Why Nurses Are the Unsung Heroes Pharma Needs

When I was pregnant with my son, I developed gestational diabetes.

I was cared for by an incredible team at CHUV Hospital in Lausanne, endocrinologists, physiotherapists, nutritionists, but the person who managed me most closely wasn’t the consultant. It was an endocrinology nurse.

And honestly? What that nurse didn’t know about gestational diabetes wasn’t worth knowing.

We didn’t just talk about blood sugar levels. We had deep conversations about disease mechanisms, why it had happened to me, and what I could do to protect my long-term health. His guidance helped me manage my diabetes during pregnancy and, more importantly, inspired me to keep healthy habits afterwards: no small feat in the middle of a global pandemic.

He told me, sadly, that many women in similar situations went on to develop type 2 diabetes afterwards. I didn’t. And that was thanks to him.

That experience proved something we don’t talk about enough: nurses are absolutely critical in every care pathway.

Nurses at the Heart of Care

Across every specialty, from endocrinology to oncology, nurses hold care pathways together. They spend the most time with patients, monitor outcomes, explain treatments, and translate complex science into everyday action. In many cases, it’s the nurse, not the consultant, who’s the consistent point of contact.

They’re not just caregivers:

• Researchers — running and coordinating clinical studies.

• Educators — making complex science understandable.

• Advisors — often the first line of patient support.

• Connectors — supporting consultants and multidisciplinary teams with day-to-day monitoring and education.

And this isn’t just perception, it’s backed by data. In one ICU study, patients spent 86% of their in-room care time with nurses, compared with just 13% with physicians.¹ On general wards, nurses spent around a third of their shift inside patient rooms, while doctors averaged only about 15% of their time in direct patient contact.²

The reality? Nurses are the ones who see the day-to-day changes, who notice small shifts before they become major problems, and who become the main point of contact for patients and families. That level of presence shapes trust and outcomes in ways numbers alone can’t capture.

A Workforce Under Pressure

Here’s the reality: nurses are leaving frontline care in concerning numbers.

• In the UK, 28,789 nurses and midwives left the register in 2024/25 — 3.5% of the entire workforce — citing workload, stress, and wellbeing.³

• Vacancy rates remain high: 7.5% of registered nurse posts in England were unfilled in March 2024.⁴

• Newly qualified nurses are quitting sooner than ever, often due to unsafe staffing levels and burnout.⁵

• This isn’t just a UK problem. Across Europe, 1 in 5 healthcare workers has considered leaving their job in the past year, while in the US, projections suggest up to 800,000 registered nurses could exit by 2027.⁶ ⁷

Those stats aren’t just numbers. They represent exhausted professionals at the edge of burnout, colleagues covering impossible shifts, and patients losing access to skilled care.

But here’s the opportunity: leaving the NHS or hospital wards doesn’t mean nurses’ skills are lost. Far from it.

Where Do Nurses Go When They Leave?

Many nurses redeploy their expertise in sectors where clinical knowledge is critical. Pharma and biotech are obvious homes.

Roles I’ve seen nurses thrive in include:

• Medical Affairs (Medical Managers, Medical Directors): shaping strategy with scientific insight and clinical experience.

• MSL (Medical Science Liaison): building trust-based relationships with HCPs, just as they did with doctors and patients.

• Field Medical/Clinical Educators: translating complex data into actionable education.

• Clinical Operations: coordinating studies, managing protocols, ensuring trial design works in practice.

• Clinical Science: bringing bedside insights into study design and interpretation.

But pharma isn’t the only destination. Nurses also transition into:

• Clinical research (CROs, trial coordination, monitoring).

• Occupational health, applying expertise in safety and wellbeing across industries.

• Insurance and case management, where clinical knowledge drives decisions.

• Academia, education, and policy, where their practical insights shape the next generation of care and standards.

The point is: when nurses step away from the bedside, their impact on healthcare doesn’t end, it just shifts.

Why Nurses Belong in Pharma

The attributes that make nurses indispensable in hospitals are the same ones that make them powerful in industry:

• Deep scientific knowledge rooted in patient care.

• Outstanding communication skills.

• A systems-wide understanding of healthcare.

• A patient-first mindset.

This isn’t just “transferable.” It’s transformative. Nurses bring the lived reality of patients into research, evidence generation, and strategy, and when they’re in the room, pharma makes better decisions.

Preparing for New Directions

If you’re a nurse wondering what’s next, here’s the truth: your skills are not confined to the ward.

What helps when transitioning?

• Building technical knowledge (clinical research, pharmacovigilance, data literacy, regulatory affairs).

• Strengthening transferable skills (project management, scientific writing, stakeholder communication).

• Exploring industries beyond the obvious, from biotech and CROs to occupational health and health tech.

Because here’s the key: leaving frontline healthcare doesn’t mean leaving impact behind. Nurses’ voices and expertise matter in every part of the healthcare ecosystem.

If you’re a nurse thinking about your next step, I want you to know: your skills aren’t just valuable, they’re vital.

Nurses belong in this industry. When they’re in the room, everyone wins.

References

1. Hollnagel K, et al. Time and Motion Study of ICU Clinicians. PubMed ID: 29649458.

2. Westbrook J, et al. How nurses spend their time on medical and surgical wards. BMC Health Serv Res. 2011;11:319.

3. Nursing & Midwifery Council (UK). Professionals who left the NMC register in 2024/25.

4. NHS England / NHS Digital. NHS Vacancy Statistics, England: April 2015–March 2024.

5. Royal College of Nursing. Huge increase in nurses quitting early. Press release, 11 Nov 2024.

6. Eurofound. Working conditions in healthcare. 2022 report.

7. National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). Workforce Survey Report 2023.