New grad to Research Nurse

[TullRN2010]

Ok here's my story... I am a Dec. 2009 grad still looking for a job..I've been working at a hospital for the past 8 years in a research lab. I kept working there while in school hoping that would help me to get hired as a nurse but no such luck. I've reapplied for the residency program being offered and to several other hospitals as well but the competition is steep. Last week I went to a job fair at this hospital and met some research nurses that were very impressed with my resume and background in research that they took me to meet the head doc over their department.. he interviewed me on the spot and the next week they called me back for another interview with his staff. I haven't been officially offered yet but they asked me about what salary I was expecting and they told me what I would be doing. They said I should hear from them this week. I would be handling several patients on different drug trials in the outpatient clinic and managing other duties related to several different studies. I feel confident that this is something I would like doing and that I would gain a lot of experience in (I planned to go into this later in my career), but my fear is that if I decide later that I want to move into a bedside nurse position this may hinder my chances because I will be lacking the inpatient experience. Any thoughts on this or has anyone had a similar experience?

[eeyorelov]

Congrats first, so many of us are still waiting for any job. And I don't think this will hurt you if you want to go beside, you will have expirence doing something and that is all that will matter. Beside if you can handle a patient load in a outpatient setting then why can't you in patient?

[BBQvegan]

Good for you!!!! I am a new grad (May 2009) and have been working at the bedside since then. I am burnt out already! I would love to have the job that you might get offered! Congrats! Take it! And don't look back!

[empathykitty]

what does reserch nurse do.. out of curiousity? :redbeathe

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

is there any other area of nursing you wanted to explore prior to research nursing (l&d, er, icu, etc)? i personally think that it is ok to start in research given your interest and prior work experience. if you really wanted to become another type of nurse first, then that should be your focus. i agree with the others, however, i would not pass up a chance to work in a job i know i would enjoy for the possibility of working in an area that i knew little about.... hospital work is tough... it is not much fun no matter what specialty you work and so unless you have a great desire to do the work, you will burn out quickly. in other words, i do not think you are missing out on much! later you can always take a refresher course before landing a job in the hospital setting if that is really what you want to do with your career. gl!

[nrswnabee]

wow, congratulations! i have always wanted to work in the area of research. i ended up in an ltc where you have a lot of bedside work but many times, i'd wish i can switch jobs to where i can focus and be calm. i'm sucking it up knowing that all my efforts will not go unrewarded in time. as for you, i'd say take it!!!! you'll never know what opportunities will come knocking next time...

[GMSinCA]

I graduated in May 2009, and am still looking for a hospital job. I am currently working in research also. I say in this economy...take any job you can get. Some experience (research or not) will look better than no experience!

[TullRN2010]

what does reserch nurse do.. out of curiousity? :redbeathe

The role I would have as a research nurse would be to provide clinical evaluation, coordination, implementation and monitoring of patients enrolled in different drug protocols. I would be their main point of contact during their enrollment on the study and handle other protocol-specific tasks. I would be responsible for up to about 25 patients.