Translational clinical research has emerged as an important priority for the
national research enterprise, with a clearly stated mandate to more quickly
deliver prevention strategies, treatments and cures based on scientific innovations
to the public. Within this national effort, a lack of consensus persists
concerning the need for clinical nurses with expertise and specialized training
in study implementation and the delivery of care to research participants. This
paper reviews efforts to define and document the role of practicing nurses in
implementing studies and coordinating clinical research in a variety of clinical
settings, and differentiates this clinical role from the role of nurses as scientists
and principal investigators. We propose an agenda for building evidence that
having nurses provide and coordinate study treatments and procedures can
potentially improve research efficiency, participant safety, and the quality of
research data. We also provide recommendations for the development of the
emerging specialty of clinical research nursing.