| Course | NUR 607 Scientific Role Development III Bridging |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Career plan APA paper with job talk outline |
| Length | About 589 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Arizona State University |
| Program | PhD in Nursing and Healthcare Innovation |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 607 Module 2
From Dissertation to Program of Research: My Plan for an Academic Career Studying Rural Nursing Practice
Student Name
Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University
NUR 607: Scientific Role Development III: Bridging
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
From Dissertation to Program of Research: My Plan for an Academic Career Studying Rural Nursing Practice
Vision
After the PhD, I want to be a tenure-track assistant professor at a research-intensive college of nursing in the Mountain West, leading a program of research on how rural nurses recognize and respond to clinical deterioration and testing supports that help them. I want a position that values partnerships with rural health systems and offers protected time for research in the early years. The timing is favorable: a large share of senior nursing faculty are retiring (Fang & Kesten, 2017), and research-prepared nurses remain scarce relative to practice doctorates (Bednash et al., 2014).
Where and How I Will Find the Position
I will target schools with three features: a research mission and doctoral program, existing rural health partnerships and a record of early-career faculty funding. Searches for these positions usually open in late summer and fall for appointments the following year, so I will prepare materials a year before defending. I will use professional networks built at the Western Institute of Nursing conference, ask my committee to introduce me to colleagues at target schools and watch postings in nursing education and rural health organizations. I will prepare a cover letter, curriculum vitae, research statement, teaching statement and diversity statement, and practice a job talk with my research group.
Postdoctoral or Early-Career Funding Route
Because a research-intensive position expects a funded program, I will consider a two-year postdoctoral fellowship focused on implementation science or rural health services research before or alongside a faculty start. If I move directly to a faculty position, I will negotiate protected research time and apply for internal pilot funding in year one, followed by an early-career federal award built on my dissertation findings.
Program of Research
My dissertation, an interpretive description study of how rural nurses decide to escalate care, is the first step. The second will measure the factors it identifies across a larger sample of critical access hospitals. Because rural hospital closures keep lengthening transfer distances (Kaufman et al., 2016), the third will design and test a rural-specific escalation support, such as structured tele-ICU consultation for nurses, with outcomes including time to escalation and transfers. This sequence moves from understanding to measurement to intervention, a progression that funding agencies and tenure committees recognize.
Teaching
I will teach research and evidence-based practice courses in the BSN and DNP programs and, later, qualitative methods in the PhD program. My clinical background in rural emergency nursing also prepares me to teach acute care.
Service
In the first years I will limit service to one school committee and one professional organization role, and review manuscripts for journals in my field.
Timeline
Year of defense: job search and postdoctoral applications. Years 1 and 2 as faculty: publish dissertation papers, obtain pilot funding, teach two courses a year. Years 3 and 4: submit an early-career federal application, publish the measurement study. Years 5 and 6: lead the intervention study and prepare for tenure review.
Job Talk Outline
1. The problem: a nurse alone at night with a deteriorating patient. 2. What we know and the rural gap. 3. My dissertation: question, method and findings. 4. The next two studies. 5. How my program fits this school's mission and partners. 6. Teaching interests. 7. Questions.
Conclusion
This plan treats the PhD as the start of a research program rather than its completion. Its success depends on choosing a school whose mission matches mine and on protecting time for research in the first years.
References
Bednash, G., Breslin, E. T., Kirschling, J. M., & Rosseter, R. J. (2014). PhD or DNP: Planning for doctoral nursing education. Nursing Science Quarterly, 27(4), 296-301. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318414546415
Fang, D., & Kesten, K. (2017). Retirements and succession of nursing faculty in 2016-2025. Nursing Outlook, 65(5), 633-642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2017.03.003
Kaufman, B. G., Thomas, S. R., Randolph, R. K., Perry, J. R., Thompson, K. W., Holmes, G. M., & Pink, G. H. (2016). The rising rate of rural hospital closures. The Journal of Rural Health, 32(1), 35-43. https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12128
NUR 607 Module 2 instructions, in plain terms
The Application Paper is the heaviest item in NUR 607, carrying 40% of the grade and listed in the schedule as the dream career trajectory presentation. The syllabus poses one question, how you envision your future career once you have a PhD, and branches it: if you plan to seek a full-time research position, discuss where and how you will find such a job; if you plan an academic position, write up your plan for the job. A rubric in Canvas lists the parts to include, and the course's methods of evaluation mention a job talk outline. The assignment asks you to think like an applicant and a hiring committee at once, so be concrete about positions, timing and the research you will bring.
How the NUR 607 Module 2 example is put together
The plan moves from vision to logistics to substance. It opens with the type of position and setting the writer wants. A section on finding the job explains target criteria, search timing, networks and the documents she will prepare. A funding section lays out a postdoctoral or direct-start route. The program of research describes three studies in sequence, from the dissertation to measurement to intervention, with a margin note on why the sequence matters. Teaching and service sections are brief and specific. A year-by-year timeline runs to tenure review, and a seven-point job talk outline closes the paper. Sources on faculty supply, doctoral roles and rural hospitals support the context.
NUR 607 Module 2 rubric: what earns full marks
Forty percent of the grade depends on this paper and its presentation, scored on the Canvas rubric. Career plans are usually judged on a clear vision, a realistic strategy for finding the chosen position, a funding plan appropriate to the career path, a coherent program of research that grows from the dissertation, attention to teaching and service, a timeline with milestones and a job talk outline that would persuade a committee. Plans lose credit when they describe hopes without steps, when the research program is a single study, when funding is ignored for a research-intensive path and when the timeline has no milestones. Plans that tie each year to a measurable milestone, such as a submitted grant, show the realism the rubric rewards.
NUR 607 Module 2 help with common mistakes
The program of research is where a plan proves its seriousness; show at least two studies that follow your dissertation and explain how each builds on the last. Be realistic about timing: academic searches open many months before the start date. Name the documents you will need and draft them early. If you are choosing between research and academic paths, say why. Keep service modest in the early years and say so. Outline the job talk around your research story. The desk can review your timeline and research program for coherence if you share a draft. Ask a faculty mentor to read your job talk outline as a committee member would.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Arizona State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More NUR 607 and PhD in Nursing and Healthcare Innovation sample papers
- NUR 607 Module 1: WIN Evaluations: Summary, Critique and Application of Four Research Articles
- NUR 601 Module 2: PowerPoint: Summary of the Role Paper
- NUR 608 Module 4: Final Individual Reflection
- NUR 602 Module 4: Poster Presentation: State of the Science on Nurse Staffing and Mortality
- NUR 606 Module 2: PowerPoint: Summary of the Synthesis Paper
NUR 607 Module 2 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 607 Module 2 sample paper?
The full NUR 607 Module 2 sample is posted here: a PhD career trajectory paper with a program of research, funding route, timeline and job talk outline.
What does the NUR 607 application paper ask?
How you envision your career after the PhD, including where and how you will find a research position or your plan for an academic job.
What is a program of research?
A planned sequence of related studies, usually building from describing a problem to measuring it and then testing interventions.
When do academic nursing faculty searches usually open?
Many open in late summer and fall for positions starting the following academic year, so materials should be ready well before the defense.
How much is the NUR 607 career paper worth?
It is worth 40% of the grade, the largest share in the course.