Introducing a professional doctorate in nursing and midwifery.

The convergence of a number of factors has led to the emergence of what has come to be known as the 'professional doctorate'. This new doctoral education diverges from the model of research doctorates that have historically predominated for more than a century. The background to these changes and the impetus for the development of this relatively new approach to doctoral preparation is outlined in this article. The infancy of the professional doctorate means little empirical data exist about their operation or their success. In this light, the development of an evaluative framework is described in relation to the implementation of a new professional doctorate for nurses and midwives that has been introduced at the University of Sheffield.