What Is a Clinical Research Nurse?

Nurses can work in many different departments and types of healthcare facilities. One less-known type of nurse is a clinical research nurse. These are nurses who assist with medical trials and research. To become a clinical research nurse, you must earn your nursing license and gain work experience. Read to learn more about clinical research nurses, their responsibilities, and how to become a clinical research nurse.

Responsibilities of a Clinical Research Nurse

Clinical research nurses are nurses who work on clinical trials. Clinical trials are research studies in which new treatments, like medications or medical devices, are tested on human subjects. These nurses must prioritize patient care and the research team they're working with. We've broken down some of their primary responsibilities below.

Providing Care to Patients

Just like clinical nurses provide nursing care in their everyday nursing practice, research nurses provide care to their research patients. The type of healthcare they provide can vary based on the medical research being conducted and the research process.

Patient care responsibilities for nurses in clinical research settings may include:

• taking vital signs, like heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure
• administering medications or vaccines
• watch for side effects and provide interventions if necessary
• assist patients with everyday needs like eating or using the restroom

Collecting Data

Another important part of being a clinical research nurse is data collection. Thorough data is important for medical research. Again, the type of data you gather will depend on the research being done but may include things like recording side effects, how the research participants are feeling from day to day, and how their abilities change daily.

Ensure Patients Are Treated Ethically

Medical research is a tricky field full of regulatory red tape. Clinical research nurses must ensure their patients are treated ethically. This is important for their patient's safety and to ensure the research is valid.

To ensure patient safety and maintain the ethics of a research study, a clinical research nurse may:

• ensure the eligibility of all research participants
• study protocols for medical research
• ensure all research protocols are being met
• provide clinical care to research participants who need it

Collaborate With Researchers

While patient safety and care are usually the number one priority of clinical research nurses, they also need to be able to work with other members of the research unit, such as the principal investigator, clinical research coordinator, and other clinical research associates.

Good communication skills with the research team allow everyone to be on board with the research methodology and research protocols. This ensures patient safety and guarantees clinical research nurses can contribute to medical research.

Documentation

Just as data collection is important for medical research, documentation of that data is also important. Clinical research nurses must record everything, from mild side effects to severe medical emergencies. Documentation is required for other parts of the trial as well. Clinical research nurses must document consent and release forms, and consistently update patient medical records.

How To Become a Clinical Research Nurse

To become a clinical research nurse, you must become a registered nurse (RN). Many nurses also earn advanced degrees to practice as nurse researchers. We've broken down the basic steps below.

Earn an Undergraduate Degree in Nursing

The first step to becoming a clinical research nurse is to earn an undergraduate nursing degree. These are usually available as associate degrees in nursing (ADN) or Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN) degrees. Associate degrees take two years, while bachelor's degrees take four. Some students choose to earn their associate degree, get their nursing license, and then return to school through an RN-to-BSN degree program.

Gain a Nursing License

After you've graduated from an accredited nursing program, you'll be eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). This exam is required for licensure in all states. Other requirements vary by state but may include passing a background check or being certified in CPR or basic life support (BLS). Check your state's nursing board for more information.

Obtain a Graduate Degree in Nursing

A graduate degree in nursing isn't generally required to be a clinical research nurse, but some employers may require or prefer it. Graduate nursing degrees are available as Master of Science in nursing (MSN) or Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). Master of Science in nursing degrees usually take two to three years, while Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees take three to four. Some programs allow you to specialize in specific areas of clinical practice.

Get Clinical Experience

Whether you choose to earn an advanced degree or not, to have a clinical research nursing career, you must first gain work experience in a clinical setting. Often, the best settings to prepare you for clinical research are acute care settings, which are often emergency rooms and urgent care locations.

This experience will help prepare you for the sometimes chaotic field of research medicine. The amount you need to accumulate before landing a role as a research nurse may vary.

Maintain Nursing Licensure

To work as a nurse, whether as an RN, nurse practitioner, or other type of nurse, you must keep your nursing licensure up-to-date. If it expires, you're not legally allowed to provide care. Renewal requirements may vary by state and by licensing board. Often, you'll be required to take a certain amount of continuing education credits and may be required to pay a fee or retest.

Acquire a Clinical Research Nursing Certification

While clinical research certification is not a requirement to work as a clinical research nurse, it can help you get hired. There are a few different certification options.

The Clinical Research Nurse Certification Council (CRNCC) offers a certified clinical research nurse (CCRN-BC). Requirements include holding a valid RN license, having two years of work experience as an RN, accumulating 4,000 hours as a clinical research nurse, and passing an exam.

The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) also offers credentials for clinical research. Several options, including the ACRP Certified Professional (ACRP-CP), require 3,000 hours of human subject research work experience.