Barriers for BSN students to pursue a PhD in nursing and recommendations to address them: A scoping review.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Increasing the BSN-PhD pipeline could address the shortage of nursing faculty to conduct research, develop nursing science, and train new nurses and faculty. PURPOSE: To identify barriers to BSN students' pursuit of PhD education, and to compile recommendations to increase their numbers. METHODS: This scoping review follows PRISMA guidelines, including articles in English that discussed barriers to BSN students' pursuit of PhD education and recommendations to address them. FINDINGS: Barriers to pursuing a PhD include misunderstanding PhD education and its impact on population-level health, insufficient funding for PhD studies, and perceived need for clinical experience. BSN program recommendations include education on doctoral and postdoctoral options, mentorship, and hands-on research experiences. PhD programs should be accessible, fully funded, and address students' perceived need for clinical experience. DISCUSSION: The nursing profession must take coordinated action across individual, interpersonal, program, policy, and cultural levels to increase the pipeline of well-prepared BSN-PhD students.