Editorial: Researching nursing

School of Nursing plans to begin a doctoral program as soon as 2005 will add a distinct element of research to the school, which is currently heavily based in the vocational training of nurses. Plans for a doctoral program to train nurses as scientists and give the school a greater research component are most welcome, and promise to make the school a more integral part of this research university.

Nursing scientists are an integral part of providing medical services, and Duke, which already has a top School of Medicine and one of the best hospitals in the nation, should also develop a top-flight nursing program. Doctoral studies in nursing are important to research and develop new techniques in areas such as patient care, pain management, therapy and patient quality of life.

However, like any academic department, the School of Nursing cannot be the leader in all of these various areas. Of course, plans for the doctoral program are currently in the early planning stages, but it is essential that the school decide in what areas it wants to specialize and what area of nursing science will become its primary focus so that the University can immediately begin building on its strengths.

Other necessary developments before the doctoral program comes to fruition include a new nursing building, which the Board of Trustees will need to approve, and a deeper faculty, which the school has developed so that it currently has a critical mass of faculty excited about the doctoral program.

The doctoral program is only the latest expansion that the School of Nursing has undertaken under Dean Mary Champagne. Last year, plans for a bachelors of nursing degree were approved, and Champagne should be commended for the steps the school has taken under her leadership.

The bachelors program serves to address the current nursing shortage by training highly qualified nurses, while the doctoral programs aims at the opposite end of the spectrum, training researchers to develop new methods.

This type of focus across the spectrum, on both practical applications and on research, ensures that the School of Nursing will remain a vital force at this University well into the future, and that it will serve as a complement to the strength of the School of Medicine and the Duke University Health System.