school doctoral students would want to attend."

One of the largest steps toward that infrastructure is the new nursing building, plans for which must first be approved by the Board of Trustees. "We are in a space crisis," Champagne said. "We're taking the plan [for the building] to the Board of Trustees later this month."

Clipp added that reuniting a nursing school in one building will enable closer communication.

Although the timeline for implementing the doctoral program has not been firmly set, both Clipp and Anderson concurred that, at the earliest, doctoral candidates would begin their studies in 2005. The plans currently call for only four to six students to be admitted in the first few years.

Champagne noted that the school has attracted the minimum number of faculty members necessary for a doctoral program. However, she said she believes the mere presence of a doctoral program would attract more faculty and students.

These lofty goals are not without solid financial foundation. As the doctoral program began to appear more promising, it was taken into consideration during budgeting talks. "It's been in our five-year budget," Champagne said.

She added that, although the operational cost of the program would be covered, the purpose of initiating a doctoral program was not to make money. "It's the right thing to do," she said.

Both Clipp and Anderson were eager to express their excitement over the strong possibility of offering a doctoral program. The proposal, once drafted in its final form, will have to meet approval by the Graduate School - which is providing much guidance to the steering committee - and ultimately by the Board of Trustees.

"We are just beginning with the initial meetings with the Graduate School," Champagne said.

Champagne said the Medical Center has been very supportive of the plans for a doctoral program. Now, she said, the nursing school needs to demonstrate clearly that they are developing a specific proposal.