Launching in January, The College of Nursing will offer its first ever Doctor of Nursing Eduction to prepare students to teach nursing. Credit: Katherine Simon | For The Lantern
Ohio State’s College of Nursing will launch its first-ever Doctor of Nursing Education program in January to prepare individuals to teach in academic or healthcare settings.
Tara Spalla King, director of the DNE program, said the pathway for healthcare settings will prepare students to teach nursing for professional development in order to help combat the nationwide nurse shortage.
“There is a lack of nurses in our nation,” King said. “Part of the reason for that is there are not enough nurse educators. We need people to choose to come back to school to get this terminal degree to be a nurse educator.”
According to the program’s website, the doctoral degree program will help prepare “master’s-prepared nurses who are passionate about educating nursing students and nurses” to become educators in the discipline.
According to the website, all classes will be online, allowing students across the country to complete the program.
Co-director of the DNE program Tara O’Brien said courses will focus on strategies for teaching nursing, principles of teaching adults and the science of nursing. These are different from those in a Ph.D. in nursing, which are typically more research-based with no emphasis on education, she said.
“With our curriculum, they’re going to be looking at evidence-based types of teaching strategies,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien said many people traditionally became nurse educators by receiving a master’s degree in nursing education while others learned how to teach from their peers after they got a job as a nurse educator.
King said the program has been in development since 2017, when the College of Nursing conducted a national survey to see if the current degree options were fitting for people who are passionate about nursing education.
“We had over 700 people respond to that survey, so we had a lot of positive feedback that this was a type of terminal degree that nurse educators wanted,” O’Brien said.
According to the website, admission to the program requires a master’s degree in nursing, an active registered nurse license or advanced practice registered nurse certification, a 3.0 GPA in the last relevant degree and 3,500 hours of direct care.
O’Brien said applicants will also have to interview before they are admitted into the program.
“We want those people that have those really innovative ideas or the people that are really passionate about becoming a nurse educator with a terminal degree,” O’Brien said.
The application deadline for the first cohort is Oct. 1 for Spring 2023 applicants.
CORRECTION: The story was updated at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday to clarify King’s statement.
