Have you ever wanted to use your nursing degree to make a bigger difference in the world? Taking care of patients at the bedside is vital and it’s improving the world one life at a time, but what if you could improve the world in a different way? There are so many nursing specialties where you can really hone your nursing practice and specialize in a area that you feel passionate about. Have you ever thought about working in nursing research? What if you could use your nursing background to improve nursing research through research nursing?
What is Nursing Research?
According to Wikipedia, “Nursing research is research that provides evidence used to support nursing practices. Nursing, as an evidence-based area of practice, has been developing since the time of Florence Nightingale to the present day, where many nurses now work as researchers based in universities as well as in the health care setting”
Education Required to Work in Research Nursing?
Research nursing means you are a nurse scientist and there is specialized training to help prepare you for a transition to this nursing career tract. You will be a nurse investigator and will support advancements in both nursing and science. You can get specializing training in this at universities, medical centers, and even pharmaceutical companies. Many nurses receive post doctoral training in a specialty related to nursing research. There are also online programs for research nurse in the early stages of their career. Find out more about training for nursing research at National Institute of Nursing Research. You can also looking to getting a clinical research nurse certification You can also learn more about education for nurse researchers at the close of this article.
Nurse Researcher Salary
You may be asking yourself how much money can I make in nursing research. While your goal in research nursing should not be to make the big bucks, it’s a question worth asking. According to Explore Health Careers, you can expect to make between $90-100k per year and an excellent career outlook.
Where Can a Research Nurse Work?
You will have a variety of choices in career locations for research nursing. You may choose work in a laboratory, hospital, university, research company, pharmaceutical company, or perhaps a another private business. The type of research you want to work on will likely determine the environment you will work in. You should note that often times research is funded by government grants and each project usually has a specific amount of time it will take place. If you are a person who like to change up what they are working on every few years than this might be a great option for you. Find out more about clinical research nursing.
What Sort of Skills are Need in Research Nursing?
In order to succeed as a nurse research you should be skilled at the following:
- Communication
- Grant Writing
- Collecting and Calculating Data
- Data Entry
- Asking Questions
- Analytical Thinking
- Writing
- Public Speaking
- Networking
Are you interested in learning more about a career in nursing research? Find more information about education and training by searching through our widget in the sidebar or our post on How to Become a Nurse Researcher.
Also check out where to find free CEU for Nurses.
Seriously, you’re using Wikipedia as a source? I would have hoped you’d attempt to use something more scholarly on an article regarding research nursing on a blog titled “Nerdy Nurse”.