Commentary: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: A Key Solution to the Crisis of Doctoral Nursing Education in Canada

Abstract

Canada desperately needs more doctoral graduates. We also need more diverse graduates to move into education and leadership roles across the country. This article examines the origins and development of doctoral education for nurses in Canada and the continuing dire shortfall of doctorally prepared nurses to meet the expanding needs of the profession. In the context of this desperate shortage, this article then moves to examine the critical issues of equity, diversity and inclusion and the failure of the nursing academy and the profession to address these long-standing matters. These two issues - the shortfall of doctoral graduates and the lack of diversity in education and leadership in nursing - need to be addressed through a combined and focused strategy if we are to ensure the future sustainability of the profession. Given the decade-long lead time required to effect significant changes in doctoral graduations, the article concludes with a call for a national strategy engaging multiple stakeholders to increase awareness of the issues and their implications for the sustainability of the profession. It concludes that only through the united efforts of the profession will Canadian nursing be able to ensure that nursing education will produce a sufficient number of graduates for the needs of education, practice and policy across the country and that these graduates will better reflect the diversity of the nursing profession and the Canadian population, overall.