Research Assistant I, JS

The Research Assistant I (RA) will support a study looking at the impact of Home Hospital (i.e., advanced hospital-level care at home) on patient safety events in the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. MGB has had Home Hospital programs for 8 years and has cared for over 4000 patients, one of the largest patient cohorts in the country.

This study will involve a retrospective review of Home Hospital patients compared with a matched cohort of patients cared for in the traditional hospital setting. Outcomes will include patient safety events, length of stay, discharge destination, and 30-day readmission rates. We will also conduct subgroup analyses to determine if the impacts of Home Hospital differ by race/ethnicity, payor, Area Deprivation Index, reason for admission, and Home Hospital point of entry (e.g., Emergency Department vs. early hospital discharge).

The RA is expected to work within a multidisciplinary research team. An RA with a high level of professionalism and strong interpersonal skills is required to provide first line support for queries from study stakeholders and participants. The RA will possess excellent attention to detail and critical thinking skills.

Specific activities include assisting with institutional review board approvals/submissions and adjudicating potential safety events identified by automated screening; assisting with scheduling and taking minutes at research meetings; database management, data cleaning and analysis; literature searches; manuscript preparation, reporting activities, and other administrative tasks as needed. The RA will receive training in identifying patient safety events from the electronic medical record and best practices in clinical research.

• Utilize the MGB Insight portal for IRB submissions, revisions, and amendments
• Adjudicate potential patient safety events (e.g., hospital-acquired infections, falls with serious injury, hospital-acquired delirium, pressure ulcers, opioid-related adverse drug events) utilizing the Epic electronic medical record
• Perform data extraction using the hospital EMR for transfer into RedCap in a confidential, detail-oriented manner
• Utilize project management software such as Microsoft Teams for taking minutes, tracking milestones, etc.
• Utilize RedCap, MS Excel, and other database tools to assist in data collection efforts, database development, data cleaning, and descriptive data analysis so data can be analyzed by a statistician
• Perform general topic searches and specialized literature database searches. Retrieve journal articles from the Internet or library. Maintain a bibliographic library of supporting material.
• Schedule conference calls and in-person meetings; prepare agendas and pre-meeting materials; prepare meeting minutes
• Help with the preparation of talks and presentation materials including PowerPoint slides, tables, and graphs.
• Assist with the preparation of formal research reports and manuscripts for publication in professional journals and presentation at national/international conferences.
• Photocopying, electronic mailing, sending mail, faxing, documenting project work, and other administrative duties as required.

• Bachelor’s Degree and an interest in healthcare, quality and safety of healthcare processes, and the use of technology to support clinical care.
• Certification in the protection of human research subjects (can be obtained after hire)
• Competency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel.
• Experience with data management, including using word-processing, spreadsheet, REDCap and EndNote preferred.
• Familiar with qualitative methods preferred.
• Training will be provided as needed to accomplish all necessary tasks

• Excellent interpersonal skills required for working with study staff.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to demonstrate professionalism and respect.

• Good oral and written communication skills.
• Regard for patient privacy essential.
• Strong work ethic, industrious.

• Organizational skills and ability to prioritize tasks.

• Ability to complete work and to meet deadlines.
• Competency with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Ability to use medical bibliographic retrieval programs and qualitative software programs helpful.