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Clinical research nurse skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Angela Mund,

Angela Mund

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical clinical research nurse skills. We ranked the top skills for clinical research nurses based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 27.5% of clinical research nurse resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a clinical research nurse needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 clinical research nurse skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how clinical research nurses use patients:

Performed therapeutic nursing interventions, such as stabilizing patients, providing basic life support, administering medications and initiating corrective actions.
Recorded medical histories, monitored patients, performed diagnostic tests and explained after-care to patients and/or family members.

2. BLS

Here's how clinical research nurses use bls:

Certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support and responsible for BLS certification of staff members and mock codes.
Designed and implemented hospital wide and community American Heart Association Accredited BLS program from 1994-1996.

3. Acute Care

The branch of secondary healthcare which is responsible for giving short-term care to patients recovering from severe injuries or urgent medical problems is known as acute care. Acute care comprises multiple domains like; emergency care, urgent care, short-term stabilization, pre-hospital care, critical care, and trauma care.

Here's how clinical research nurses use acute care:

Provided quality patient care through development, implementation and evaluation of individual patient care plans in a medical/surgical/acute care hospital setting.
Provided triage for acute care situation, direct nursing care medication and immunization administration to minors.

4. Acls

Here's how clinical research nurses use acls:

Perform duties of staff nurse; assisted in writing nursing care plans; carried out medical care plans; ACLS certified.
Care of patients in the emergency department; maintained PALS, ACLS, TNCC, & CEN certifications

5. Surgery

Here's how clinical research nurses use surgery:

Provided complete nursing care for patient populations undergoing procedures related to abdominal surgery, multiple trauma, oncology, and peritoneal dialysis
Administered pain medication through intravenous, oral or subcutaneous injection to recovering patients in the immediate post-operative period of surgery.

6. Quality Care

Here's how clinical research nurses use quality care:

Provided quality care to a variety of post-surgical and procedure patients receiving anesthesia using strong observation, assessment and intervention skills.
Developed quality care systems and standards, including improvement of medical protocols and guidelines.

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7. Critical Care

Here's how clinical research nurses use critical care:

Completed 21 hours of continuing education in obstetric assessment, electronic fetal monitoring interpretation, and critical care communication tools.
Operated and maintained all complex monitoring equipment utilized in the critical care environment.

8. Patient Outcomes

Here's how clinical research nurses use patient outcomes:

Consult and advise physicians and care managers/discharge coordinators on different therapies for optimal patient outcomes.
Developed evaluation plan that encompassed cost effectiveness, patient outcomes and services.

9. Oncology

Oncology is defined as the facet of medicine that deals with cancer. Oncology also deals with the prevention and diagnosis of these diseases. A medical professional who has studied the discipline of oncology is referred to as an â€˜oncologist'. An oncologist can further specialize in their discipline and become a medical oncologist, surgical oncologist, or radiation oncologist.

Here's how clinical research nurses use oncology:

Provide skilled nursing care for patients spanning the pediatric medical spectrum including hematology, immunology, oncology, neurology and endocrinology.
Managed caseload of ambulatory oncology and HIV patients participating in clinical trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute's Intramural Program.

10. Infection Control

Infection control describes the principles and practices used in hospitals and other healthcare facilities to control and minimize the spread of infections with the aim of lowering rates of infection. Infection control refers to the process of detecting and controlling pathogens in order to reduce their spread.

Here's how clinical research nurses use infection control:

Develop policies and procedures according to current evidenced bases practice for department and organization to ensure patient safety and infection control.
Obtained consents and skillfully administered seasonal Influenza vaccines in a variety of settings of clinics while maintaining proper infection control measures.

11. Compassion

Here's how clinical research nurses use compassion:

Collected highly personal information; Demonstrated integrity, respect, compassion and empathy for patients and families.
Provide compassion and a therapeutic environment for the patients.

12. Patient Education

Here's how clinical research nurses use patient education:

Provided patient education, monitored physical condition, planned and implemented care based on needs and initiated emergency procedures when indicated.
Serve as Charge Nurse/Patient Care Coordinator facilitating admissions, discharges, patient education and perform medical rounds with multidisciplinary teams.

13. Rehabilitation

Here's how clinical research nurses use rehabilitation:

Helped the pt in early recovery and rehabilitation with surgical medical conditions assessing encouraging them for early discharge from hospital.
Guided patient to anticipate difficulties regarding medication adherence upon release into the community including substance use, sobriety and rehabilitation.

14. ICU

ICU means intensive care units. It also has a name known as the critical care unit or intensive therapy unit. The ICU handles patients experiencing acute diseases or severe injuries that need specialized treatment procedures by specific professionals.

Here's how clinical research nurses use icu:

Demonstrated clinical leadership and problem solving in a variety of patient care situations including in times of emergent circumstances/medical ICU transfers.
Implemented medical management in combined medical and cardiac ICU.

