| The purpose of this study was to explore the scholarship of PhD-prepared dental hygienists related to advancing the dental hygiene discipline. A qualitative exploratory descriptive study research design was used to determine patterns regarding dental hygienists’ experiences with their doctoral education and resulting scholarly activities (IRB-FY2019-272). Purposive sampling was used to identify potential participants. Ten interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Themes influencing the decision to enroll in the program included Personal, Professional, Influencers, and Situational. Experiences the PhD program provided included Scholarship Socialization, Program Requirements, and PhD Program Faculty. Themes related to advancing in their careers, included credibility and career opportunities. Scholarship activities contributing to the discipline revealed two themes: Scholarly Activities and Dental Hygiene is an Evolving Discipline. Many participants did not have experience in building theoretical or conceptual models, but most agreed in the importance of these models and that dental hygiene is a developing discipline. Keywords:Qualitative exploratory study, dental hygienists, PhD, scholarship, doctoral dental hygiene, education, dental hygiene discipline. |