Analysis of nurse-doctorates; data collected for the International Directory of Nurses with Doctoral Degrees.

In an American Nurses' Foundation survey of the 1973 population of nurses with doctoral degrees (N = 1,020) general trends in doctoral education of nurses were elicited. Specific unique characteristics were highlighted, including: a continuing trend for nurses to earn the Ph.D. rather than the Ed.D., a divergence between field of doctoral study and the current field of research interest, and a slight number of these qualified nurses actually participating in research of any kind. The majority of subjects were single; most were employed in a university or college where they held either full or associate professorships; most considered themselves still to be in the field of nursing, although their doctoral studies frequently took them out of the discipline; their work responsibilities were heavily loaded with administrative duties. As compared with the holders of doctoral degrees in other fields, nurses earned their degrees later, but took no longer to complete them. While universities in the Mid-Atlantic states were the largest producers of nurse-doctorates, universities in the Midwest were found to be the most frequent employers. Questions regarding the future direction of nurse-doctorates were raised.