how do i get into nursing research

button2cute · Mar 20, 2005

Please let me know as well.

Thank you,

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GirloftheSun · Mar 26, 2005

Nursing research is by far, I think, one of the best jobs in nursing you can have. I work with research nurses as an undergrad and was lucky enough to take a job as a research nurse with very limited clinical experience. I tried the hospital and to put it succinctly, hated it. I am now a research nurse and love my job. The best way to get in to it is by getting some experience in research. You may ask yourself-how can i get research experience if nobody will hire me without experience? It's difficult to do so the next best thing to do is get experience in the area you want to work and continually check for research jobs. As a research nurse you have a ton of autonomy. I work on a very busy drug study with leukemia patients. You really get the opportunity to assess. You also do a lot of patient education when the patients call with questions about they way they are feeling or with lab work. You work very closely with a doctor (called a principal investigator who usually writes the protocol). You do all the work and then meet for rounds once a week to discuss the patients. Like I said, if you like autonomy this is a great career. It's different from the floor not continuous stress. You are very busy and have a lot under your belt, but if you can multitask and prioritize you will do fine. You get to interact with a lot of people.

A research nurse is sometimes called a study coordinator. You can even take a certificate 9 month program to become a study coordinator. This would be very helpful along with your nursing skill. I hope this helps.

RedVaz · Mar 26, 2005

Nursing research is by far, I think, one of the best jobs in nursing you can have. I work with research nurses as an undergrad and was lucky enough to take a job as a research nurse with very limited clinical experience. I tried the hospital and to put it succinctly, hated it. I am now a research nurse and love my job. The best way to get in to it is by getting some experience in research. You may ask yourself-how can i get research experience if nobody will hire me without experience? It's difficult to do so the next best thing to do is get experience in the area you want to work and continually check for research jobs. As a research nurse you have a ton of autonomy. I work on a very busy drug study with leukemia patients. You really get the opportunity to assess. You also do a lot of patient education when the patients call with questions about they way they are feeling or with lab work. You work very closely with a doctor (called a principal investigator who usually writes the protocol). You do all the work and then meet for rounds once a week to discuss the patients. Like I said, if you like autonomy this is a great career. It's different from the floor not continuous stress. You are very busy and have a lot under your belt, but if you can multitask and prioritize you will do fine. You get to interact with a lot of people.
A research nurse is sometimes called a study coordinator. You can even take a certificate 9 month program to become a study coordinator. This would be very helpful along with your nursing skill. I hope this helps.

Where can I find information about the 9 month program?

Thanks!

BeachNurse · Mar 26, 2005

The program is not always necessary. I went right into it without a "program". I have been a study coordinator for five years. After I gained the required amount of experience, I took the certification exam and earned my CCRC. This certification (Certified Clinical Research Coordinator) can give you an advantage over other research candidates in the future.

Best of luck to you!

RedVaz · Mar 27, 2005

I am very interested in research and only recently learned about this position. I will graduate next month and work on a cardiac floor as a GN. (I noticed a postion posted that only requires one year experience as an RN, that looks very interesting as a study co-ord.) I'm wondering...for those of you who became a study co-ordinator without much floor experience-how much patient contact do you get? Do you still feel like a nurse? Etc...

Thanks!

The program is not always necessary. I went right into it without a "program". I have been a study coordinator for five years. After I gained the required amount of experience, I took the certification exam and earned my CCRC. This certification (Certified Clinical Research Coordinator) can give you an advantage over other research candidates in the future.
Best of luck to you!

GirloftheSun · Mar 29, 2005

I am very interested in research and only recently learned about this position. I will graduate next month and work on a cardiac floor as a GN. (I noticed a postion posted that only requires one year experience as an RN, that looks very interesting as a study co-ord.) I'm wondering...for those of you who became a study co-ordinator without much floor experience-how much patient contact do you get? Do you still feel like a nurse? Etc...
Thanks!

