Web-Based Learning: A Bridge to Meet the Needs of Canadian Nurses for Doctoral Education - Issue 1 - 2015

Oct 15, 2026

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Canada faces a shortage of nurses with doctoral degrees, limiting researchers, educators, leaders, and clinicians. Although more universities offer nursing doctorates, many rely on traditional campus delivery, restricting nurses in remote areas and those needing flexibility. This article reports the authors’ experience as the inaugural cohort of UVic’s distributed-learning PhD nursing program, using electronic modalities since 2011 plus brief on-site intensives. Results indicate distributed modalities expand access while maintaining academic rigor.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Doctoral nursing shortage in Canada

Distributed learning and distance education models

UVic’s distributed-learning PhD program (2011 onward)

Context of the Canadian PhD nursing landscape

CSSHE SCÉES Canadian Journal of Higher Education Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur Volume 45, No. 1, 2015, pages 37-47 Web-Based Learning: A Bridge to Meet the Needs of Canadian Nurses for Doctoral Education Sue Kurucz, Lori Rietze, Angie Lim, & Mindy Swamy University of Victoria Abstract Canada does not have enough nurses with doctoral degrees. Such nurses fill important roles as researchers, educators, leaders, and clinicians. While a growing number of Canadian universities offer doctorate degrees in nursing, most institutions have only traditional on-campus programs, posing barriers for nurses who reside in places geographically distant from those institutions or who require more flexibility in their education. We describe our experiences as the inaugural cohort of the doctoral program by distributed learning at the University of Victoria School of Nursing. Since 2011, we have used a variety of electronic modalities and participated in several very short on-site intensives. Our experience indicates that distributive learning modalities improve access and deliver academically rigorous programs. Résumé Au Canada, il existe présentement une pénurie de personnel infirmierdétenant un doctorat. De tels infirmiers assument d’importantes fonctions à titre de chercheurs, d’éducateurs, d’administrateurs et de cliniciens. Tandis qu’un nombre croissant d’universités canadiennes offrent des programmes de doctorat en sciences infirmières, la plupart des établissements n’offrent ces programmes que de manière traditionnelle, c’est-à-dire que les étudiants doivent se rendre à l’université pour assister aux cours afin de recevoirl’enseignement. Ce type de programmes constitue un obstacle pour les étudiants des régions éloignées qui ont besoin de plus de flexibilité pour yaccéder. Le présent article décrit notre expérience à titre de première cohorte CJHE / RCES Volume 45, No. 1, 2015 Distributed Learning PhD Nursing/ S. Kurucz, L. Rietze, A. Lim, & M. Swamy 38 du programme de doctorat en sciences infirmières de l’École des sciences infirmières de l’Université de Victoria, offert selon ce modèle d’apprentissage échelonné . Depuis 2011, sur le site géographique de l’université, à Victoria, nous avons utilisé une variété de moyens pédagogiques alliant technologie et courts stages intensifs. Notre expérience démontre que les modèles d’apprentissage échelonné améliorent l’accès aux programmes académiques de haute qualité et en rehaussent la qualité académique. Nursing education faces a pending crisis within the next ten years. The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) and the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) report that the number of doctoral graduates is insufficient to meet demand (CASN, 2010; CNA & CASN, 2012a; 2012b). High numbers of current faculty members are approaching the age of retirement, and few are under 40 years of age (CASN 2008; 2010) . While nurses with PhDs are needed to fill faculty positions, they are also in demand for research and administrative roles in an increasingly complex healthcare environment (Cleary, Hunt,& Jackson, 2011) . There are currently 15 nursing PhD programs in Canada. Although 25 percent of these programs utilize some components of distance education (CNA & CASN, 2012b), 85 percent require full-time residency (CASN, 2010) . Distance learning brings together individuals who are geographically dispersed using computers and telecommunication technologies for asynchronous and synchronous learning (Belanger & Jordon, 2000). In asynchronous learning, online lecture notes or discussion boards are used to promote learning at one’s own pace (Belanger & Jordon, 2000) . Synchronous learning, on the other hand, is real-time learning in which live discussions or teaching occur by means of web-hosted software programs such as Blackboard Collaborate, Elluminate Live!, or Bluejeans (Belanger & Jordon, 2000). Distributed learning incorporates all aspects of distance learning,

FAQs

Why is doctoral-prepared nursing important in Canada?

Doctoral-prepared nurses are needed to serve as researchers, educators, leaders, and clinicians. The article links this demand to a shortage of doctoral graduates in Canada.

What barriers do nurses face with traditional on-campus doctoral programs?

Many doctoral programs require full-time residency, meaning students must travel to campus. This restricts access for nurses living far from institutions and for those who need more flexibility.

How does distributed learning support doctoral nursing education?

Distributed learning uses both asynchronous and synchronous technologies to enable learning regardless of geographic location. The authors’ experience suggests these modalities improve access while keeping programs academically rigorous.

Oct 15, 2026

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