Experience of Work-Study Balance among Clinical Nurses in a Nursing Doctoral Program: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of work-study balance among clinical nurses in a nursing doctoral program.Methods: The participants were nine clinical nurses in a nursing doctoral program. Data collection was conducted through in-depth interviews with participants from March 16 to March 31. Giorgi's phenomenological method, consisting of four steps, was used for analysis.Results: Through the in-depth interviews of the participants, five essential themes and 11 sub-themes were derived. The five categories were “difficulty in actively demonstrating research capabilities as a doctoral student in the clinical field”, “hard to devote oneself to both studying and clinical work while straddling between them”, “need support from both schools and hospitals for compatibility between work and study”, “prioritizing oneself as a clinical nurse over oneself as a student during the Ph.D. program”, and “seeking an extended role after graduating from the nursing doctoral program”.Conclusion: In order to help and support nursing doctoral students working as nurses, policies must be developed in schools and hospitals to support them. It is also suggested to establish a favorable environment for conducting nursing research in practice.