Abstract
As someone with experience spanning 10 years as a research nurse in a variety of settings, I read this study with great interest. The findings resonate strongly with my own practice and observations and I suspect that all clinical research nurses who read this paper will recognise, in some of the themes presented, things they have encountered in their own practice.
The processes involved in clinical research delivery must be of the highest quality at every stage and the clinical research nurse has a key part to play in ensuring this is the case. The authors of this paper have shown that there are adverse factors, which are often outside the direct control of clinical research nurses, that have the potential to impact on clinical research. This, in turn, may go on to influence clinical decision making and patient care.
It is imperative therefore that managers and leaders nurture a culture that enables clinical research teams to thrive in their development and practice. Managers and leaders need an awareness of the adverse factors reported in this paper and how they may affect their workforce. In collaboration with receptive leadership (including the model of self-leadership), the findings presented in this paper may be used reflectively to inform practice.
This paper has identified findings which are relevant not just to the individual and their organisation, but also local and national strategies and priorities which all play their part in ensuring the impact of the clinical research nurse is positive and potent in enabling the delivery of high quality clinical research. The authors importantly demonstrate how individual leadership skills can be developed and go on to influence and affect policy decisions both locally and nationally.
There is rich, qualitative data in this study, and I would urge all who work in clinical research delivery to read this paper. Along with other work recently published, such as the referenced Whitehouse Report (2018) this paper contributes to an emerging body of knowledge in this area.