Why I am smiling

On 10 June 2016, my PhD was conferred! I am officially Tiffany M. Montgomery, PhD, RNC-OB, C-EFM, so you can now call me Dr. Tiffany Montgomery! The journey was long and very difficult at times, but I made it. I have a ton of respect for those who came before me, and I promise to make myself available—whenever possible—to mentor those coming behind me.

I love sharing with others all the things I wish someone had shared with me. It’s one of the reasons I’m grateful for the opportunity to write for Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL). This blog, “Taking hold of my dreams,” is the perfect platform to share some of that wisdom. As Mr. Mattson, the editor of RNL, and I agreed when I began posting entries in June 2011—my first post was titled “I’m going to Disneyland!—I would use my blog to share my PhD journey with readers.

You can now call me
Dr. Tiffany Montgomery!

In February of this year, I asked Mr. Mattson—I told him up front that’s what I would always call him—if he wanted me to continue writing “Taking hold of my dreams” or if I should wrap it up. He responded: “I definitely do not want you to wrap up ‘Taking hold of my dreams.’ As you know, ‘dreams’ is plural in that title, and I’m watching to see more of your dreams become reality.” So, 45 blog posts after I began my journey, here I am, and I hope to continue sharing my experiences with wide-eyed, eager undergraduate and graduate nursing students for many years to come.

If I were to select a handful of past blog posts I’d like future PhD students to read, they would come from various points in my journey. After taking a little time to think about it, I came up with a short, five-post reading list. The following entries are very telling of my time as a PhD student. They reflect conversations I had, things I learned (usually by trial and error), and wisdom I gained. Follow me, if you will, on the five-year journey that I shared with RNL readers. And check out the reader comments!

10 things I learned in my first quarter as a PhD student (December 2011)

This post was an overview of my crash course Grad School 101. When I began my PhD program, I had been an L&D nurse for six years, but I didn’t have the slightest clue as to what it would take to be a successful doctoral student. Nonetheless, I quit my full-time job, took a per-diem position, and dove headfirst into life as a PhD student. I quickly learned that being in a PhD program is starkly different from being in an MSN program. Thankfully, I made a routine of those things that were beneficial to me and let go of anything I found detrimental to my success. Seeing as I completed my first term with a 4.0 GPA, I must have done something right. I hope these tips yield the same positive outcome for you.

What do you do with a PhD in nursing? (October 2012)

After being asked this question more times than I would have liked, I decided to write about it. Must have been a good decision because this post became one of the most-read articles in the history of RNL. I’m glad to know readers had such a great interest in the topic. And, seeing as I am still asked this question fairly often, it’s helpful that I have somewhere to point inquiring minds. Until PhD-prepared nurses are regularly seen outside the hallowed halls of Ivory Tower, people—nurses and non-nurses alike—will continue to ask this question. We still have a ways to go before people realize the importance of nursing research, but we’re further along today than we were when I began my PhD program. As long as we keep moving, we’ll get there.

PhD or DNP? How to choose (November 2012)

This is another topic that came up fairly often while I was pursuing my doctoral degree. Many nurses have the desire to obtain a doctorate, but they are often unsure of the difference between the terminal doctoral degree (PhD) and the practice doctoral degree (DNP). I like to think this blog post does a great job of explaining the differences between these two degrees and helps potential doctoral students decide which one is best for their chosen career path. Neither doctoral degree in nursing is better than the other, although they are vastly different. It’s important to understand and acknowledge these differences before deciding which degree is the one for you.

Ready, set, write: 5 tips for becoming a better writer (April 2015)

Writing is not an aspect of higher education that most students enjoy. When you are forced to write a dissertation, your disdain for writing can turn into pure hatred. As someone who actually enjoys writing, even I found it difficult to write my dissertation. There are many resources available to help doctoral students who are dealing with an aversion to writing. This blog post was my attempt to share what worked for me. Oddly enough, it was my time away from writing—time spent running—that helped my writing the most. In addition to the health benefits of running and the camaraderie I experienced with women in my running group, I was able to take lessons I learned to become a better runner and apply them to my writing. For me, it was running. For you, it may be something totally different. Whatever the case, the tips in this blog post will help you to increase your writing quality and productivity.

Selecting your dissertation committee (January 2016)

This is arguably the most important blog post I have written to date. It is common practice for the chair of a doctoral student’s dissertation committee to determine its members. And while the chair’s ability to work with other members of the committee is of utmost importance, it is also important that all bases are covered from the viewpoint of the student. I cannot overemphasize the need to have a “cheerleader” on your committee. Things happen. Unanticipated hurdles must be overcome. Your cheerleader will be the one to help lift your spirits and keep you headed toward your goal—graduation. I will spare you the details here of what I experienced toward the end of my PhD journey, but I needed all the support I could get. Had I not thought long and hard about the people I needed—yes, needed, not simply wanted—on my committee, I may not be writing this post today. One member in particular was my saving grace. She kept me grounded when everything was going awry. Please do not take this part of your journey lightly. Selecting your committee members is a big deal.

In coming months and years, I will continue blogging about my experiences as a nurse researcher. I recently started a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Wait, I know what you’re thinking. “School of Medicine? Why not the School of Nursing?” These and many other questions will be answered in coming blog posts. I hope you enjoyed following me as I worked toward my PhD, and I hope you will continue to journey with me through my postdoctoral fellowship and into my first job in academia … or the nonprofit sector … or government. There are so many options to choose from. But we’ll discuss that in a future blog post as I continue to take hold of my dreams.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.

