Abstract

There has been an exponential rise in the provision of doctoral education both in the UK and worldwide over the past 10 years. The nature of these programmes reflects diversity and challenges to the traditional PhD. This paper draws on several emerging issues relevant to academics and clinical leaders concerning the provision and utility of doctoral education. Our paper is informed by a postal survey of 45 nurse consultants in England (United Kingdom) which explored their perceptions of doctoral education. Relevant literature is drawn on to help develop an appraisal of the role of doctoral education within nurse consultant roles and similar nurse specialist or clinical leadership roles worldwide. There are implications for the development of research capacity, the limited impact of research on practice, evidence-based practice and the constraints of the traditional PhD and its changing status as the only way to generate new knowledge. The future challenges concern a response to the current shifts in knowledge production and the role of professional doctorates in both generating and utilising new knowledge through practice based scholarship.