Paper
Thursday, July 12, 2007
This presentation is part of : Nursing Education Innovations
Expanding My Horizons: Returning for Graduate Study after a Long Absence from the Academic Setting
Sheri S. Webster, RN, MSN, CSPI, Grady Health System, Georgia Poison Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
Learning Objective #1: recognize the impact returning to graduate school has on the personal and professional lives of nurses who pursue advanced practice educational opportunities.
Learning Objective #2: explore the internal motivation and value system influence described by RNs who returned for graduate study after more than nine years from the academic setting.

Purpose: Nursing literature evidences a significant time lapse between registered nurses’ undergraduate degrees and their entrance to graduate school. The aim of this study was to explore and illuminate the lived experiences of registered nurses (RNs) who returned for graduate study nine or more years from the academic setting.

Method: Husserlian phenomenology provided the methodological framework for this qualitative research study. Using purposive sampling, RNs employed by three large metropolitan hospitals and two colleges of nursing located in the southeastern United States were interviewed. Data saturation was reached with 10 participants. The average time between completion of the undergraduate degree and entrance to graduate school for these participants was 19 years. Audiotapes of the interviews were transcribed verbatim and the narratives were analyzed using Streubert’s procedural interpretation of phenomenological methodology. Validity and trustworthiness were established through member check letters, affirming the themes and subthemes discovered by the researcher. Findings: Two major themes with five subthemes emerged: (1) Decision making with subthemes of internal motivation and value system influence, and (2) life altering event with subthemes of temporary adjustments, professional negotiation, and shift in praxis. Implications: These descriptions may offer insight to educators, healthcare employers, nurses, and their families in the development of strategies to recruit, educate, and support nurses returning for their advanced degrees. This study is also significant as it provides a basis for further research into this phenomenon.