Advantages and Challenges of Postdoctoral Study
There are several advantages and challenges to pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship. The advantages of a postdoctoral program are not only for the individual but also for their employers and organizations, the nursing discipline, and finally the recipients of improved care. Postdoctoral fellowships are opportunities to develop both personally and professionally. The difficult work involved in pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship will almost certainly lead to the enhancement of the fellow’s professional maturity, and often to personal growth as well.
During postdoctoral training, a fellow has the unique opportunity to focus on one project. Their attention is not fragmented by the many other academic requirements such as teaching, administration, service and clinical practice. They are allowed to concentrate on their research, the writing of grants, publications, and presentations. This narrow focus is a valuable experience that is not always available to a doctoral student or new faculty members (Paul, 2002).
Lev et al (1990) have described postdoctoral fellowships as a way ‘to offer the nurse researcher a number of experiences that may facilitate development as an independent researcher’ (p. 116). Some nurses may choose a postdoctoral experience as a way of gaining additional research skills needed to change the direction of their research careers. Some postdoctoral programs are specifically designed to prepare the fellow in areas perceived to be in need of researchers who can address specific research questions (Lev et al, 1990).
The benefit to academic institutions is more well-prepared potential research faculty. Further, upon appointment to a faculty position, these individuals are less likely to need close supervision or mentoring, as they have already made a good start towards their program of research. Postdoctoral study should prepare scholars for employment as beginning independent researchers ( Ketefian , 1991).
These individuals can develop further as researchers in large research institutions, or can provide a solid base for research development in smaller colleges of nursing, hospitals or community health agencies (Albrecht and Greiner, 1992, p. 373). The emphasis on evidence-based practice and the nursing discipline’s espoused value of the same, dictates that research is carried out to support this goal.
Nurse scientists with postdoctoral training will be better prepared and positioned to contribute to the development of the knowledge base needed to support evidence-based practice in nursing. Contributions of postdoctoral fellows to the research and academic enterprises in the USA are significant; they conduct a significant portion of research in the country and provide additional research instruction to graduate students (AAU, 2003).
Challenges of Postdoctoral Study
There are a number of challenges to continuing in a postdoctoral program including low pay, relocation, decreased status, career interruption and the absence of peers. These may produce stress, according to Chenitz and Swanson (1981). Financially, the postdoctoral program can be a better setback for individuals. The funding award is often considerably less than the salary of a junior faculty member. Postdoctoral fellows frequently need to change location or institution, which takes them away from family and friends.
They may encounter loneliness and social isolation. Leaving a faculty or other position requires managing the stress associated with a new environment. It also requires forming a relationship with a new mentor in the research setting, adding to the stress on the fellow. The postdoctoral program may interrupt the fellow’s academic career path or current clinical practice. The focus of the postdoctoral fellowship is on research and other responsibilities may be temporarily disrupted ( Chenitz and Swanson, 1990).
Lev et al (1990) cite Larson and colleagues as noting that less than 0.3% of nurses with doctorates have formal postdoctoral research training. In contrast, all assistant professors hired in the past five years in approximately two-thirds of departments had formal postdoctoral research training (AAU, 2003). A fellow coming from a previous faculty position may, upon starting a fellowship, experience an acute decrease in status as well as a loss of peers.
Compared with a faculty position, fellows may find themselves with limitations in support services and office space (Larson et al, 1988 as cited in Lev et al, 1990). Salary is a major issue for nurses considering a postdoctoral fellowship. Stipends for federal traineeships are based on years of professional experience following the award of the doctorate. The stipend ranges from US$35,568 for an individual just out of a doctoral program to US$51,036 for someone with seven or more years.
It is difficult for individuals to consider this level of support when many new assistant professors receive salaries in the high US$50,000 to low US$60,000 range. Some institutions choose to increase these salaries, in the expectation that they will hire the fellow upon completion of the fellowship. Currently, in nursing, the investment for individuals and institutions in postdoctoral preparation is high, but the payoff is also potentially high. The challenge for the discipline will be to resolve some of the challenges to reap the benefits.
Status of Postdoctoral Training Around the World
An informal survey of educators from several countries revealed that many countries do not have formal postdoctoral training. In some countries, selected institutions provide mentoring to new faculty, or appoint them early to enable them to prepare for the start of the academic year, or provide start-up funds, with the help of national funding agencies such as is done in Korea.
Paid sabbatical policies in some countries are granted and some individuals use the year to join international visiting scholar programs overseas, working with a scholar and conducting research. In the case of other countries, governmental funding is available to the nursing program for faculty leaves for the same purpose. At the discretion of the nursing school, these awards may be made to new doctoral graduates to hone their research skills or to mid-career faculty to enable them to ‘re-tool’ and update their knowledge and skills.
A pressing problem faced in many countries is the heavy teaching, advising and service responsibilities allowing little time for research as part of faculty workload. However, nurse leaders around the world are developing an increased appreciation of the ways in which training at this level can enrich nursing science and contribute to the health of the country.
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