Dealing with disappointment

Against my better judgment, I tried out to be selected as one of the student speakers at graduation. One speaker is chosen to represent each of the four degrees that will be conferred during the 11 June 2016 ceremony. I originally hadn’t planned to try out because I don’t like the spirit of competition. I personally know one of the people with whom I would be competing. And the “selection committee”? An audience full of students! Students who believe I am a hardnosed educator. Students who didn’t receive grades they wanted while enrolled in my class. The odds were stacked against me, and I knew it, but I decided to give it a try anyway.

In 2005, I was the student speaker at the San Jose State University Black Graduation, a ceremony that highlights achievements of black/African-American graduates and anyone else who wants to participate. Giving that speech was my proudest moment at SJSU. For weeks before the big day, I wrote and rewrote what I wanted to say. I had 10 minutes to congratulate the class of 2005, inspire graduates and ceremony guests, and leave them desiring to truly make a difference in this world. I was able to do all that and more! People still remind me of the words I spoke at graduation and the impact it had on them. So, although I was scared to death that I would not be selected as one of the graduation speakers at UCLA, I still decided to throw my hat in the ring.

Adam Kazmierski/iStock

As I suspected, I was not selected to represent the PhD graduates. I had mixed feelings about the entire situation. On one hand, I was really proud of myself for doing something that terrified me. Facing our fears is always admirable. On the other hand, although I wasn’t surprised by the decision, I was still disappointed. When I expressed my disappointment to some friends via social media, I received responses such as these: “Girl, you will be at the graduation getting your PhD!!!!! What a blessing in itself,” and “You are graduating, getting a PhD, moving to Philly to start an amazing postdoc. Now tell again, what is the problem?” Another friend sent me a text message saying, “Ummmm, you’re graduating Dr. Montgomery.”

Although these messages were meant to help me see the good in a bad situation, they really struck a negative chord with me, and I’ll tell you why. As someone who has been labeled an overachiever and perfectionist (neither of which I use to describe myself), I am almost always expected to be the best, do the best, and come out on top. When that doesn’t happen, people tend to make comments that actually make me feel worse than if they had said nothing at all. It’s almost as if I’m never expected to fail and, when I fall short of my goals, not to feel bad about it.

In speaking with some of my colleagues, I learned that my experience is not an isolated one, but we rarely share our feelings with friends and family. More often than not, the people who love us the most have no idea what we deal with as PhD students. And, while I can’t speak for all PhD students, I’m sure many will agree with the sentiments of this post.

Dealing with disappointment can be compared to grieving the loss of a loved one. No matter what anyone says, they’re probably going to say the wrong thing. When you are grieving, you typically don’t want to hear someone say, “I know how you feel,” or “It’ll be all right.” And, you certainly don’t want them to compare the person you lost to people who are still with you. You know, “Well, at least he wasn’t an only child,” or “You still have your other grandparents.” In nursing school, we’re taught that these types of comments are nontherapeutic. They harm far more than they help. In a similar fashion, comments I received from my friends about being turned down as a graduation speaker were not helpful. I’m disappointed that I was not selected to address colleagues, family, and friends at my graduation ceremony. Only time will heal that pain.

If I could give any advice about comforting someone who is dealing with disappointment, especially someone you consider to be an overachiever or perfectionist, it would be, “Don’t say a word!” Give him or her the space to be human. Allow that person enough time to experience a range of emotions, which will include anger, hurt, and sadness. In the case of PhD candidates, don’t remind them that they are on the road to receiving a PhD. Obtaining a PhD doesn’t negate our feelings as human beings. Getting that degree doesn’t mean we will never experience disappointment, pain, or sadness. It doesn’t mean we have no other goals we’d like to accomplish. It isn’t the pinnacle of our life’s worth. It just means we worked hard to achieve something that most people will never achieve. It doesn’t make us superhuman.

Not being selected as the graduation speaker was disappointing, but all is not lost. While my classmates won’t ever get the chance to hear my speech, I thought it would be nice to share it with my readers. I hope it resonates with you:

Frederick Douglass once said, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” Well here we are, graduating with terminal degrees. That’s progress. But, man, O man, was it a struggle! We’ve seen long days and even longer nights. We’ve laughed together, cried together, and, at times, had to convince each other we weren’t losing our minds. Life didn’t stop because we were in a PhD program. We’ve celebrated births and engagements, and held each other up when loved ones transitioned or relationships didn’t last. While supporting one another as best we could, we endured the lonely road of earning a PhD—emphasis on “earning” because we can all attest to the fact that those three letters were not simply handed to us. But after all the papers, conference presentations, and chapter revisions, WE MADE IT!

From our research on music therapy and hookah smoking to care of elders and text-message interventions, we’ve given voices to the voiceless, provided evidence for changes in practice and policy, and inspired a future generation of nurses to be daring, provocative, and innovative.

We are graduating at a time when the healthcare community realizes the impact nurses have on the health and well-being of people all around the globe. After centuries of viewing nurses as handmaidens, our colleagues in medicine are eager to engage in interdisciplinary practice. Now is the perfect time for us to seize the opportunity we have been given. We have the keys to unlock doors that many people don’t want to walk through, doors that are nonexistent to some and not able to be opened by others.

Today, we join an elite group of nurse scholars. Among the fewer than 1 percent of nurses who have earned a PhD, we have truly accomplished an extraordinary feat. We deserve to celebrate this accomplishment the whole weekend through. But, after the celebration ends, let’s do our part to reach back and help others along their way. Let’s commit to serving as mentors to the nursing students who are following in our footsteps. Let’s take on leadership roles in our various nursing organizations and societies. Let’s leverage our authority as experts in our field to highlight ways under-represented populations continue to be marginalized. And let’s work together to decrease health disparities. Let’s do whatever it takes to fight for changes we want to see in healthcare and in the Ivory Tower.

