HEC Board Approves New Nursing Ph.D. Program for WSU

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board has approved a new Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (Ph.D.) program for the Washington State University College of Nursing.

The Ph.D. in Nursing program was initiated by the college and university in response to a significantly increased employer, student and community demand for nursing education. An HECB State and Regional Needs Assessment had identified a substantial gap between the supply of prepared graduates in the healthcare industry and projected employer demand. Nearly one-half of the demand for additional workers within health care fields is in nursing.

To further measure demand, Web-based surveys were conducted with deans of schools of nursing (with and without doctoral programs) and students (enrolled students and alumni). Survey respondents strongly recommended the program; the deans also cited a growing need for faculty with doctorates, and said they would encourage their faculty to enroll in such a program.

“Nursing schools nationwide are turning away qualified applicants because they do not have the capacity to meet demand, in large part, due to a shortage of qualified faculty,” said Anne Hirsch, interim dean at the college, who was instrumental in bringing the program to fruition. “We are confident that our new Ph.D. program will attract nurses who aspire to teach, which will allow us to provide the educational programs needed to supply more professional nurses.”

The new program will benefit from existing research strengths at WSU’s Intercollegiate College of Nursing, which currently offers a Master of Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The four- to five-year program will enroll nine students in summer 2007 and grow to a total of 46 students at full enrollment in its fourth year.

The program will be taught at residence sessions in Spokane and Vancouver and by interactive video and Web-based conferencing. On-site supervision of dissertation research will be conducted. The program, directed by Professor and Interim Associate Dean of Graduate Programs Ruth Bindler, will focus primarily on preparing graduates for academic teaching and research positions. However, the program also will provide some flexibility to respond to the needs of students whose interests lie in other areas such as health policy, health care outcomes, clinical research and administration.

According to the National League for Nursing, an estimated 92,000 qualified applicants to entry-level nursing programs were rejected in 2005. The primary reason cited: a shortage of faculty. In addition, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing noted that increasing numbers of nursing faculty were near retirement. The average age of faculty was 53.5 years with an average retirement age of 62.5 years.

The College of Nursing, located on the western edge of  Spokane near Spokane Falls Community College, will move to its new home on the WSU Riverpoint Campus, which is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2008 with classes beginning spring semester (January) 2009. With a total budget of nearly $34 million, the new building, pending legislative approval for enrollment increases, will allow the College of Nursing to increase the number of students it currently serves in both its undergraduate and graduate programs to address the ongoing shortage of nurses nationwide.

“The full complement of nursing programs, baccalaureate through doctorate, is central, along with pharmacy and medical education, to development of an advanced academic health center on the Riverpoint Campus,” said Brian Pitcher, chancellor of WSU Spokane.  “Ph.D. level education, along with new classrooms and labs at Riverpoint, position the college to attract the highest qualified students and faculty.” 

There are 96 nursing doctoral programs nationally. But among the 15 states that make up the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, there are only 12 such programs. WSU’s program will help fill a significant regional gap in providing nursing education.