University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Nursing, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
Int J Nurs Stud. 2010 Mar;47(3):295-306. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2009.07.005. Epub 2009 Aug 15.
The rapidly increasing number of nursing doctoral programs has caused concern about the quality of nursing doctoral education, including in Korea.
To describe the perceived quality of Korean nursing doctoral education in faculty, student, curriculum and resources.
Focus group.
Fourteen Korean nursing doctoral programs that are research focused and include coursework.
Four groups of deans, faculty, students and graduates; students completed three semesters of doctoral program; and graduates completed doctoral programs within the most recent 3 years.
Focus groups examined the strengths and weaknesses of faculty, students, curriculum, and resources.
Faculty strengths were universities' recognition of faculty research/scholarship and the ability of faculty to attract extramural funding. Faculty weaknesses were aging faculty; high faculty workload; insufficient number of faculty; and teaching without expertise in nursing theories. Student strengths were diverse student backgrounds; multidisciplinary dissertation committee members, and opportunities to socialize with peers and graduates/faculty. Students' weaknesses were overproduction of PhDs with low academic quality; a lower number and quality of doctoral applicants; and lack of full-time students. Curriculum strengths were focusing on specific research areas; emphasis on research ethics; and multidisciplinary courses. Curriculum weaknesses were insufficient time for curriculum development; inadequate courses for core research competencies; and a lack of linkage between theory and practice. Resources strengths were inter-institutional courses with credit transfer. Weaknesses were diminished university financial support for graduate students and limited access to school facilities. Variations in participant groups (providers [deans and faculty] vs. receivers [students and graduates]) and geographical location (capital city vs. regional) were noted on all the four components.
The quality characteristics of faculty, students, curriculum, and resources identified in this first systematic evaluation of the quality of nursing doctoral education can inform nursing schools, universities, and policy-makers about areas for improvement in Korea and possibly in the world. Geographical variations found in these four components of doctoral education warrant attention by policy-makers in Korea.
护理博士项目的数量迅速增加，引起了人们对护理博士教育质量的关注，包括在韩国。
描述韩国护理博士教育在师资、学生、课程和资源方面的感知质量。
焦点小组。
14 个以研究为重点且包含课程的韩国护理博士项目。
四组院长、教师、学生和毕业生；学生完成了三个学期的博士课程；毕业生在最近 3 年内完成了博士课程。
焦点小组检查了师资、学生、课程和资源的优势和劣势。
师资力量雄厚，大学认可教师的研究/学术能力，教师有能力吸引外部资金。师资力量薄弱的方面包括教师年龄偏大；教师工作量大；教师人数不足；以及缺乏护理理论方面的教学专长。学生的优势在于学生背景多样化；有跨学科的论文委员会成员，以及与同龄人、毕业生/教师交往的机会。学生的劣势在于博士学位的产出过多，学术质量较低；博士生申请人数和质量较低；以及缺乏全日制学生。课程的优势在于专注于特定的研究领域；重视研究伦理；以及多学科课程。课程的弱点是课程开发的时间不足；核心研究能力的课程不足；以及理论与实践之间缺乏联系。资源的优势在于学分互认的机构间课程。弱点是大学对研究生的财政支持减少，以及学校设施的使用受限。在师资、学生、课程和资源这四个方面，参与者群体（提供者[院长和教师]与接收者[学生和毕业生]）和地理位置（首都与地区）之间存在差异。
在对护理博士教育质量的首次系统评估中确定的师资、学生、课程和资源质量特征，可以为韩国乃至世界的护理学校、大学和决策者提供改进的方向。在博士教育的这四个组成部分中发现的地理差异需要韩国的决策者关注。
