mika_sf

Yes, these roles are different. I used to work as a research nurse and most positions involve gathering data for a research protocol written by a principal investigator (usually a physician) or a company acting as a study sponsor, typically a drug or medical device company. The tasks might vary, but often includes screening and enrolling patients into the study, walking through the informed consent process, performing study specific tasks (blood draw, drug infusion, etc.), and ultimately gathering data on the safety and/or efficacy of a particular treatment. A nurse scientist (in my experience) often looks at the nursing process and related patient outcomes, and authoring scientific papers to be submitted to peer reviewed journals. Depending on the job requirements of the research nurse position, you could learn things that would be helpful as a nurse scientist, but if your research interests focus on the field of nursing, rather than which blood pressure medication works best for a particular group of patients, then I would say the nurse leadership/educator would be a better position now to support your future interests.

Hi Sib101, I see that a lot of people have viewed this thread, but no one has had any suggestions so far, which leads me to believe that we are all in the same boat :-) I have continued to use some of the GTD methods to help maintain some sanity and have started to use some other tools as well. I use Evernote to collect documents like study newsletters and other study related documents that do not contain PHI. Evernote is free and searchable, so it's great when you need to go back and look for that monitoring checklist that you were sent, but can't find in your outlook mailbox. I have also been experimenting with two free project management tools, both of which have iphone apps. One is called Azendoo, which is good for creating individual tasks that can let you set dates and then check them off. The other is called Trello which is better for big picture project management, as you can create a project and then individual cards within that project. I'm sure there are a million and one tools that could be used to stay on track, but the trick is finding something that is free and flexible to help you manage the million and one incoming tasks!

Hi Everyone, I have been working part-time for the last few years as a clinical research coordinator and will be starting a new full time Research Nurse Coordinator position in a few weeks. My new position does not have direct patient care, so my duties will be very similar to my previous coordinator duties (phone calls/informed consent/study follow-up/project management/etc). In my previous job, I used this kind of cheesy, but very helpful book to help me organize my files and emails. I also used outlook calendar a lot to help me stay on top of deadlines. I am wondering what tools other research nurse coordinators use to stay on top of the chaos? I really want to make a good impression and feel that this new job will be an opportunity to try out some new methods for keeping up with all of the day to day stuff of the job. Thanks in advance for sharing :-)

IMHO I don't think it has to be an either or decision. I am currently in an ADN RN program, and if there are no jobs when I finish, I will just do a 1 year bridge program to a BSN. That way, I'll either be working and getting experience under my belt (which is really the key to getting the job you want) or I'll be getting my BSN in 3 years rather than 4.

I just wanted to add my thanks to Solneeshka as well! I am also in my first semester and just started clinicals. I think it's incredibly helpful to have a little script to start with (for me at least), because as a new nurse, it's very awkward trying to figure out what to say. I know that once I've gotten some experience, it will be much more natural, and I won't even remember not knowing how to. Having a flow like this will make me a lot more confident the next time I work with a patient and will speed things up as well, because I won't be quite so disjointed in my approach. Thanks again for taking the time to write out an example!

@lilykiss6 - yes, if I moved to Oakland I would take BART to class. I would probably drive to clinicals, but it would depend on where they were. For now, we are trying to find something cheaper in San Francisco, and we have plenty of time since I don't start school until next January.

Thanks for all of the ideas so far! I'm actually married, and my husband works in Oakland which is one reason why I'm considering the move. Of course the cheaper rent, as well as more space while I'm studying is another big factor. Right now we are in a fairly expensive, small apartment. We've looked at a couple of very nice 2 bedrooms in Oakland that are about $600/mo less than we pay now. Once I'm in school, I would most likely take BART to and from school, so driving wouldn't be necessary, but it also depends on when and where I had to do my clinicals. I assume that the hospital where you do your clinicals may change every semester, is that correct?

I just got accepted to CCSF nursing program for spring 2011 and I'm thinking about moving to Oakland from SF to have cheaper rent while I'm in school. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm assuming that getting to and from class will be easy since CCSF is right next to a BART station, but what about clinicals? Was this a huge pain? I've never actually lived in Oakland before (lived in SF for about 10 years), we're looking at the Lake Merritt area. We have a car, so I could drive if I have to, but I would prefer to take public transit if at all possible.

Awesome! Thanks Frankie!

Vines, As a person who has been paying off her $40k loan for the last 15 years (not from nursing), I would HIGHLY recommend going the cc route. You will graduate with actual marketable skills, and if the job market still stinks, you could continue to a BSN bridge program (SFSU has an advanced placement option for RNs without a Bachelor's: SFSU Bulletin 2009/10--Nursing) and STILL pay much much less overall. For me it was definitely worth taking out some loans to go to school, but I really wish I had been more patient and chosen a less expensive route, so that I had more freedom to choose the jobs I wanted and where I wanted to live. As a disclaimer, I should mention that I also got into CCSF for Spring of next year :-) Good luck with whatever path you choose!

Namedkwon, my rank was in the 50s. I'm not exactly sure what was the total number that they accepted for re-applying students. They have the results for re-applying students posted outside of the nursing office so you can see the total number for fall and spring. Don't give up hope, there's still a lot of time between now and January 2011. Some people may have gotten into other programs or decided to wait. Best of luck to you! Frankiebaby, thanks so much for sharing your experience. I'm interested to know, when did you start getting out on the floor for clinicals and what did you do over the summer when you weren't in school? Cheers!

Hi Everyone! After 5 long years of finishing pre-reqs and three years of applying (one of which I totally botched and failed to get into the lottery), I FINALLY got accepted to the CCSF RN program for Spring of 2011! I am so excited and nervous. I am wondering how the spring program differs from the fall program. It seems that I would have one semester, and then a summer break, since CCSF is not holding summer classes. This seems a little weird, and I'm wondering if you feel like you've forgotten everything by the time you return in the fall. Also, it appears that a lot of the new grad programs (like Kaiser) start in the summer when the usual fall programs graduate. Is that true? Is it harder to get a job if you graduate in the winter? Thanks All!

Thanks np20020! This is great info. I am interested to know if you feel that starting out as a NP would have been better for you than working as an RN first. I am currently working on my prereqs to get into nursing school, however there is a MEPN (master's entry nurse practioner) program in my area that accepts any undergraduate bachelor's degree (I have a B.S. in Zoology). You do your RN training the 1st year, work a year in your chosen specialty, and then come back the third year to finish your master's work. I think in the long run I would like to become an NP, but I have two concerns with the MEPN route, 1) I would have to pick a specialty and right now I am equally interested in L&D and geriatrics [not generally considered complementary areas :-)]and 2) I'm afraid that I wouldn't be very effective as an NP without several years of experience as an RN. Any thoughts on this? Thanks!

Hi All, Perhaps (and most likely) I am living in la-la land, but does anyone know of any programs that pay for nursing school if you commit to working in an underserved area? I know that there is a federal program that you can apply for if you are already in school, however, that's the sticky widget for me. I'm not currently in school and already have a B.S. degree, so I am just looking for an associate's program (or master's entry program) that will allow me to become an RN. I was thinking that perhaps there might be a program in West Virginia or another rural area. I'm on the west coast right now and at this point, I'm just looking for options. Any ideas? Thanks!

No, this is actually great! I am still in the same place I was 5 months ago . I can see that many other people have read this posting, so even if it wasn't applicable to me, someone else may have also benefited. Thanks for the response!