It's about 50/50. Most of the contact I have with the patient is over the phone. For one oof the studies I work on, I start the informed consent process by meeting with the patinet to explain the costs, risks benefits etc. Then the doctor and I meet with the patient after the patient has read the consent form. If the patient signs I meet with the patient for medication teaching etc. Then from there on, I get their labs weekly and monitor that way. If I see changes, i take action by changing the dose of the drug. My whole day is spend around the patients but I don't see them physically.

geekgolightly, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2005

See if your hospital has a research team (like mine has Mid America Brain and Stroke Institute) and ask if they need help covering on-call shifts as a study control nurse. I recently was hired by MABSI to do just that. I work on-call one or two days a week, accepting pages and going to the ER to assess a patient and see if they are right for the study. If they are, I go through all of the steps to get them into the study including (for these studies, CHANT II and SAINT II) starting the infusion of the drug/placebo, drawing labs, ensuring that EKG, and scans are done and all paperwork is in order.

I do not have any experience in research and have been a floor nurse less then one year. I was hired because I showed an interest in nursing practice and research and always asked the CNS and NP's a million questions whenever they were on the floor.

chicaroo · Sep 1, 2010

I'm a new graduate who just started my first nursing position as a clinical research coordinator. And I have to say, I LOVE IT! I come home every day with a smile on my face. I work 8-4 Mon-Fri and spend about 50% of my time with patients (either in person or on the phone, depending on the day). There is a LOT of paperwork in this job--which I am OK with, since I'm kind of paranoid about thorough, careful charting. When I'm with patients, I'm starting IVs, doing phlebotomies, running infusions, giving injections, dispensing experimental meds, advising and educating about side effects and drug reactions, and keeping the docs up-to-date about what's going on with my patients. I also review all the labs for my patients and make sure the docs act on anything clinically significant. My docs are very appreciative of the nurses' work and treat us all as valuable team members.

I got this job because at interview I emphasized that I'm good at the two most critical elements of the job: being extremely detail-oriented and focused on safety. I'd never worked in clinical research before, but my employers liked that I was able to provide examples from my previous work that showed how I have an eye for detail and take good care of my patients. I am so pleased that I get paid to do this job, and I wish more nurses knew how good it is!

vwde · Sep 21, 2010

I'm a new graduate who just started my first nursing position as a clinical research coordinator. And I have to say, I LOVE IT! I come home every day with a smile on my face. I work 8-4 Mon-Fri and spend about 50% of my time with patients (either in person or on the phone, depending on the day). There is a LOT of paperwork in this job--which I am OK with, since I'm kind of paranoid about thorough, careful charting. When I'm with patients, I'm starting IVs, doing phlebotomies, running infusions, giving injections, dispensing experimental meds, advising and educating about side effects and drug reactions, and keeping the docs up-to-date about what's going on with my patients. I also review all the labs for my patients and make sure the docs act on anything clinically significant. My docs are very appreciative of the nurses' work and treat us all as valuable team members.
I got this job because at interview I emphasized that I'm good at the two most critical elements of the job: being extremely detail-oriented and focused on safety. I'd never worked in clinical research before, but my employers liked that I was able to provide examples from my previous work that showed how I have an eye for detail and take good care of my patients. I am so pleased that I get paid to do this job, and I wish more nurses knew how good it is!

Are you working in a hospital? I've looked into these positions and feel like I would love it but I'm not finding many that are willing to take me as a new grad. I have a ton of research experience but none as a nurse. Any suggestions?

rncoco · Sep 26, 2010

i too, am a new grad. i've had hospital floor experience for 3 mos and i can say that im not in love with it. i was almost thinking of giving up on nursing but out of the blue i thought of trying nursing research. i didn't know where the idea came from, it just did. so im really interested in this field. my problem is that i still have limited clinical skills to perform all those that were listed above by birdiegirl. im afraid i would have a hard time adjusting. is it advisable that i continue floor work first or jump right in the research field?

also, should i undergo training first in order to become a researcher? coz frankly, i have poor foundations on research. but im am VERY WILLING to learn how