Research Assistant II, General Internal Medicine

Research Assistant II, General Internal Medicine

Location: Boston, MA

Schedule: 40 hours per week, on-site

ABOUT BMC:

At Boston Medical Center (BMC), our diverse staff works together for one goal — to provide exceptional and equitable care to improve the health of the people of Boston. Our bold vision to transform health care is powered by our respect for our patients and our commitment to ensure everyone who comes through our doors has a positive experience.

You’ll find a supportive work environment at BMC, with rich opportunities throughout your career for training, development, and growth and where you’ll have the tools you need to take charge of your own practice environment.  

POSITION SUMMARY:

The RA2 will be responsible for the management of an NIH-funded study that will be implemented within Boston Medical Center’s (BMC), Office Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) Program, the largest addiction treatment program of its kind in New England. The main purpose of this position is to implement activities as part of a hybrid effectiveness trial to compare office-based methadone (novel in this setting) and office-based buprenorphine (treatment as usual) within BMC’s OBAT Clinic. BMC is one of six sites involved in this research as part of NIDA’s Clinical Trials Network (CTN-0131).

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Responsible for the administrative aspects of the research study, including: managing program records and handling communication needs of the program.
• Recruits subjects to participate in the study by using approved methodologies, such as, reaching to healthcare providers for referrals, visiting clinics, sending mailouts, using approved advertisements, etc. Develops and implements patent recruitment strategies.
• Conducts the enrollment of study participants, including explaining research procedures, and obtaining informed consent of subjects and/or their families, and completing randomization procedures. 
• Schedules appointments of study participants; conducts reminder phone calls and/or sends mailouts. Assists in data collection and provides feedback on study’s progress.
• Makes independent judgements of suitability of potential participants for clinical trials. Recommends changes to protocols and evaluates data.

ADMINISTRATIVE

• Perform administrative duties associated with the study’s safety monitor, tracking and reporting adverse events and collecting data specified by the lead site. Responsible for all other administrative duties related to research activities.
• Prepares and maintains Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals and correspondence, with both the Boston Medical Center IRB, as well as the central IRB used for the multi-site trial, including amendments and renewals as necessary.
• 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.  Provides technical guidance to junior staff.

OTHER

• Training and orienting new research assistants and other staff
• May serve as team leader or supervisor in a smaller lab; Oversees work of new or junior research assistants.
• Conducts literature searches. Assists Investigators with manuscript and presentation preparation and research.

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:

• Bachelor’s degree is required. Major in a field related to the research highly preferred.
• Master’s Degree is preferred.
• Master's Degree - no experience required

EXPERIENCE:

• 2-5 years of experience and have demonstrated sound independent judgement and competencies in research methodologies.
• Experience with recruiting subjects, with an understanding of the ethical and technical conduct of research. Experience with clinical trials and addiction-related research strongly preferred. 

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

•  Excellent English communication skills (oral and written) and interpersonal skills. 
• Bilingual or multi-lingual skills (beyond that of English) appropriate to the patient population served is a plus. 
•  Cultural sensitivity and comfort with a wide range of social, racial and ethnic populations 
• Analytical skill and ability to resolve technical problems and interpret acceptability of data results
• Experience with statistical analysis tools a plus. Ability to perform basic data management, data analysis and reporting tasks (coding, data entry, data cleaning, retrieval). 
• High degree of computer literacy; experience using quantitative data analysis software helpful (e.g., R, SAS, Python, NVivo). 

This position is funded by a 5 year grant. There may be opportunity beyond this grant funding for position integration into ongoing operations.

JOB BENEFITS:

• Competitive pay
• Tuition reimbursement and tuition remission programs
• Highly subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance options
• Career Advancement/Professional Development: Access a wealth of ongoing training and development opportunities that will not only enhance your skills but also expand your knowledge base especially for individuals pursuing careers in medicine or biomedical research.
• Pioneering Research: Engage in groundbreaking research projects that are driving the forefront of biomedical science.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT:

As the primary teaching hospital for Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and BU schools of public health and dentistry, intellectual rigor shapes our inquiries. Our research is led by a belief that skin color, zip code, and financial circumstances shouldn’t dictate health.

Boston Medical Center is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. If you need accommodation for any part of the application process because of a medical condition or disability, please send an e-mail to Talentacquisition@bmc.org or call 617-638-8582 to let us know the nature of your request.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Disabled/Veterans