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Students' Corner

Choosing the Right PhD Program: MS to PhD Considerations

Laura M. Criddle, PhD(c), MS, RN, 4th Year Doctoral Student
Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon

Nurses decide to pursue doctoral education at many different times in their lives and in their careers. Some move directly from a baccalaureate nursing program to a PhD, others enter from another discipline. I, however, represent the largest groups of nursing doctoral students: a nurse with years of clinical experience and a master’s degree in the field. Because ours is a practice-based discipline, most of us chose the profession with clinical practice in mind. Only later did we even consider other avenues of nursing success.

I spent the first 10 years of my career practicing the science of nursing and the next 13, as a clinical nurse specialist, teaching the science of nursing. Finally, I realized I wanted to be creating the science of nursing. As a clinical specialist I had conducted and published a handful of simple, descriptive studies, but I quickly encountered my limitations with design, methods, and statistical interpretation. It was this (slowly) dawning realization that led me to consider doctoral education.

Because this is my fourth time back to nursing school (I started with an associate degree) I’m actually quite experienced at choosing a program. However, my selection criteria have changed dramatically over the years. I’m no longer the 18-year-old looking to move away from home and ski with friends at my parents’ expense. Nor am I the 30-year-old willing to uproot my life and move to the school offering the master’s program I carefully selected. At age 45, I owned a home, had a family, and had developed many professional and community ties. No longer was I free to browse college catalogs from all over the country and pick anything that suited my fancy.

I was extremely fortunate to be living near a highly-rated nursing school. In fact, I was already working in the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) hospital. I knew several School of Nursing faculty members and students, and even had a joint appointment. Yet, as much as I wanted to continue my education, I knew that I would either be accepted at OHSU or give up the whole idea. I would like to say that I selected the school after long and careful comparison with programs around the country, but this would be untrue. For logistical and geographical reasons, OHSU was the only institution to which I even considered applying. This situation is common to many of us older nursing doctoral students. In the end, we choose a school largely for pragmatic reasons and the choice to return to school is inexorably intertwined with our choice of schools.

Receiving a letter of acceptance into the doctoral program was a tremendous thrill but it was anxiety provoking as well. I had already decided that, for me, it was full-time study or nothing. Nevertheless, this would mean leaving my nice hospital paycheck and facing huge tuition expenses. Although I ached to further my education, I knew that it wasn’t going to happen unless I received substantial financial aid. Mortgages don’t disappear just because you’re in school.

Prior to applying to the university, I met with a 60-plus year-old faculty member who had pursued doctoral studies late in her career. This exhausted-looking woman confided in me that she would like to retire but she was still paying off student loans! It was a sobering thought. As a clinical nurse specialist with lots of experience, I was at the top of my pay grade and doing well. What would a PhD get me? Years of accumulating debt and living as a broke student only to be offered a paltry junior faculty salary when I was done? My own father, a biochemist, completed his PhD at age 26, was a full professor by 40, and retired at the top of his pay scale with a generous retirement package. Clearly, that wasn’t going to happen to me. As it is, I will be nearly 50 years old when I finally get that diploma. This late in life, the odds of me ever making it beyond the associate professor level are slim and even at that, university retirement programs aren’t what they used to be.

My husband, always very supportive of my dreams, was justifiably concerned about a significant family income reduction in the pre-retirement years. I assured him that we would not go into debt and that I would not return to school unless I received an acceptable level of financial support. As a matter of fact, along with my acceptance letter, the school informed me that I had been selected for an endowed scholarship. Unfortunately, I was also told, “we’re sorry but, the stock market has done so poorly that there is very little money in the fund this year!” However, the OHSU School of Nursing worked very hard for me and I was eventually awarded a two-year federal T-32 grant, which pays school expenses plus a monthly stipend. As wonderful as this kind of news is, it nonetheless begs the question “What happens after two years?” I decided I would just jump into school and figure out what to do next when the time came. This fall, I was relieved to receive two $10,000 scholarships from private foundations. The money will allow me to get through year three. As for year four, I have applied for a couple of research grants, but I will just have to wait and see. It is a constant concern.

Even though it was selected primarily for pragmatic reasons, I am very pleased with my choice of schools. OHSU has given me an excellent education and I’ve worked with some outstanding faculty. Still, my own personal bent is more physiologic and quantitative than that of the school as a whole. Would another institution have been a better fit? Possibly, but I determined from the start to make this school work for me. Thanks in large part to an excellent mentor, I have always been able to find the courses and support that I needed to feel like I have received what I came to school to get.

As for that question I’m constantly asked by friends and family, “What are you going to do when you graduate?” The answer is “Who knows?” I’ve always had an “if you build it they will come” attitude when it comes to my career. Every new skill I’ve learned has multiplied my opportunities and I’m convinced that doctoral education will do the same for me. Nevertheless, my post-graduation choices will be influenced by the same factors that informed my choice of schools. I will still (hopefully) be a homeowner with a family and strong community connections. A post-doc in Washington D.C.? A job in Milwaukee? Somehow, neither seems like a highly viable option. Still, I plan to just take it as it comes. Life’s a journey and doctoral studies are an adventure I have enjoyed (almost) every step of the way.

My experience as a MS-to-PhD student is hardly universal, but it is representative of the experience of many, including about half of the students in my class cohort. For us, the decision to return to school and the choice of a school were intertwined in ways they never were when we were young undergrads.