Nursing careers can go beyond the hospital floor, the administrative office, and the classroom. Nurses also thrive in the research labs as bench scientists, studying new ways to improve individual and community health practices, whether they concern disease processes or educational systems.
Nurse scientists may not necessarily look for a specific cure, instead focusing more on the symptoms or the illness experience; maintaining well-being; and promoting culture of life in patients. Regardless of their focus, these nurses use the scientific methods of inquiry to investigate and help solve global health problems.
Several UNLV Nursing instructors also double as scientists, dividing their time between their class work and their lab work. Much like their other campus counterparts, nurse scientists are key to elevating not just health science but UNLV as a whole to maintain R1 status as a Top Tier research facility.