Nurse researcher: always a researcher, sometimes a nurse

A number of theoretical papers have highlighted the concept of the duality and dichotomy of roles when nurses are carrying out research in the clinical arena. The conflicts that can occur are between the roles of researcher and nurse and in the balance between research integrity and the welfare of the individual. There are various personal accounts in the literature of nurse researchers' experiences of unclear role expectations when doing research. There appears to be no consensus on how nurse researchers should handle these varying expectations. No comparative analysis of the reflections of a collective of nurse researchers on role expectations in different clinical contexts was found in an extensive literature search. This paper attempts to do this by analysing stories of a small group of nurse researchers in different clinical contexts. Data were analysed from written stories and audio-taped interviews with nurse researchers about moving from the researcher to the nurse role in doing clinical research. Thematic analysis indicated that the participants' reactions could be classified as either those of a nurse researcher, always the researcher, or as the nurse researcher, sometimes the nurse. There were no distinct differences in relation to research topic, methodology or context. The study highlights the fact that nurses need better research education, team and management support when conducting research and opportunities to debrief after encountering mixed role expectations in the field. Open debate amongst nurse researchers about role delineation is essential to both novices and experts for them to share their experiences and their solutions.