Doctoral Student Self-Assessment of Writing Development

Background: Doctoral nursing students struggle with scholarly writing. While writing improvement strategies have been shared, few studies have used student self-assessment of evidenced-based knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) to aid with writing development. Objective: This study evaluated doctoral student self-assessment of the KSAs specific to writing at each level of nursing education and explored the association of student demographics with self-assessment results. Methods: A national sample of doctoral students completed an electronic, 35-item self-assessment. Results: Self-assessment revealed the majority of KSAs expected at the BSN, MSN, and doctoral level were being used by Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students. One doctoral level KSA did not meet the benchmark for DNP students. A positive association was noted between DNP students' self-assessment and age. Conclusions: Doctoral students reported using many of the KSAs for writing expected at each level of nursing education. Most student demographics did not appear to influence writing development. Implications for Nursing: Self-assessment was an effective way to assess student writing development. Items not meeting the performance benchmark may illuminate the need for further writing development. Faculty recommendations for using self-assessment and facilitating writing development are offered.