The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholars program: The scholar experience

Background: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholars program used multi-pronged approach to support nurses completing accelerated PhD programs. Purpose: The purpose of this manuscript was to describe scholars' experiences completing PhDs, their dissertation characteristics, program leadership develop-ment sessions, scholar perceptions of program components. Methods: Of 201 scholars, 157 (78%) completed quantitative exit surveys, provid-ing: satisfaction with doctoral programs and FNS curricula, types of dissertation data used, dissertation formats. Interviews held with five scholars to capture representative themes. Findings: Scholars utilized primary and secondary data for dissertations; 53% primar-ily used secondary data. The majority (68%) used manuscript dissertation formats. Approximately 64% completely agreed program curricula helped prepare them for professional transitions, to work collaboratively, lead confidently. Proportion of FNS graduates (42%) pursuing postdoctoral positions exceeded national trends. Discussion: Despite stresses posed by accelerated PhD programs, scholars are well -situated to advance nursing science. Findings suggest secondary data analyses work well for accelerated programs. Scholar program experiences were positive. Cite this article: Kelley, H.J., Giordano, N., Boschitsch, M., Bastelica, A., Ladden, M., Wicks, M., McCarthy, M., & Fairman, J. (2023, March/April). The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholars program: The scholar experience. Nurs Outlook, 71(2), 101902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. outlook.2022.11.006.