Exploring the Lived Experiences of Nurses in Research Facilities

Clinical research nursing integrates patient care, scientific inquiry, and ethical responsibility. This study explored how Filipino nurses experience, manage, and interpret their specialized roles within research-oriented healthcare environments nationwide today. A qualitative Husserlian descriptive phenomenological design was used. Nine registered nurses with clinical research experience were purposively selected from research facilities in the Philippines. Data were gathered through validated semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi’s Seven-Step Method, including significant statement extraction, meaning formulation, thematic clustering, exhaustive description, and member checking. Findings revealed that bedside nursing emphasized immediate, unpredictable care, whereas research nursing required protocol adherence, coordination, documentation, and accountability. Participants faced complex protocols, workload demands, ethical tensions, and participant barriers. They coped through organization, teamwork, mentorship, support, and continuous learning, viewing their role as linking science, care, and future healthcare. Research nursing extends traditional nursing practice by combining clinical judgment, participant advocacy, scientific integrity, and regulatory responsibility. Participants viewed themselves as protectors of participants, stewards of evidence, and contributors to future treatments. Their experiences demonstrated that compassion, trust, adaptability, accountability, and lifelong learning remain central to effective clinical research nursing. Clinical research facilities should strengthen orientation, protocol-specific training, mentorship, workload management, and multidisciplinary communication. Institutions should provide psychological support, adequate staffing, and participant-centered retention strategies. Nursing schools should integrate clinical research competencies into curricula, while future studies should examine diverse regions, institutions, and therapeutic areas to develop responsive practice frameworks.