The future of nursing science

Ph.D.-prepared nurses serve as researchers, educators, and leaders, driving innovations that improve patient care and shape the future of the field.

These experts play a crucial role in conducting research that creates the evidence for practice, influencing health policies, and, perhaps most importantly, educating and mentoring the next generation of nurses and scientists.鈥�

Investing in Ph.D. nursing programs is not just about academic achievement,鈥� says Connell School Dean听Katherine E. Gregory, 鈥渋t鈥檚 about ensuring that nursing continues to evolve and meet the ever-growing challenges of modern health care.鈥�

^{鈥淔ewer than 1 percent of nurses hold a Ph.D., and 鈥渢hese individuals are in high demand with the need for nurse scientists, faculty, and leaders on the rise.鈥�}

鈥擭ational Nursing Workforce Survey (2021)

Gregory believes that supporting and training nurse scientists is critical. 鈥淲e need a scientifically robust body of knowledge to guide nursing practice,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd that knowledge comes from nurses with Ph.D.s.鈥�

A wide range of research opportunities are available to Ph.D.-prepared nurses. Thanks to their clinical knowledge and ability to conduct research, they work in a variety of settings: clinical environments, academia, public policy, biotech, and the startup industry, to name a few. 鈥淣urse scientists are skilled in conducting research that will yield new findings that are ultimately translated to the bedside,鈥� Gregory says.

She is particularly keen to see more nursing Ph.D. students bring their skills and experience to academic roles. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no greater impact than educating the next generation of nurses and scientists, not only in the classroom but also in the research arena,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he students you teach and mentor will practice around the world, and your training will ripple outward.鈥�

_{BUILDING THE TOOLBOX}

_{Ph.D. candidate Jordan Keels}

As an undergraduate, Jordan Keels studied biology and nursing and, after graduation, chose to pursue a nursing Ph.D. 鈥淚 wanted to create my own research, put forth my own ideas, ask my own questions,鈥� she says.

Jordan Keels

Today as a Ph.D. candidate, Keels studies diabetes and works closely with her mentor, Associate Professor Andrew Dwyer, a rare-disease researcher in endocrinology. In weekly meetings, Dwyer helps Keels shape research questions, and introduces her to colleagues and other faculty who help her develop new skills.

In addition to supporting her current work, Dwyer is preparing Keels for future projects, and he asks questions during their discussions to guide her: What are your goals? What kind of career do you want to have? What skills do you want to leave this program with? He also gives Keels opportunities to practice the skills she鈥檒l eventually need for her own research. 鈥淗e鈥檚 instrumental in setting up the ladder to help me succeed,鈥� Keels said.

Keels was awarded an NIH grant in September 2024 for her dissertation research, which is an epidemiological study of diabetes risk among adults with COVID-19. She started conducting research in January alongside her clinical practice as a clinical research nurse practitioner at Massachusetts General Hospital. She says she is grateful for all the resources CSON has provided, from monthly seminars to sessions on grant writing and CVs.

鈥淲e get a very personalized education,鈥� Keels says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what has helped to propel me forward.鈥�

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^{鈥淚 wanted to create my own research, put forth my own ideas, ask my own questions.鈥�}

鈥擯h.D. candidate Jordan Keels

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_{LOOKING THROUGH THE NURSING LENS}

_{Research scientist Karen Jennings Mathis}

Karen Jennings Mathis, Ph.D. 鈥�16, M.S. 鈥�11, APRN, PMHNP-BC, is a research scientist at The Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I., and an assistant professor at Brown University鈥檚 Warren Alpert Medical School. Her interest in research began with an undergraduate degree in psychology: 鈥淚 had my whole life planned out,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was going to be a research assistant for a couple of years, then apply to Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology and become a practicing clinical psychologist.鈥�

Karen Jennings Mathis

But while she was doing clinical work at McLean Hospital鈥檚 Klarman Eating Disorders Center, the nurses suggested she consider nursing school instead.

Jennings Mathis enrolled in the master鈥檚 program in nursing at md传媒国产剧 College and returned to McLean as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. That experience proved essential to her research after she entered CSON鈥檚 doctoral program, where she joined the lab of Barbara Wolfe, Ph.D. 鈥�95, who studied eating disorders. 鈥淭hat was the beginning of my independent research career in the field,鈥� Jennings Mathis says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a population I love working with.鈥�

Her time at md传媒国产剧 College allowed her to meet many people working in the field of eating disorders. And given the University鈥檚 strong culture of mentorship and community, it鈥檚 no surprise that it was through the guidance of Barbara Wolfe鈥攏ow provost at the University of Rhode Island (URI)鈥攖hat Jennings Mathis began networking at conferences and forming relationships with potential collaborators and colleagues.