This is not the end. It is only the beginning. We have long and fulfilling careers in education, research, and administration ahead of us. We have the world at our feet. With cherished memories of our time at UCLA forever engrained in our minds, let’s go forth and change the world. Never stop asking questions. Never stop searching for answers. Let’s go out there and show them what we’re made of. Congratulations, doctors. We made it!

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.

Working while pursuing a PhD? Count the costs!

The costs of obtaining a PhD are numerous. There are financial costs associated with tuition and fees, conference attendance, and research expenses. There may be physical costs, such as times of exhaustion, nights of insomnia, and physiological responses to stress. And, there are emotional costs, such as questioning one’s purpose, dealing with impostor syndrome, and deciding to maintain or dissolve certain relationships. Most people are probably well aware of the financial toll of a graduate degree. But, I’ve found that many are unaware of the costs of working while obtaining a PhD.

In the five years I’ve been in my PhD program, I’ve sat on several new-student orientation panels, and I’ve had plenty of private conversations with men and women who want to earn a PhD. Whenever I talk with potential PhD students, I always try to focus on the costs of working as an employee while working toward your PhD. No matter whom I talk to, my advice remains the same: Work as little as possible.

What do you mean, don’t work?

Thea Design/iStock

The typical response to this advice is a look of surprise (“What do you mean? I have to work!”) or defeat (“Oh no, she said it, too. I guess it’s true.”). Almost any PhD student will tell you that you shouldn’t work unless it’s absolutely necessary. The fact of the matter is, the more you work, the less time you have to devote to your studies. There is no gray area here. It is completely black and white. For most people, quitting a job to obtain a PhD is out of the question. They view working as a necessary evil. There may be children, a spouse, or other relative to consider. There may be bills and other finances that are non-negotiable. Employment may be used to subsidize medical benefits. And, for some, their current position may be a steppingstone to a first job after graduation.

As someone who has been funded by scholarships and fellowships since my time as an undergraduate student, even I understand the need to work. While I am grateful that my PhD fellowships covered the cost of my tuition, fees, and health care, they did not cover all of my living expenses. After paying my mortgage and utility bills, buying gas for my car and other auto expenses, and purchasing groceries and toiletries, I still needed money for clothing, grooming, and entertainment. I mean, really, being a PhD student doesn’t mean you should sit at home naked, unkempt, and bored out of your mind, but I digress. No matter what your situation may be, you should work only as needed.

Trade-offs

Before I ever enrolled at UCLA, I realized that being a working PhD student meant I’d have less time than my non-working colleagues to read, less time to complete assignments, less time for meetings with professors, less time to attend campus seminars and workshops, and less time for pretty much anything school-related. So, I decided to decrease my work status from full time to per diem. This meant I was only required to work eight days every 12 weeks. I could break up my schedule how I wanted, and I didn’t need permission to stay away from work for weeks at a time. I can’t overemphasize the need for flexibility while going through a PhD program. For me, working per diem was the answer.

Once I actually became a PhD student, it was clear that working as a teaching assistant (a requirement for the second and third years of my fellowship) and working per diem meant less time to reflect on my research questions and research design. It also meant less time to write my dissertation proposal or to apply for research grants. There were times when I worked at the hospital one day per week, and there were times when I worked at the hospital once every other week. I did what I had to do to stay afloat in school. I also wanted to ensure I had the time to maintain relationships with family and friends—and time to myself. So, I chose to sacrifice money for time.

When I advanced to candidacy, I made a huge mistake: I started working more. Because I was no longer writing every day, I assumed I had more time on my hands. And I desperately wanted to get rid of the debt I had acquired during my PhD program. So, I began working two days per week in labor and delivery and one day per week in the OB-GYN clinic. I did this for a few months before I realized something had to give.

I had underestimated the difficulty of mentally jumping back and forth between school mode and work mode. After working a 12-hour shift in the hospital, going home to do schoolwork was the last thing on my mind. Just thinking about writing was difficult after a full day of vaginal deliveries and crash caesarean sections. And, it was just as difficult to be in the middle of a fabulous writing groove, only to have to stop writing and start winding down for bed because I had to be up for work at 5 a.m. So, I decided to transfer from labor and delivery to the OB-GYN clinic. I needed to be in a less stressful work environment, and I needed to work fewer than 12 hours per day.

Flexibility is good!

Going back to the OB-GYN clinic was one of the best work decisions I ever made! My new manager allowed me a level of flexibility I had never experienced. To accommodate my need to be at home making phone calls, sending emails, and doing other study-related tasks in the morning, she agreed to let me come in to work from 12 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Consequently, even on the days I had to work, I was still able to devote time to my schoolwork.

However, after working in the clinic two days per week for most of the final year of my PhD program and conducting a larger-than-anticipated dissertation study, I decided to stop working altogether until I finished writing my dissertation. (I recruited literally twice the number of participants I had originally planned for. What a great problem to have!) While it was not an easy decision to make, working during this phase of my PhD journey means less time for data analysis, less time to write up my findings, and, ultimately, less time to complete my dissertation.

Even with the option of working in the afternoon, I almost always have the dilemma of quenching my writing momentum or stopping study-related tasks so that I can leave for work on time. (Plenty of times, my writing gets the best of me, and I show up to work late. I’m thankful that my manager is very understanding.) With graduation less than four months away, I can’t continue to jeopardize my writing. My decision may seem extreme, but in talking to recent PhD graduates, professors, and others familiar with the process of writing a dissertation, I realize it’s common for PhD candidates to take a leave of absence at work in order to complete their dissertations. Good to know! Now, I don’t have to feel so bad.

