title: Professional nursing with a new focus: staff nurse to research coordinator.
abstract: My positive feelings toward the data which will be accumulated abounds with excitement. I have read that one of the major rules of a clinical drug trial is that things never turn out as designated or expected. The volunteer participants really are the silent heroes. Nurses, as professionals, have many avenues for career planning. Nurses can identify what they want to do, reset their goals, and establish a plan to achieve these goals. In retrospect, my years as a staff nurse did educate and prepare me for a change in my professional status. For awhile, I took my staff nurse position for granted. Through all the trials and tribulations, through the happy and sad times, I was being prepared for a role change. I believe in fate as this fell into place for me after I decided to be patient and wait for the proper situation. I encourage any nurse who has similar goals to learn how to seek the appropriate job, go to seminars or take classes, remain a productive member of your unit and learn how to interview. It is definitely worth all the anxiety caused by the waiting.
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University, Department of Neurology, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Chadwick
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods; D007587:Job Description; D009462:Neurology; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000523:psychology* / Q000592:standards; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards