The clinical nurse specialist as research coordinator in clinical drug trials

With advanced clinical expertise and knowledge of the research process, the Master's-prepared clinical nurse specialist can engage in research in a variety of settings, including serving as a research coordinator for clinical trials required for new drug development. Based on a review of the literature, this challenging role will be examined in this article. The process of new drug development and the role of the Food and Drug Administration will also be examined. In addition, ethical issues related to conducting research with human subjects will be discussed.