We all have the same 24 hours in each day. The question each of us must answer is, “What do you want to do with your 24?” The more time you spend working (or with friends and family, watching TV, or playing around on Facebook), the less time you have to dedicate to your studies. You can sacrifice sleep to get your schoolwork done, but I don’t recommend this because, at some point, you will crash from exhaustion.

Making work or financial sacrifices while in school isn’t for naught. Living on a smaller budget may mean moving to a less expensive apartment, using public transportation instead of driving, eating out less, or refraining from retail therapy, but those sacrifices will pay off in the end. I guarantee it! Just know that there are costs associated with every decision we make. This includes the decision to work while going through a PhD program. My advice is to count the costs, and be sure not to overspend yourself.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.

Ready, set, write: 5 tips for becoming a better writer

Getting a PhD is unlike anything I’ve ever done. Once my coursework was complete, and it was up to me to continue progressing through the program, I was at a standstill. I was surprised, because writing has never been difficult for me. As a child, I loved to write. I wrote songs, short stories, and poems. I’d even doodle my name for hours on end. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that writing the chapters of my dissertation would be much different than the type of writing I was used to.

Because I had never really taken on a task that I deemed too large to complete, I was unsure of how to move forward. I tried talking to a dissertation coach. She helped me break down the overwhelmingly large chapters I had planned into more doable sections. Meeting with her was helpful, but it didn’t do the trick. I still found myself stuck. I tried writing at different times of the day, a technique that had previously been helpful. This time, it didn’t work.

"I started to think of a new, self-inflicted obstacle
I could overcome. It didn’t take long before I
decided that running would be that obstacle."

– lzf/iStock/Thinkstock

I began to feel that the only way to conquer this formidable task was to take lessons I had learned from overcoming other obstacles and apply them to my writing. The problem was, I didn’t have a plethora of previously conquered obstacles to choose from. Until then, I had led a pretty safe life, taking on only those things I knew I could achieve. So, as a way to train for writing, I started to think of a new, self-inflicted obstacle I could overcome. It didn’t take long before I decided that running would be that obstacle.

I have never enjoyed running. Never ever. I used to get in trouble during physical education class for refusing to run. I didn’t mind participating in other forms of physical activity, but running was always tough for me. Several asthma attacks had been triggered by running in cold weather, and those experiences made me hate running even more. I used to say, “If you see me running, you had better start running, too, because there’s probably something chasing me.” As I said, I hated running.

I don't remember the day I decided to run, but I remember exactly how I felt. I thought I was going to die! Upon reaching the end of that first section of bike trail, I was proud of myself. I didn’t die. I didn’t even pass out! And I had achieved a goal I once thought unattainable. As I walked the next section of the trail, my breathing slowed, my heart didn’t beat so fast, and I was ready to run again. I continued to alternate between running and walking each new section of trail, and, by the time I made it back home, I was beaming with pride. I did it! Now that I knew the truth of what could be, there was no stopping me.

Every time I went for a jog—more accurately, a jog-walk—I had to mentally prepare myself. “You can do this. You won’t die. Just keep moving. Whatever you do, don’t stop.” And every time I arrived back home, I was proud of myself. Once again, I had accomplished something I was truly scared to do.

I used the lessons I learned while jogging to help me become a better writer. There is an endless list of tips I could give to help any new jogger or writer, but I’ve chosen five to share with you:

1. Go at your own pace.

You don’t have to do what everyone else does. Quite honestly, you shouldn’t want to. This is your race. You aren’t competing with anyone but yourself. Almost every runner on the trail moves at a faster pace than I do. I don’t care. I’m not running in a competition. My only goal is to do better this week than I did last week. That’s it! When I started walking regularly, my pace was 22.5 minutes per mile. Today, I jog at a pace of 15 minutes per mile. My goal is to get below 12 minutes per mile, and it will happen. I just have to keep going. I’m committed to staying in my own lane, no matter how fast others around me are running.

The same is true with writing. Not everyone will write at the same pace. Even if we did, the dissertation chapters, journal articles, and class papers wouldn’t be the same length or word count. Some people have more references than others. Some people’s methods are more complicated than others. Nothing about a PhD program screams “competition.” I completed my dissertation proposal and advanced to candidacy a full year after some of my classmates. It doesn’t matter. In the grand scheme of things, my job was to write and defend my proposal—and I did. As hard as it is, try not to compare yourself to others. It doesn’t help you progress any faster, and, ultimately, it takes your focus away from the task at hand. In most cases, wearing blinders isn’t a good way to approach a situation. In this case, it’s OK.

2. Use the proper tools.

As I have become a more experienced runner—(I use the term “experienced” lightly—I’ve learned to use proper tools, which keep me from having sore ankles or becoming so irritated while running that I stop midstride. Not too long after beginning to run, I bought my first pair of running shoes. I thought it was the only tool I’d need. I was wrong. When I began running, my keys were in my hand, and the sun beat into my eyes. When it was cold, I wore a very thin warm-up jacket that did nothing to keep cold air from getting to my lungs. After running more than enough days feeling like my chest was on fire, I purchased a light, but very warm, running jacket, and I made sure it had zippers so I could safely secure my keys, phone, and ID.

When it rains, I put the hood on. On warmer days, when I don’t wear my jacket, I put all my belongings in my running pouch. If running after sunrise, I wear a baseball cap or sun visor. Finally, I use the Run Keeper app. It tracks the length of my runs and allows me to comment on my friends’ workouts, as well. These and other tools are staples for “real” runners.