15. Patient Safety

Here's how clinical research nurses use patient safety:

Designed systems to meet national patient safety goals in medication reconciliation, communications between levels of care and mandatory vaccinations.
Performed patient assessments, medication administration, patient safety, admission/discharges and transfers of patients, educated patient and families.

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What skills help Clinical Research Nurses find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What type of skills will young clinical research nurses need?

Angela Mund

Vice President, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

To meet the needs of our current volatile and complex healthcare landscape, all healthcare providers will need to understand the business of healthcare, in addition to providing expert patient care. Starting in 2025, all graduates from nurse anesthesia programs will be awarded a doctoral degree, a doctorate in nursing practice (DNP), or a doctorate in nurse anesthesia practice (DNAP). These degree programs include additional anesthesia experience as well as an understanding of effective leadership, healthcare economics and reimbursement, the use of big data for improving patient outcomes, and evidence-based practice.

What skills stand out on clinical research nurse resumes?

Angela Mund

Vice President, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

To become a CRNA, the applicant must first be a registered nurse and graduate of a baccalaureate nursing program. A minimum of one year of clinical experience in an intensive care unit (ICU) is required. The application process is rigorous, and many nurse anesthesia programs are seeing higher than typical applicant numbers, perhaps due to the impact of COVID-19 on the ICU nurse workforce.

The most competitive applicants will have an overall GPA >3.5. Basic science courses are heavily weighted with respect to both course grade and type of course. A competitive resumé should include evidence of clinical expertise, leadership, volunteerism, and scholarly work. In addition, all registered nurse applicants should have shadowed a CRNA to learn about the profession prior to application. The interview process may include assessments of critical thinking, decision-making, and emotional intelligence.

What soft skills should all clinical research nurses possess?

Diane Salvador Ph.D.

Executive Director and Professor, Elmhurst University

The most important skill for new nursing graduates is critical thinking. You will be put into varying roles and assume different responsibilities. You must critically think and evaluate situations you find yourself in and make wise nursing decisions. Another important skill that we emphasize in education is communication - this is key to safe, quality care.

What hard/technical skills are most important for clinical research nurses?

Diane Salvador Ph.D.

Executive Director and Professor, Elmhurst University

New nurses should be prepared to demonstrate proficiency in basic nursing care and procedures. It is important to realize that each hospital has its own policy and procedure to follow, so taking advantage of your nurse preceptor and orientation program will ensure you are familiar with these basic procedures.

What clinical research nurse skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Michelle Hampton Ph.D.

Associate Professor, San Jose State University

I think there are always opportunities to work and gain experience once the nurse is licensed. They might need to be creative, flexible, and work where there's a need. That might be a specialty area they hadn't considered or a geographic area that requires some travel. I don't think a gap year is inevitable for all new graduates and there might be opportunities for them to find work, and they can always continue the learning process after you're employed, even if it's not your dream job. The more significant obstacle seems to be for students who are currently still in nursing programs.

Clinical sites weren't accepting students for several months, and now that they are again, they have significantly limited the number of students allowed at one time and the number of hours they can train. When a staff member or patient tests positive, students are pulled from the site for some time, and students are struggling to get the minimum number of hours required to continue progressing in the nursing program. Some schools have even suspended admission for new groups of students instead choosing to focus on getting the current students through the program.

What technical skills for a clinical research nurse stand out to employers?

Dr. Antonio Fernandez

Professor, Barry University

To properly implement this new, inevitable working culture which will impact the job market, the employers will start looking for the new type of employee, capable of efficiently working alone, remotely, flexible in the hours, and schedule accommodation since no physical buildings will be necessary thus eliminating the need for the teams sharing a location in a given city or even country. Meeting, conferences, discussions will be held with participants in different geographical and time zones. The capacity to adapt to continuous changes and innovation will be an indispensable skill sought after by employers second only to the most important, the highest valued skill technical knowledge and expertise in the new formats. Computer, digitalization, web navigation, encryption of data and messages.

Do you want to know more?

List of clinical research nurse skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a clinical research nurse resume and required skills for a clinical research nurse to have include:

Patients
BLS
Acute Care
Acls
Surgery
Quality Care
Critical Care
Patient Outcomes
Oncology
Infection Control
Compassion
Patient Education
Rehabilitation
ICU
Patient Safety
Physician Orders
Telemetry

Direct Patient Care
IV
Informed Consent
Data Collection
Advanced Life Support
Medical Care
Clinical Trials
Family Education
Chemotherapy
Research Studies
Vital Signs
Medication Administration
Home Health
Primary Care
Resuscitation
OB
PACU

IRB
Discharge Planning
HIPAA
EKG
GI
Phone Calls
Excellent Interpersonal
Diabetes
Surgical Procedures
Registered Nursing
Patient Flow
FDA
PET
EMR
Appeals

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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