鈥淓ven though I鈥檓 no longer a practicing nurse, I always go back to my clinical experience to influence the questions I ask in my research,鈥� Jennings Mathis says. She still consults with practicing colleagues to brainstorm and solicit feedback. When she completed a postdoc at the University of Chicago in a research environment dominated by clinical psychologists, her mentor, Jennifer Wildes, Ph.D., valued her unique perspective as a nurse. 鈥淭he lens that you鈥檙e bringing to our research and clinical discussions is different and helpful and needed,鈥� Wildes told her.

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^{鈥淭hose problems that you see clinically can be systematically investigated to gain knowledge and a better understanding, to ultimately improve patient care, patient outcomes, and the experiences of nurses and all health care providers. That鈥檚 what the Ph.D. is all about.鈥�}

鈥擪aren Jennings Mathis,听Ph.D. 鈥�16, M.S. 鈥�11
Research Scientist, The Miriam Hospital
Assistant Professor, Warren Alpert Medical School,听Brown University

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That nursing lens serves Jennings Mathis well in her research and clinical work and also as a leader in her field.

She taught for five years in URI College of Nursing鈥檚 psychiatric mental health program before heading to Brown and The Miriam Hospital, where she primarily conducts research at the NIH-funded Center of Biomedical Research Excellence for Stress, Trauma, and Resilience. She also advises clinical nurses at The Miriam Hospital on developing their clinical questions into scholarly inquiries, from evidence-based practice to research.

鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to see nurses light up as they start to understand more about the scientific process,鈥� Jennings Mathis says.

鈥淢ost of my research has been conducted in environments where I鈥檓 the only nurse scientist in the room,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I try to tell nurses: You have lots of ideas based on your clinical experiences. Those problems that you see clinically can be systematically investigated to gain knowledge and a better understanding, to ultimately improve patient care, patient outcomes, and the experiences of nurses and all health care providers. That鈥檚 what the Ph.D. is all about.鈥�

_{ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS}

_{Chair of Pediatric Nursing Martha A.Q. Curley}

Martha A. Q. Curley, Ph.D. 鈥�97, RN, FAAN, is the Ruth M. Colket Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing at Children鈥檚 Hospital of Philadelphia and a professor in nursing at the University of Pennsylvania鈥檚 School of Nursing. She says she sees an urgent need for nurse scientists in the field.

Martha A. Q. Curley

鈥淲e need expert clinicians who have good clinical questions, focused on what nurses actually do,鈥� Curley says. 鈥淣urses create the experience of care. They help patients and families live with disease and disability. And we need nursing science to support them.鈥�

That need for support in the field set Curley on her path toward research. As a clinical nurse specialist in the multidisciplinary intensive care unit at md传媒国产剧 Children鈥檚 Hospital, she looked for existing research that could give her the best available evidence to inform her practice. 鈥淚 started asking: How best should nurses care for a patient on this treatment? How best to take care of parents under a lot of stress? I had questions that weren鈥檛 addressed anywhere in the literature.鈥� md传媒国产剧 College was right down the road, so Curley applied for the CSON Ph.D. program.

She was able to attend BC thanks to a fellowship, and she believes providing both financial and academic support to aspiring nurse scientists is crucial. 鈥淪chools of nursing should invest in faculty that can serve as mentors for Ph.D.-prepared nurses,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 embody the identity of a nurse scientist unless you have role models.

鈥淚 was fortunate enough to study with the best and brightest in the field,鈥� she continues. 鈥渕d传媒国产剧 College had a stellar reputation for research, with faculty who were really making an impact.鈥�

Curley graduated in three years, began applying for NIH grants, and quickly acquired funding for her first clinical trial. 鈥淎nd then I just kept going,鈥� she says. 鈥淏igger studies, larger populations, more clinical sites.鈥�

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^{鈥淪chools of nursing should invest in faculty that can serve as mentors for Ph.D.-prepared nurses,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 embody the identity of a nurse scientist unless you have role models.鈥�}

鈥擬artha A. Q. Curley, Ph.D. 鈥�97
Endowed Chair of Pediatric Nursing, Children鈥檚 Hospital of Philadelphia
Professor, School of Nursing,听University of Pennsylvania

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Curley is now running two large clinical trials. She is the principal investigator on one that involves 50 sites, including international sites, testing to determine the best way to position critically ill children (supine or prone) and to ventilate them (standard or high-frequency). Her other trial is a cohort study of 750 kids who have received treatment in a pediatric intensive care unit. Curley and her team are mapping out 鈥減ost-intensive care syndrome,鈥� with the aim of providing resources and continued care to patients and their families after they leave the ICU.

鈥淣ursing science is important鈥攏ot just for nurses, but fundamentally, critically important for patients and families,鈥� Curley says. Without nurse scientists to answer research questions, important inquiries about patient care will remain unanswered from a nursing perspective or will rely on data from other disciplines. 鈥淲e need to be able to partner with our interdisciplinary colleagues,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen everybody brings their best work forward, patients and families will receive the best possible care.鈥�

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