As I’ve become somewhat of an experienced writer, I have also found several writing tools I can’t live without. One of these is EndNote, a reference manager. Once I began using EndNote, I was mad at myself for not discovering it earlier. It’s a true writing assistant! I no longer have to manually enter in-text citations or entries to my reference list, and I am able to group my 750-plus references for easy identification. I can attach article PDFs directly to the references, and EndNote saves the highlights and notes I make on the electronic copies of the articles. It’s an amazing tool, indeed! I’m not suggesting that everyone go out and buy EndNote. It’s the reference management software I like to use, but there are plenty of other software programs that can help organize your references.

Another tool I use, though not as regularly as I did when writing my proposal, is my Pomodoro app. The Pomodoro method of writing says that, for every 25 minutes of writing, you should take a five-minute break. Then, for every two hours of writing, including those brief breaks, you should take a longer break of about 15 to 30 minutes. This technique has been shown to increase productivity for many, including me. There’s an entire science behind this method, which I won’t go into now, but it’s worth checking out.

3. Find a group to encourage you.

Running was OK when I was alone, but it became really fun when I started running with a group. Earlier this year, I began to power walk and run with a local Black Girls Run (BGR) group. BGR has running groups all over the country. Members meet at various times and locations to work out together. One of the things I love about this group is their motto “No woman left behind.” Whether you are a walker, jogger, or runner, you will not have to go it alone.

I experienced this the first day my running partner couldn’t make it to our morning running group. I can’t run as fast as some of the ladies, but they promised not to leave me, and they didn’t. They’d run laps around me, run to a tree, then back to me, or just run alongside me at my pace. There’s something special about doing things with a group. Running is no different.

Just as running groups help you run, writing groups help you write and develop healthy habits. During my third year at UCLA, I joined a writing group on campus. We didn’t actually write together, but we met weekly to report our writing experiences during the previous week, give advice to each other, and thus help increase our writing efforts. We set what we thought to be attainable goals each week. Sometimes we met our goals, sometimes we didn’t, but I loved the community that was built among our group, and I remained in the group for the duration of my third year.

In addition to in-person writing groups, there are tons of group-writing websites, such as AcademicLadder.com and the Text and Academic Authors Association. Social media sites, such as Twitter, also encourage group writing through hashtags that include #AcWri (academic writing), #amwriting (early morning writing), and #shutupandwrite. Anytime you can write in the presence—or virtual presence—of another person, you will be encouraged to do your best. If you have become distracted from writing, I urge you to join a writing group. If nothing else, the group members will hold you accountable. You’ll either get with the program, or you’ll leave the group.

4. Do it even when you don’t feel like it.

If I had a dollar for every time I said, “I don’t feel like running today,” I’d be able to buy myself a nice pair of Jimmy Choo pumps. Whether or not I feel like running when I begin, I always feel great after my run is complete. And never have I regretted getting out of bed at 4:30 a.m. to go for a run. That’s right, my running group takes off at 5:15 a.m. I have plenty of excuses to stay in bed, but getting my run in early has yet to negatively affect my plans for the day. So I run, no matter how I feel.

Like running, writing is not something that comes easy for most people. Even among those for whom writing does come fairly easy, we aren’t always in the mood to write. While completing my proposal, I discovered something about writing: You don’t have to be in the mood to write to be a productive writer. The best way to become a great writer is to write as often as possible. Every day you don’t write is a 24-hour period closer to never writing again. That said, write when you want to write and especially when you don’t. I promise, once you get started, it’s not so bad. The first five or 10 minutes of writing are always the most difficult. After that, your ideas become more organized, and the words just begin to flow.

5. Quiet the mind-chatter.

Running is the most physical thing I have ever done. However, I have learned my mind will give up long before my body does. One of my friends who runs gave me the best advice ever. She told me, “Just keep moving your arms.” She was right. As long as I kept moving my arms back and forth, no matter how badly I wanted to quit, I kept running. At this point in my running journey, I don’t even listen to the negative thoughts anymore: “You’re not going to make it.” “You’re going to pass out.” “Your legs can’t take this.” My mind says these things, but my body hasn’t failed me yet.

Just like running, writing is more mental than physical. Your mind will keep you from writing long before you ever sit down to type. You can’t allow yourself to listen to those negative thoughts. You have to sit down at your desk, at the kitchen table, or wherever else you write and think like the Nike slogan: “Just do it!” While it’s important to take mental health breaks, don’t let negative mind-chatter talk you out of writing altogether. Even if it’s for only 15 minutes, write something! If you manage to write for 15 minutes, you can probably write for 15 more. Once you look up, two or three hours will have gone by, and you’ll be done with your writing for the day!

These tips are but a few that may help you become a better writer. I am no expert, by far, but each of the aforementioned tips has been of great help to me. If you are struggling to write—and even if you aren’t—I encourage you to take on a new and challenging activity, and use the lessons you learn to help you become a better writer.

For me, it was running. For you, it may be swimming, knitting, dancing, or hiking. It may also be something like jigsaw puzzles, computer games, or a musical instrument. Whatever you decide to take on, if you stick with it, you won’t be disappointed. Your writing will be much improved, and you’ll find a new hobby along the way.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.

Making the leap from theory to practice

As a nursing student, I spent a lot of time learning what nursing practice should look like. Because I was enrolled in a bachelor’s program, I spent less time in the clinical setting than my diploma-school or associate-program counterparts. We spent a lot of time talking about theoretical patients and how they should be cared for. When it came time to take that theoretical knowledge and apply it to real-life patients, I felt slightly overwhelmed.

The same was true for my master’s program. I spent an entire year studying the ins and outs of nursing education. I wrote papers, gave presentations, and took exams. Still, moving from my theoretical understanding of the role of a nurse educator to actually functioning as a preceptor was a giant leap.

