We sought to determine sociodemographics of nurses seeking advanced nursing degrees nationally, and in ME and MA using the 2018 publicly available, National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN).

Of the n = 47,274 nurses (weighted n [Wn] = 3,608,633), 90.7 % were female, 74.1 % were white, and 15.8 % sought an advanced nursing degree on average 12.7 (SD 0.2) years after their first. Females vs. males had lower odds (OR 0.63, 95%CI [0.44–0.90]) and Black vs. White race had higher odds (OR 1.30, 95%CI [1.05–1.60]) of seeking doctorates. In Maine (Wn = 20,389), age 24–29 had higher odds (OR 2.98 (95%CI [1.06–3.74]), but in Massachusetts (Wn = 101,984), age 30+ had lower odds (OR 0.32, 95%CI [0.13–0.78]) of degree-seeking vs. <24 years. Initial nursing degrees earned between 1980 and 1989 had higher odds (OR 1.99, 95%CI [1.06–3.74]) in Maine, but between 2010 and 2014 had lower odds (OR 0.32, 95%CI [0.14–0.72]) in Massachusetts of degree-seeking, vs. before 1980.