Professional doctorate and professional nursing practice

The professional doctorate degree in nursing is a novel approach to gaining a doctoral qualification other than the traditional Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree. This taught programme aims at linking theory and practice innovations in addressing clinical nursing problems. This paper outlines the evolution of the professional doctorate in the USA, the UK and Australia and its differences from the traditional PhD. I argue that nurses enrolled in this course work programme will not only have the opportunity to pursue studies at the doctoral level, but it will also facilitate nurses to challenge and share their experiences in solving practice problems in a collegial manner. By understanding the broader perspective of an environment dominated by scarce resources and intricate socio-political relationship, nurses will be able to influence policy decisions and ultimately improve the standard of health care and enhance the professional status of nursing. It may even reduce the antagonism of the anti-intellectual environment of the workplace through practice-oriented research. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.