Viva Questions for Nursing

Nursing vivas place particular emphasis on the relationship between research and practice. Examiners will want to see that your work is grounded in clinical reality and that you understand how your findings could improve patient care, nursing education, or health policy. Qualitative research is common in nursing PhDs, so expect detailed questioning about your methodology, reflexivity, and how you've ensured the trustworthiness of your findings.

Nursing PhDs occupy a distinctive space in academia. Your examiners will expect you to bridge the worlds of clinical practice and scholarly research – demonstrating the rigour of a social scientist while maintaining the practical orientation of a clinician. The dual identity of nurse-researcher is both your strength and a potential area of challenge in the viva. Examiners will want to see that you've managed this tension thoughtfully.

Questions about your research

Nursing examiners are particularly attentive to how you've navigated ethical and relational complexities in your research. Working with patients, families, or colleagues raises questions about power, consent, and the influence of your professional role on your data. They'll also want to understand your analytical process in detail – especially if you've used a qualitative methodology, where the path from raw data to findings can be opaque if not clearly articulated.

• What clinical or practice-based problem does your research address, and what makes it important for nursing?
• How did you choose your research methodology, and why was it the right fit for your question?
• How did you recruit your participants, and what challenges did you face – including gatekeeping by clinical managers or ethics committees?
• How did you ensure informed consent was meaningful rather than a formality, particularly with vulnerable or unwell participants?
• Can you explain your approach to data analysis – your coding process, theme development, or statistical approach – in detail?
• How did you address reflexivity and your own positionality as someone with clinical experience in this area?
• What steps did you take to ensure the trustworthiness, credibility, and dependability of your findings?
• How did your clinical experience influence your research – and how did you manage that influence to avoid imposing your assumptions on the data?
• Were there any ethical dilemmas during your research that required you to prioritise your duty of care over your research objectives?
• How did you manage emotional labour during the research process, particularly if your topic involved suffering or distress?
• Did your findings challenge any of your pre-existing assumptions as a clinician?

Questions about theory and literature

Nursing research draws on a range of theoretical traditions – from nursing-specific models to frameworks borrowed from sociology, psychology, and philosophy. Examiners will want to see that you've chosen your framework deliberately and that it genuinely shapes your analysis. They'll also be interested in how your work engages with current policy and professional debates – workforce pressures, patient safety, integrated care, and the evolving role of advanced practice nurses.

• What theoretical or conceptual framework underpins your research, and why did you choose it?
• How does your work build on existing nursing research in this area?
• Are there frameworks from sociology, psychology, or philosophy that informed your approach?
• How does your work relate to current nursing policy, professional standards, or workforce debates?
• Which key studies, reviews, or position papers have shaped your thinking?
• How do you position your work within the qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods traditions in nursing research?
• How does your research engage with the broader debates about evidence-based nursing and knowledge hierarchies?

Questions about contribution and impact

Nursing examiners care deeply about impact. They'll want to know how your findings could change what happens on a ward, in a community setting, or in a lecture theatre. Be prepared to articulate your contribution in terms that are concrete and actionable – not just "more research is needed" but specific recommendations for practice, education, or policy.

• What does your thesis contribute to nursing knowledge that wasn't understood before?
• How could your findings be implemented in clinical practice – and what would that look like on the ground?
• What are the implications for how we train nurses or structure continuing professional development?
• How might your research inform health policy at local or national level?
• What would need to change – in organisations, resources, or culture – for your findings to make a real difference?
• How does your work give voice to patient or carer experiences that are currently underrepresented?

Tough follow-ups your examiners might ask

Nursing examiners will challenge you on the transferability of your findings, the influence of your clinical role on your data, and the gap between research recommendations and the realities of clinical practice. They'll also probe whether your work stands up to scrutiny from other methodological traditions. Being able to defend your approach honestly – acknowledging its limitations while explaining why it was the right choice – is essential.

• How do you respond to the critique that qualitative research can't be generalised to wider populations?
• Your participants are from a single trust, ward, or community setting – how transferable are your findings to other contexts?
• Could your dual role as clinician and researcher have influenced what participants told you – and how did you account for this?
• A ward manager reads your thesis and asks what should change on Monday morning – what do you say?
• What would a quantitative study on the same topic look like, and what would it add to your findings?
• How do you respond to the argument that your recommendations are unrealistic given current staffing levels and resource constraints?
• If a student nurse reads your thesis, what is the single most important thing you'd want them to take away?

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