Student nurses have been undertaking placements within NIHR Exeter CRF since 2014. These placements are typically 8-12 weeks duration and are available for students during their 1^st and 2^nd years of training.

Placements within the CRF enable student nurses to actively engage with early phase and experimental medicine clinical research and gain understanding of how research findings are effectively translated into clinical care.

Student nurses gain skills and knowledge about the research process as a whole, including research ethics, informed consent, the importance of excellent study design and accurate data collection. They become involved in and observe a wide range of research studies across numerous conditions, such as diabetes, endocrinology, dementia, addictive behaviours, exercise physiology, and neurological conditions.

During their placement, student nurses are able to interact with research volunteers and the multi-disciplinary research team members, undertake clinical measurements, observe patient and public involvement in research and undertake additional training, for example Good Clinical Practice.