Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a recognized as a leading public health problem worldwide that impacts more than 10% of the global population. Healthcare systems are facing a considerable growth in the number of people with CKD and its substantial financial burden.

Aim: The aim of the study was to understand how nurses who provide care to people with CKD perceive and experience their roles and to identify different factors that positively or negatively affect the implementation of nurses’ roles.

Methods: An Interpretative Phenomenology Approach (IPA) was conducted that involved in depth individual semi-structured interviews with sixteen nurses working in CKD care. The sample was purposive and homogeneous, and the participants came from all the district hospitals of the Republic of Cyprus. The transcribed data was analysed, and key themes were identified.

Findings: The study revealed that nurses have multiple roles in CKD care including machine operators, providers of holistic care, unit bureaucrats, patient educators, and emotional supporters. However, it was clear that these roles differed amongst various work settings. Various factors affecting nurses’ roles were identified and classified into major themes: Nurse preparation, Organisational issues, Barriers to patient education, Difficult patients, and Nurses’ defensive behaviour.

Conclusion: Nurses play a key role in the provision of quality care to patients with CKD including the appropriate education. There are numerous factors that may facilitate or inhibit nurses’ professional roles performance, and a proposed framework has been developed to enhance CKD care which describes how healthcare organisations, nurses, and patients could contribute and support the delivery of high-standard nursing care.