Nurses: One Of Life Sciences' Most Valuable Assets
Source: Life Science Leader
By Janice Nissen
When we think of nurses, most of us view this group working in the traditional clinical setting — hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices. However, there is a growing opportunity for nurses to work at pharma, biopharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic, or other related life sciences companies.
Based on my own experience working for a large global biopharma, I can attest that there are plenty of nurses who have made successful careers in this industry. These nurses are not only excelling in their day-to-day roles, but they’re also providing the broader organizations with valuable insights given their understanding of the patients, providers, and sites of care. With life sciences companies increasing their focus on the end users of their innovations (i.e., the patients), there is no healthcare professional who understands both the patient and healthcare settings better than nurses.
IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE NURSING PROFESSION
Just as the COVID-19 pandemic altered many aspects of our personal daily lives, the nursing profession also experienced disruption. Namely, the pandemic created a domino effect in which nurses were actively seeking career opportunities outside of the traditional hospital or clinical settings. Thus, it is an opportune time for life sciences companies to actively recruit nurses to their organizations.
Nursing turnover is at an all-time high. This global turnover trend is concerning for the entire healthcare market as this level of job dissatisfaction is occurring among the segment that represents the largest percentage of healthcare workers. In 2023, CNN reported that since the pandemic, more than 100,000 nurses have left the profession. In addition according to a 2022 McKinsey & Company study, 32% of nurses surveyed plan to leave their current positions. The top factors cited were insufficient staffing levels, seeking a higher-paid position, and not feeling supported. In addition, family demands, emotional toll, and lack of career opportunities were also factors. All of these factors contribute to why I am suggesting that this is an ideal time to recruit nurses to your life sciences organization.
ROLES FOR NURSES IN THE LIFE SCIENCES INDUSTRY
Most nurses are not familiar with the diverse opportunities that exist in the life sciences industry because it was not part of their baccalaureate, masters, or doctoral curriculum. Yet, it is a career option that can mitigate many of the issues they are facing today while leveraging their medical, clinical, and patient knowledge to benefit life sciences companies’ business goals.
Some of the roles in pharma and biopharma that can benefit from a nurse’s medical and clinical background and expertise include pharmacovigilance, product safety, medical writing, medical information, medical science liaison, clinical trial management, health equity, patient engagement, marketing, and sales.
NURSES HAVE KEY TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS
Nurses can play essential roles in the life sciences industry for several reasons:
Clinical expertise: Nurses have a deep understanding of the human body, diseases, and treatments. They bring valuable clinical expertise to the industry which can help companies design and develop products that are safe and effective.
Patient perspective: Nurses work closely with patients and have unique perspectives on their needs, preferences, and experiences. These perspectives can help companies and their medical teams better understand the patient journey and develop products and programs that address patients’ real-world needs.
Communication skills: Nurses are skilled communicators who can explain complex medical concepts in ways that patients can understand. They can also use these skills to help educate healthcare providers and caregivers about new treatments and products.
Adverse event reporting: Nurses are trained to recognize and report adverse events related to medications and treatments. This makes them valuable contributors to the industry as they can help identify potential safety issues and work with companies to address them.
Clinical trial support: Nurses can play critical roles in clinical trials by helping to recruit and screen patients, administer treatments, collect data, and monitor patient safety. Their expertise and experience can help ensure that clinical trials are conducted safely and effectively.
FILLING THE KNOWLEDGE GAP
Even though nurses possess a set of competencies that can be applied to the life sciences industry, they are often unfamiliar with how the pharma/ biopharma and medical device industries operate and how they are regulated. Thus, they may need additional training and education to best position themselves as viable candidates for the diverse roles in the biopharmaceutical industry. Essentially, nurses need a strong understanding of:
what companies are included in the life sciences industry
the regulations that govern pharma/biopharma, medical device, and diagnostic companies
how clinical trials are designed
how health outcomes are determined
the compliance considerations when developing a product in the life sciences industry
the various roles a nurse can assume in the life sciences industry
the considerations in making a career pivot from the bedside to a corporate environment.
There is a need to fill this knowledge gap for nurses, but this concept also applies to other medical professionals in your organization. Recently, the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA) in conjunction with a nursing steering committee, developed a best-in-class educational program for nurses interested in making a career pivot into the life sciences industry, specifically within medical affairs.
In addition to credentialed training, many companies have begun forming networks of medical professionals along with mentor programs to provide support and guidance during the transition from a clinical and/or academic setting to a corporate/ business-focused organization. Understandably, this transition can be stressful and challenging for the individual. Work is done differently, and there are new systems to learn and navigate. Further, they often have to learn to navigate large, complex organizations with different goals, expectations, and priorities than they have been used to. I’ve seen firsthand from nurses I have worked with in life sciences that having this type of background training prior to joining a pharma or biopharma really helps with the transition and increases their overall assimilation to a company. For companies that already employ nurses and medical professionals, this educational background helps to broaden their knowledge bases and offers greater career opportunities within the organizations — which ultimately leads to overall job satisfaction and retention.
I encourage you to think about the opportunity to build and support a greater network of medical professionals within your organization — with a specific focus on nurses. Nurses are trusted, and they are critical thinkers and agile innovators who truly understand your end user — the patient.
JANICE NISSEN, BSN, MBA, MS, is a biopharmaceutical executive who recently retired from Merck where she held leadership roles in sales, marketing, operations, communications, and patient engagement. Currently, she is an independent consultant to ACMA.
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