unexpected challenges of research nursing?

I am new to research nursing (5 months). I am involved in a couple of different studies and enjoy learning about the protocols, working with the physicians, etc. However, I was not fully prepared for how many people it can take to get one task accomplished or that you have to figure out how to do a lot of things on your own. I am learning to adapt to this but wondered if others had this experience in the beginning? I am speaking mostly from learning about opening a new clinical trial and all the details that go with this. I figure things will go smoother with time?