Here again

These days, I find myself at this juncture once more. I am moving from life as a PhD student who sits in classes and writes papers to that of a PhD candidate who conducts research and writes data-based manuscripts. This shift feels all too familiar and, just as before, slightly uncomfortable.

Photo credit: George Doyle/Valueline/Thinkstock

The day I passed my oral qualifying exam, I couldn’t have been happier. Once my exam paperwork was filed with UCLA’s Graduate Division, I officially became a PhD candidate, and I could move from working on my dissertation study in theory to working on my actual dissertation study.

When I submitted my application to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to ensure adherence to research-related governmental and institutional regulations, I expected to go back and forth with them for several months before receiving final study approval. This is what everyone told me to expect, and, as someone new to research, I assumed the process would go the way everyone told me it would. Imagine my surprise when my IRB application was approved—pending revisions—just two weeks after it was submitted. I made the requested revisions during the holiday break and didn’t expect to hear back from the IRB for at least a few weeks. Again, imagine my surprise when, less than a week later, my study was approved. Exactly one month from the day I submitted my first-ever IRB application, I had permission to begin my study.

Attacked by fear

I was excited, but the excitement was soon overcome by anxiety. Were the people on the IRB really giving me full permission to conduct my own study? Had they made a mistake? Didn’t they know I had never done this before? Did I honestly have the authority to recruit participants, collect and analyze data, and write up my findings—carte blanche? I felt the same way I did when I walked into a patient’s room for the first time—scared to death!

I couldn’t believe I was so fearful of conducting a study I had been planning for more than three years. This was the moment I had been waiting for, the moment my study would move from plans in my head—and the first four chapters of my dissertation—to a real-life research study. Why was I so afraid? What, exactly, was I afraid of?

As a nursing student, I was always afraid I would hurt someone. I never wanted to do anything that could potentially harm a patient. As a nurse educator student, I was afraid my students would have a less-than-stellar educational experience. As a PhD candidate, the fear is similar, yet not quite the same. My research does not require me to use any of my bedside nursing skills, so I have no fear of physically harming someone. There isn’t even a concern about subjecting someone to mental anguish or causing a cascade of emotional unraveling. To be frank, I have no idea what caused this sudden onset of research anxiety. What I do know is that I have been at this theory-and-practice crossroad several times before, and, each time, I made it through unscathed.

Regaining perspective

Never have I been asked to move from theory to practice without having a plethora of assistance at my disposal. This time is no different. I am not being thrown to the wolves with no hope of survival. I have an amazing team cheering me on. I constructed my dissertation committee purposefully. The committee chair and each of the other members have a unique set of research skills and expertise from which I can glean. There are also tons of other resources on campus, including statistics consulting, that I can use, should I get stuck at any phase of my study.

I’ve worked on the details of this study for a long time. It may not go according to plan. I may have to change some of my recruitment methods, or I may discover findings that were not anticipated. So what? It’s actually happening! I’m on the brink of conducting my very first research study (outside of small studies conducted for class assignments). I’m the one in charge, and I have an amazing team behind me. My ideas are coming to fruition. They have moved from my mind to my dissertation proposal, and now they are taking the final leap into reality. How exciting!

As nurses, we each experience times when we are afraid to take the next step. Sometimes, those fears are caused by external factors. But, many times, we scare ourselves. When thoughts arise telling you why you can’t make progress in your nursing education or in the nursing profession, combat them with reasons why you can and will. Surround yourself with people who remind you that the leap from theory to practice isn’t as frightening as you think—and with those who won’t let you fall if the leap turns out to be larger than expected.

Above all else, remember, you were made for this! Trust the training you’ve received. Trust yourself to put into practice everything you know. Trust yourself to flourish in your new role. Maintain faith that you are headed in the right direction. And, keep walking, keep advancing, keep progressing—in spite of your fears.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.

5 tips for choosing a doctoral program

I seem to have adopted a pattern of making life-changing decisions based on emotion. Fact checking and research did not factor into my choice of an undergraduate program (see my post “Do you know the way to San Jose?”), nor did they affect my selection of an MSN program. (The latter decision was made purely for the sake of convenience. I was working full time nights, and I didn’t want a traditional program that would require me to attend class. An added bonus was the program’s inexpensive cost. I knew I wouldn’t have to take out a loan to pay for my degree.) The way I went about selecting my PhD program (see previous post) was slightly unconventional and, although I’m delighted with my decision, I don’t recommend my decision-making process as a method for everyone to follow.

In hindsight, however, I unconsciously considered some key factors in making my decision to apply to UCLA. And now that I am in my second year of the program, my knowledge about choosing a graduate program is based on both wisdom and experience. Here are five tips for those thinking about applying to graduate school.

Tip #1: Follow the dollar signs.

Funding for graduate students is available in abundance. Whether it’s scholarships, traineeships, or fellowships, the money is there, and it’s money you don’t have to pay back! If you don’t have the money to pay for your education outright, and you don’t want to take out loans, look at the programs that offer the greatest funding.

Sometimes funding comes in the form of tuition reimbursement for students who work as teachers’ assistants or as research assistants. Working as a TA or RA is a great way to pay for your education, and it’s a win-win situation. You gain valuable experience as an instructor or novice researcher, and the school gets an instructor or researcher at lower cost. Be careful to read and understand all of the small print associated with receiving financial aid. Sometimes, the institution requires recipients of such aid to work in a certain area or commit to a certain number of years of teaching or research following graduation. If you are considering applying for funding, see my two-part post “Scholarship alert!!! 10 tips for success in applying for scholarships.”

Tip #2: Make sure your research interest fits the school.

