The nurse clinician as research participant recruiter: experience from a longitudinal intervention study.

One of the most critical phases involved in carrying out a research project is participant recruitment. Recruitment into clinical trials and health programs is a primary public health challenge, particularly among adolescents. Special skills and abilities are needed to successfully recruit participants from this developmental age group. This paper describes the similarities found between the recruitment process developed for a randomized controlled trial with adolescents and the steps of the nursing process, and demonstrates that knowledge of the nursing process can assist in successfully recruiting individuals for a research study. Even without research training, clinical nurses can play a significant role in research studies because of their skills and experiences with the nursing process. Thus, nurse scientists and clinicians can work together successfully to conduct research studies and health projects that involve challenging recruitment efforts.