Can a nurse (RN) be involved in medical or pharmaceutical research rather than patient care?

My daughter wants to study infectous diseases, do drug research, etc. and several people have told her to get her RN. She doesn't want to work with patients however. Do you agree that nursing can be an effective way to enter the research field?

From what I read your daughter should inquire about pharmaceutical studies, Which is what I'm currently doing.. Even though she has to collect data on patients involved in drug researches it will not be as direct as a RN or Medical Doctor.

It would definitely help to get in at the ground level of nursing, medicine or pharmacy, if you want to get involved in any area of the health care disiciplines. You have to get into the lingo of the primary focus of your research interests.

Just as a layperson, I don't know that RN would be the right route for your daughter for the mere fact that she does not want to work with patients. Nursing students do a lot of clinicals, fieldwork in healthcare facilities and most, if not all, of their hands-on experience is in direct patient care. The suggestion was probably due to those with a nursing degree seemingly have a wide range of job areas to choose from (or that was how it used to be :) Perhaps she can look into getting a degree in biology, chemistry, pharmaceutical science, public health/epidemiology. I was, however, under the impression that those that work in research have at least a master's degree if not a doctoral degree.

nursing is a great field and is not limited to patient care. have your daughter speak to a counselor at her local community college for more info.