Nursing student placements in clinical research.

Research is part of the remit of the NHS and consequently many patients participate in research studies. Clinical nurses have a vital role in research, since they care for patients who participate in studies and act as patient advocates during research. However, nursing students are rarely provided with an opportunity to undertake a research placement. They therefore have a limited understanding of what being a research participant involves for patients. This article describes the type of research carried out in an NHS trust in northwest England, how research placements were set up in that trust and the beneficial effects on learning of such placements. The aim of the article is to encourage other research nurses to set up student placements and encourage nursing students to request research placements.