Once you become a graduate student, your research will become your life. Before applying to a specific school, be sure someone on the faculty is an expert in your research area. Most nursing school websites have pages that list faculty members’ current and past research areas. In fact, some schools have a faculty research page that lists all of the faculty’s research, and a significant number of schools also list recent faculty-member publications and conference presentations. Identifying the research interest, publications, and presentations of various faculty members will help you determine whether or not the school fits your research needs.

It’s also important to look at the type of research being done in the school. If you are interested in qualitative research, but the school is full of mostly quantitative researchers, it may not be a good fit for you. Likewise, if you are interested in community-based participatory research, and no one on the school’s faculty is engaged in this type of research, you may be better off looking elsewhere.

In addition to reviewing school of nursing websites, note the authors of journal articles in your area of interest. I’ve found that nursing is a small world, which becomes even smaller when you begin to seek out experts in specific research areas. When reading journal articles, you will begin to see the same names over and over again. Look up the school where those researchers work. If the researcher is a “big name” expert, he or she has probably been at that school for quite some time.

Tip #3: Assess resources available at the school.

Don’t underestimate this criterion for choosing a school. One thing I love about UCLA is its Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library. (Not only are all of the journals, books and other reference materials of importance to nursing students located there, but we still have access to eight other libraries on campus. (Yes, UCLA has nine libraries on campus.) It also has a graduate reading room (secured so only those with a graduate ID from one of the biomedical schools are allowed entrance), graduate student gym—no undergrads allowed, I love it!— and a graduate-student writing center that includes, as one of its benefits, 250 free pages per quarter. There are plenty of other campus resources I love, but this is not about me.

Questions you may want to ask yourself when selecting a graduate school include: What types of databases does the school subscribe to? Can I access other libraries at nearby schools? Does the library participate in interlibrary loans? Is there a library or librarian dedicated to servicing your school or major? Do undergraduates and graduates use the same library? Are resources available to assist graduates with writing? What types of counseling services are available? Is graduate housing provided? Is graduate housing separate from undergraduate housing? I’m sure there are other resources of specific importance to you. Determine what your nonnegotiables are, and then compare them to resources available at the graduate school or schools you are considering.

Tip #4: Check the rankings.

I wasn’t one to care much about national rankings at the undergraduate or master’s level, but a school’s rank is definitely important at the doctoral level. My take on this is simple: The only school that really matters when it comes to rankings is the one from which you receive your highest degree. Being able to say that I am a student at UCLA holds a lot of clout. The same should be true for your school of choice. After all, why pay a bunch of money or spend a significant amount of time working as a TA or RA in exchange for tuition reimbursement only to graduate from a program that is not well recognized or, worse, a program that is not highly respected?

U.S. News and World Report ranks graduate programs in nursing. (They rank UCLA at No. 21 but, of course, it’s No. 1 in my eyes.) If you are looking to be trained as a researcher, you should also pay attention to where the school ranks when it comes to research funding. The National Institutes of Health is a major funder of schools of nursing, and up-to-date funding information can be retrieved from their Awards by Location and Organization database. (Click on the various criteria provided to look at information from various perspectives—organization, location, etc.) Other important decision factors to consider, including accreditation, are available from the National League for Nursing and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Tip #5: Talk to current students in the program.

This is probably the most important factor to consider. You don’t want to enroll in a program only to later find yourself saying in frustration, “If I knew then what I know now!” Currently enrolled students are your best resources when it comes to getting the unadulterated truth about a program. They understand and have been indoctrinated into the “<insert program name here> way.” They know the politics associated with getting into and, more importantly, getting out of the program. They can give you inside information on teaching philosophies of professors and their methods of grading. They can tell you if your research interest is a good fit for the program you are considering or if you would be better off applying to another school. They can give you the scoop on being a TA or RA, who do you want to work for as a TA or RA, and what the expected workload is if you become a TA or RA. They will also tell you whether you should work or not during any given term and if it’s a good idea to take courses outside of the school of nursing during another term. Students currently enrolled in the program are your allies. Use them wisely.

When choosing a graduate program, you have to do what’s best for you. I have provided five major tips for making that decision, but they are based on what I thought was best for me. If I were married or had children or had to go to school out of state, my preferences would change accordingly. Your decision to go to graduate school is a personal matter and, ultimately, the school you select should be based on no one’s opinion but your own. No matter the reasons you use to choose your graduate school, congratulations on making the choice to further your education!

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

How I ended up at UCLA

I’m often asked how I chose UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) as the school I would attend to obtain my PhD. To be honest, I don’t feel as though I chose it, but that it chose me.

Before I was halfway through my MSN program, I began looking at nursing PhD programs. I also considered EdD programs, because my MSN is in nursing education, and I have a passion for teaching. Enrolled at the time in an online program, I was not keen on pursuing another online program, but I knew this meant I would have to move. I looked around the UCLA School of Nursing website, but did not see how the PhD program would be a good fit for me, because my research interest was nursing education and the PhD program at UCLA does not focus heavily on research related to that interest. In fact, until a chance meeting with the nursing school’s director of recruitment, outreach and admissions, my mind was made up that UCLA was not the place for me.

During a break at the 2010 Leadership Summit in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, sponsored by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International, I approached UCLA School of Nursing’s exhibit table. To be honest, I was alone and, because the woman behind the table was also alone, thought I’d stir up a little conversation. I told Rhonda Flenoy-Younger—director of recruitment—that I had looked at UCLA, but didn’t think the program was for me.

She encouraged me to look at the information on a flash drive she handed me, and she took down my email address. She also introduced me to the dean of the School of Nursing. In speaking with him about my research interest, he encouraged me to apply to UCLA but not with the same research interest. When I returned home, I began receiving emails from Flenoy-Younger, inviting me to meetings of the Pan-African Nursing Students and Alumni Association (PANSAA) at UCLA. I ignored the first two meeting invitations, but responded to the third.

