January 21, 2027 – 11 am – 12 pm (Central)
Title – Positioning Nursing Knowledge Where it Belongs – in Nursing!
Presenter – Peggy L. Chinn, RN, PhD, FAAN
There is a tendency for nurse educators, nurses in practice, and nurses in research and administration, to dismiss nursing theory as irrelevant to their work. This Forum will challenge this tendency, provide compelling reasons to shift this tendency and will provide an overview of the resources available on Nursology.net and on SONEI.org (website for the Society for Nursing Ethics International).
February 12, 2027, 9:00am-10:30am (Central); 10am-11:30am (Eastern)
Title – Who Gets Credit for Nursing Science? Identity, Impact, and Stewardship in an Interdisciplinary World
Presenters – Leslie H. Nicoll, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN, Moderator, with panelists Stijn Blot, PhD, RN; Rita Pickler, PhD, RN, FAAN; Max Topaz, PhD, MA, RN, FAAN, FIAHSI, FACMI
Nursing science increasingly operates in an interdisciplinary environment in which nurse scientists collaborate and publish across medicine, public health, informatics, epidemiology, implementation science, and other fields. Although this reach reflects the success and relevance of nursing scholarship, it may also make nursing’s scientific contributions less visible and its disciplinary boundaries less distinct. Citation and classification systems may fail to identify influential work as nursing science; nurse scientists themselves may struggle to articulate what distinguishes nursing’s contribution; and questions arise about what must be preserved for nursing to remain a recognizable and viable scientific discipline. Attention is needed now because interdisciplinary science is expanding rapidly, while systems for evaluating research influence, allocating resources, and defining disciplinary knowledge are also changing. Nursing needs to consider how it can extend its scientific influence beyond disciplinary boundaries while sustaining the knowledge, identity, and scholarly infrastructure necessary for the discipline to survive and contribute to better care.
March 19, 2027, 12 pm (Central) to 1 pm (Central)
Title – Motivations and Experiences of Pursuing a PhD After DNP Completion: Role of Theory, Practice, and Research
Presenters – Rachell Nguyen, DNP, PhD Student; Karen J. Foli, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN
Current trends in doctoral nursing studies show a pattern of decreased Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) enrollment over the past 11 years and an increase in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degrees (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 29 July, 2026). However, there is a small but growing number of DNP-to-PhD candidates who are choosing this route (Kirkland et al., 2026). Therefore, this Forum session will address the motivations and perspectives of a DNP-prepared nurse who is pursuing their PhD.
April (Date/time TBD)
Title – The status of faculty readiness to teach theory in undergraduate and graduate nursing programs
Presenter – Marie Gill, PhD, RN
The AACN Essentials require integrating nursing theory across the curriculum, yet we do not know how prepared faculty feel to teach theory in undergraduate and graduate courses. To support effective integration, we must assess faculty’s perceived readiness to teach theory and identify the resources they need to succeed.
MAY (Date/time TBD)
Title –
Presenter – Robin R. Walter, PhD, RN, CNE
JUNE 2 (or 8) between 12 pm and 5 pm Central
Title – Nursing Ethics: Light from 164 Candles
Presenter – Marsha Fowler, PhD, MDiv, MS, RN, FAAN, FRSA
In the 1960s bioethics colonized nursing, co-opting its then century-old nursing ethics. Nurses in ethics, in both theory and practice, have come to understand the insufficiencies of bioethics, and the need to recover, reclaim, and renew our own native nursing ethics. The very structure of ethics extends from the “bedside to the world” providing both a warrant and a mandate for immediate care to social, political, global, and environmental engagement.
Nursology Forums 