What Does a Nurse Researcher Do?
Nurse researcher jobs involve designing and carrying out research studies, either through new data that they create or from existing research. The following is a list of nurse researcher responsibilities:
Primary Responsibilities
- Designing nursing research studies
- Carrying out research
- Documenting that their research protects any human or animal subjects involved
- Publishing findings in peer-reviewed journals or books
- Presenting at conferences
- Keeping up with professional literature
Career Traits
- Strengths in analysis, observation, and written communication
- Ethical in publishing studies and the treatment of human or animal subjects
Where Do Nurse Researchers Work?
Nurse researchers work in academic medical centers, government agencies, and other healthcare providers.
Academic Medical Centers Nurse researchers in academic medical centers conduct research, publish results, and teach undergraduate or graduate students.
Government Agencies In government agencies, these professionals perform research, share findings, and publish results internally or externally.
Publishers Nurse researchers working in publishing select articles for publication, review methodology and validity, and edit articles in collaboration with authors.
Why Should I Become a Nurse Researcher?
Research nurse jobs add to professional knowledge and help nurses to do their jobs with evidence-based research, improving healthcare outcomes. Nursing research doesn't include the same physical demands as clinical nursing and offers more predictable schedules. However, nurse research jobs typically do not pay as much as clinical nursing roles.
Advantages To Becoming a Nurse Researcher
Disadvantages To Becoming a Nurse Researcher
How To Become a Nurse Researcher
Becoming a nurse researcher requires developing skills in research methodology, informatics, statistics, and nursing itself.
How Much Do Nurse Researchers Make?
The annual median research nurse salary is $81,500. Generally, nurse researchers with doctoral degrees earn more than those with master's-level education. Some research nurse professionals in academia qualify for tenure. In general, clinical research associates earn a median salary of $78,344, while certified clinical research professionals earn an average salary of $83,000. However, because of the RN credential, nurse researchers with these certifications generally earn above the average or median for those positions.