Research Assistant - Boston Medical Center

POSITION SUMMARY:

This specific Research Assistant (RA) position will support the Vice Chair for Addiction Psychiatry, Dr. Amy Yule, on research projects within the Department of Psychiatry. The main project the RA will be involved with will consist of a randomized controlled efficacy trial of a stepped-care intervention to address maternal depression among families involved in Headstart services. Under the supervision of the Principal Investigator, the Research Assistant duties will include (but are not limited to), assisting with patient recruitment and scheduling study visits virtually and in the community, administering questionnaires and structured observation with preschool-aged children and their mothers, creating and filing case report forms, entering and updating data, maintaining databases, running reports, and performing other administrative tasks in support of the clinical study. The RA maintains contact with the participating sites to insure complete and timely data collection, maintains patient profiles, assists with documenting financial and budgetary needs of the grant, supports the research team with the preparation of data and other reports, and develops and implements patient recruitment strategies and changes to study protocol.

Position: Research Assistant

Department: Psychiatry

Schedule: Full Time

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES / DUTIES:

• Recruits subjects to participate in the study; conducts the enrollment of study participants, including explaining research procedures & protocols, and obtaining informed consent of subjects and/or their families. The informed consent process and study assessments may be performed virtually and in the community.
• Schedules appointments of study participants; conducts reminder phone calls and/or sends mailouts.
• Administers questionnaires, conducts interviews, and assists study participants in navigating through questionnaires at Headstart sites and in participants' home.
• Maintains patient study files in accordance with legal and institutional guidelines.
• Obtains and distributes reimbursements/participation vouchers and/or payments.
• Reviews the data collection forms for each enrollee for completion and quality; checks work of junior staff performing data entry to ensure timely and accurate entry (reviews protocols, , abstracts secondary data from existing records, notes, etc.)
• Performs a variety of data management procedures (e.g., data entry, producing basic reports, data cleaning, database maintenance).
• Provides assistance in the development of reports, grants, presentations and data analysis.
• Assists with manuscript and grant preparation and research.
• Conducts literature searches and synthesizes information in requested formats.
• Attends all required training and meetings of the research team, as instructed by Principal Investigator
• Prepares and maintains Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals and correspondence, including amendments and renewals as necessary.
• Maintains established departmental policies and procedures, objectives, quality assurance programs, safety, environmental and infection control standards.
• Participates in staff meetings/initiatives including appropriate quality improvement and education activities, or if unable to attend non-mandatory activities, accepts responsibility to review meeting minutes and becomes knowledgeable of issues discussed.
• Performs office-related duties such as answering phones, picking up and delivering mail, storing and distributing office supplies, handling faxes, scanning, filing, photocopying, collating materials, maintaining the update of policy manuals, etc.
• Conforms to hospital standards of performance and conduct, including those pertaining to patient rights, so that the best possible customer service and patient care may be provided.
• Utilizes hospital's behavioral standards as the basis for decision making and to facilitate the hospital's goals and mission. Follows established hospital infection control and safety procedures.

OTHER DUTIES:

Training and orienting new research assistants and other staff

Perform other duties as needed.

Must adhere to all of BMC's RESPECT behavioral standards.

(The above statements in this job description are intended to depict the general nature and level of work assigned to the employee(s) in this job. The above is not intended to represent an exhaustive list of accountable duties and responsibilities required).

JOB REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION:

• A minimum of a bachelor's degree is required.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS REQUIRED:

• None required.

EXPERIENCE:

• 1-2 years of experience is required. Experience in Psychological Research or Mental Health clinical studies preferred.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Ability to read and write fluently in English required. Bilingual or multi-lingual skills appropriate to the patient population served (especially Spanish), strongly preferred.
• Professional demeanor, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, attention to detail, reliability and ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Must have the ability to take initiative and handle multiple priorities and tasks.
• Ability to communicate effectively (listen and build trust) and be non-judgmentally with people of different gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, ethnic, language and cultural backgrounds.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (i.e. MS Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook) and web browsers. Experience with statistical software (SPSS) and data management software (NVivo, REDCap) a plus.
• Must successfully complete training in human subjects research certification.
• Ability to work independently after receiving instruction.

SPECIAL WORKING CONDITIONS (Responsible for on-call, 24 hr. coverage, etc.):

May require flexibility to work weekends and evenings
Req id: 31120