At the PANSAA meeting, I immediately felt a level of comfort among the students that I hadn’t felt at my undergraduate school or in the online MSN program from which I had recently graduated. Very interesting to me was that there were alumni in attendance, some who had graduated in the 1970s and ‘80s. Even the dean was there. I left that meeting feeling that, maybe, UCLA had something to offer after all. 

The next day, after attending a PhD information session presented by the UCLA School of Nursing (UCLA SON), I was sold! The support I felt from the faculty, their obvious love of research and UCLA, the personal stories of those on the student panel, and the commitment of the School of Nursing to provide tuition for all graduate teachers’ assistants was all I needed to make my decision. I left the session with my mind made up—I would apply to UCLA and would continue to apply until I was accepted.

A few days later, while attending the 2010 Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, I met a nurse educator-researcher who encouraged me to contact a faculty member at UCLA SON who was her personal friend. After contacting the professor, I set up a meeting with her.

First, though, I met with another faculty member, who encouraged me to choose a research interest about which I was truly passionate, not one that simply coincided with my MSN degree. At that point, my interest changed from nursing education to teen-pregnancy prevention. A week or two later, I met the friend of the nurse I had met at the AWHONN conference. Unbeknownst to me, the area of nursing about which I was now most passionate was the research area of this faculty member. I was sitting face-to-face with a world-renowned expert in teen pregnancy, and I had no idea! The encouragement I received from these two faculty members only strengthened my resolve to obtain my PhD from the UCLA School of Nursing.

Watch for my next post on choosing a doctoral program.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

PhD or DNP? How to choose

 Before looking into doctoral programs, prospective nursing students should decide which route is right for them. Currently, two major nursing degrees are awarded at the doctoral level—the Doctor of Philosophy in nursing and the Doctor of Nursing Practice. In my discussions with BSN- and MSN-prepared nurses, there seems to be a little confusion about the two doctoral degrees. My advice is, do your research and know which degree you want before deciding what school to apply to. Put another way, looking at various schools of nursing and using this information to decide which degree you wish to pursue is not the proper way to make the decision. This is because the two degrees are vastly different and, depending on what you want to do with it, pursuing the wrong degree will be a complete waste of your time.

The PhD is a research-oriented degree. The DNP, on the other hand, is a practice degree, which can be likened to degrees obtained by physicians, dentists, pharmacists and optometrists or ophthalmologists. There are a few major differences between the PhD and the DNP. While everyone may not agree with my explanation, consider the following categorical differences.

Prestige

Because of their vast differences, the degrees should not be directly compared but, in general, the PhD is regarded as the more prestigious of the two. Of course, the PhD has been around longer and is more widely recognized. It is also the terminal degree in nursing, meaning that no higher degree is attainable. If you looked at nursing degrees from a step-chart perspective, they would look something like this:

The chart may be slightly misleading because, in pursuing nursing degrees, a person doesn’t have to go from one step to the next. For instance, the point of entry for a person seeking a nursing license can be a diploma, an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree or an entry-level master’s degree. Also, a nurse doesn’t have to obtain a master’s degree before pursuing a doctoral degree. Still, the chart is a good indicator of how each nursing degree is viewed with regard to prestige.

Two types of knowledge

While both degrees are designed to produce nurses who will contribute to the knowledge base of the profession, one thing is clear—the PhD-educated nurse is expected to create new knowledge. A PhD dissertation cannot be successfully defended without the generation of new knowledge. As nurses who are more focused on practice than research, those in DNP programs may or may not have generated new knowledge upon completing their capstone projects.

An easy way to differentiate between the two degrees is to see the PhD nurse as a knowledge-creator and the DNP nurse as a knowledge-applier. Where a PhD program focuses on understanding the philosophical and theoretical foundations of nursing and using these foundations to generate new knowledge, a DNP program focuses on taking knowledge available to the profession and transferring it to practical application.

Focus on hands-on-nursing

Obtaining a PhD requires no clinical hours at the bedside or direct patient care. Obtaining a DNP, however, typically does require some type of practice hours to prove a student’s competence in his or her specialty area. If you are studying to become a nurse educator, for instance, you may have to work in an academic or clinical education setting. Or, if you are obtaining your DNP to become a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist, you will spend many hours under the preceptorship of an already licensed advanced practice nurse.

PhD students take courses such as philosophy and theory to stimulate abstract thinking about the nursing profession whereas DNP students take courses such as pathophysiology and nursing assessment, knowledge and skills more geared to nursing practice. I have seen PhD nurses work per diem or volunteer in order to maintain their nursing skills, provide community service or supplement their income, but never have I come across a PhD-prepared nurse who works full time providing direct patient care. DNP-prepared nurses, on the other hand, often work in patient-care settings as nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse administrators, nurse educators and nurse researchers. Both PhD and DNP nurses teach in academic settings.

Choose wisely

Whichever degree you choose to pursue, make your choice wisely. If you are in a PhD program but want to be a full-time nurse practitioner, you may find yourself miserable. If you are in a DNP program, but want to be a world-renowned neuroscience researcher, you may also be miserable. Although it is OK—and highly encouraged—to compare and contrast the two doctoral degrees in nursing, it is imperative to understand that neither degree is “better” than the other. They are complementary. Both are needed to keep patients safe and to continue advancing the practice of nursing.

I like to joke that the PhD is the attractive, older sister and the DNP the sassy, younger sister, but their momma and daddy love them both the same. I need my DNP “siblings” just as much as they need me. We are one big happy family.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.