Becoming a nurse researcher means following a path that combines clinical experience, methodological training and the gradual acquisition of scientific independence. For Giulia Villa, a researcher in Nursing Science at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (UniSR), it all began at IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, in the urology unit, where she worked for years before turning to research. The detail matters: the hospital is an IRCCS, a Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalisation and Healthcare, where clinical care and research coexist by institutional mandate.
Villa’s path took her through a Master’s degree, a first-level university Master (a one-year postgraduate specialisation course in the Italian system), an advanced training course and a PhD. Today she studies the needs, experiences and care outcomes of people living with incontinence or a stoma, and develops new education and support programmes for them throughout their care pathway. This is one of the research strands on which the Center for Nursing Research and Innovation (CeNRI) was built. The centre, directed by Professor Duilio Fiorenzo Manara, has been active since 2016. Its mission is to advance nursing research so as to raise the quality of care and patient safety, through innovation and by applying research findings to everyday nursing practice.
In recent years Villa has also focused on participatory approaches to research, in collaboration with Maya Fedeli, Citizen Science & EU Project Communication Officer, and on science communication with Eufemia Putortì, Head of the Public Engagement Office.
Here is what it really takes to follow a similar path.
How to Become a Nurse Researcher: Giulia Villa’s Path
«I’m a nurse. I worked in hospital for a few years, caring for patients, and it was at IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, in the urology unit, that I started out», Villa recalls. Over time, the hospital’s focus on research increasingly caught her attention: «To move closer to research, I decided to do a Master’s degree in Nursing and Midwifery, then an advanced course in Finland on developing new measurement tools, and finally a PhD in Nursing Science and Public Health», she explains. «It was the PhD that gave me the level of training you need to do research independently».
What You Need for a Career in Nursing Research
What qualities make someone suited to becoming a nurse researcher? «Motivation, curiosity and a strong commitment to lifelong learning are essential in nursing research: people who do research never stop studying and questioning what they know», Villa emphasises.
«Researchers also need to recognise that a solid grounding in clinical, discipline-specific knowledge is essential. Personally, I work mainly on incontinence and stomas because those are the conditions of the people I looked after for years on the ward. On other topics I can contribute my methodological and disciplinary expertise, but I can’t always come up with new research ideas independently, because I don’t have the same depth of specialist clinical knowledge, which you also build through hands-on practice».
Why Nursing Research is a Team Effort
Villa challenges an idea that is still widespread: the image of the researcher working in isolation on their own data. «Research is not for people who like working alone, or for those who think results depend entirely on the individual. It’s a group effort, with all the difficulties and strengths that come with any kind of teamwork», she explains. Doing research therefore means learning to exchange views, negotiating your ideas, respecting other people’s pace and putting your skills at the service of the group. «In my view, the generosity of sharing is a very important part of doing this job well», she adds.
Then there is the ability to listen, which concerns the very people the research is conducted for. Patients are active participants in research: they can help steer research questions and identify needs that risk being overlooked from the outside. «Working with patient associations taught me how little a researcher actually knows at the outset about people’s real needs. I realised how essential it is to listen and set aside your own assumptions about what is worth studying. The most valuable information and the strongest research ideas come from patients».
Even when their role moves largely from the bedside to research, nurses remain attentive to the needs of the people in their care, with the aim of producing knowledge that improves treatment and care, for patients and across the community.
Why Clinical Experience Matters for Nurse Researchers
On the value of hands-on experience, Villa is unequivocal: «The research ideas that led to my most interesting projects came from my clinical experience, which is what inspired me. Anyone who has never worked on a ward finds it hard to grasp what we’re talking about».
It is possible to follow an academic path that leads straight from the Master’s degree in Nursing and Midwifery to a PhD, even with clinical experience limited to what students gain during their training. «I’m convinced, though», Villa notes, «that working on a ward gives you an edge. You can also take the Master’s degree while you continue working, although it requires a significant investment of time and study. When it comes to research, clinical experience alone is not enough: it has to go hand in hand with solid methodological training, the persistence to dig deeper and a readiness to keep challenging what you know».
For nurses currently working on a ward and wondering whether a PhD makes sense, Villa’s message is a practical one: becoming a nurse researcher takes time, a solid clinical foundation, and the willingness to work in a team and keep re-examining your own ideas. You need clear goals and a genuine desire to become a researcher, in order to design studies that improve patients’ lives starting from their needs.
At UniSR, that path runs through the Master’s Degree in Nursing and Midwifery, and the research centre directed by Professor Duilio Manara continues to shape it through new projects and international collaborations.
CeNRI’s research activities
CeNRI also works on other lines of research in clinical nursing, education and organisation, as well as on the phenomenology and ethics of care. Alongside its director, Prof. Manara, and Dr Villa, the centre’s team includes Dr Debora Rosa, Dr Ilaria Marcomini and Dr Andrea Poliani.
Find out more about the Center for Nursing Research and Innovation
