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Humanistic reflections of a research nurse in a longitudinal study: A personal essay
Abstract
The purpose of this paper, first, is to share my ‘lived experience’ as a research nurse, in a longitudinal survey design study, who followed lung cancer patients and their family caregivers throughout the illness duration. I embraced an overarching ‘humanistic’ philosophy to ‘come to terms’ with my intra- and interpersonal reactions arising from my role as a human research tool. These reactions were best captured by Paterson and Zderad’s (1976) humanistic concepts of authenticity, vulnerability, relating, disclosure and enclosure, and presence. Second, I will describe how I dealt with these concepts within the context of a research nurse role.
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