Many individuals have a love of nursing and science and the two go together beautifully. For those who love the scientific process and also enjoy nursing aspects, a career as a nurse researcher may be a great option.
Overview
A nurse research is a scientist who studies different aspects of health, illness, and even health care. The goal of the nurse researcher is to improve health, healthcare services, and healthcare outcomes. The nurse researcher has many different responsibilities including coming up with research questions, designing and conducting scientific studies, collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting the findings of any studies, data collection, etc.
There are many possible roles for a nurse researcher. Many write articles and reports for medical and professional journals. Others may hold the position of research assistant, data coordinator, and clinical research monitor. Generally these studies are used to deliver healthcare to patients more effectively and efficiently than ever before. Others may focus on improving quality of life for those with chronic conditions, encouraging patients, ensuring the health and safety of patients, and even to provide care and comfort to patients.
Working Conditions
A nurse researcher can work in many different settings such as research organizations, laboratories, universities, and more. Some nurses for the same company while others move from privately funded project to project. While the work of being a research nurse might seem repetitive to some, it can be a very rewarding career as new ways to improve health care are found. The average salary of a nurse researcher is $95,000, although this can vary widely.
Academic Requirements
A research nurse is generally one who is a registered nurse with a four year degree. Most research nurses will go onto complete their master’s degree, and then a Ph.D. In addition to academics, the research nurse must be very scientific, willing to explore questions and find their solutions.