Background : In a context of increasing complexity and financial constraints, nurses are increasingly involved in doctoral programs. This is the case in France, where the process of university education of the profession is not very advanced compared to the Anglo-Saxon countries. Here, the procedures are part of a less formal framework, particulary at the level of organization of work. Studies are updating emerging scientific practices, but the level of integration of these practices into organizations and the thesis experience is still not well known.The aim of this study, is then to better understand how the pathways of these nurses doctors or PhD students nurses in health organizations are conducted.

Method : This study is based on 27 hours of in situ observation with nurses research coordinators and 45 semi-directional interviews of nurses with PhD or doctoral students practicing in France conducted between november 2018 and june 2020. The respondents were selected from among the 165 identified nurses doctors and doctoral nursing profiles during a preliminary census.

Results : First, ths biographical approach reveals both the importance and the ambiguity of the role played by doctors in the construction of nursing doctoral projects and in the process of university education of the profession. From an organizational point of view, the data underscore many tensions between their thesis approach and the demands of the work. These tensions are relayed both by health executives who are primilary involved in managing teams and by other nurses in the field who value a different conception of the profession. These organizational tensions reflect a strong identification/emancipation issue experienced by nurses doctors/nurses PhD students who are very marked by conception of nursing mandate that value their presence at the patient’s bedside.

Discussion/conclusion : Our data show that the activity of nursing doctors and doctoral students is largely promoted in organizations by through medical mentorship. The nursing profession faces the difficulty of integrating the research approach into nursing practice, valuing either direct care or the immediate organizational problems of the team.