Working title:

Research & Practice Support Specialist - WREN - Dept. of Family Medicine

Official title:

SR RESEARCH SPEC(T16BN) or RESEARCH SPECIALIST(T16DN) or ASSOC RESEARCH SPEC(T16FN)

Degree and area of specialization:

Bachelor's Degree in Biological Science, Physical Sciences, Health professions or related field.

Minimum number of years and type of relevant work experience:

- Minimum of 2 years of health care research or quality improvement experience preferred.
- Experience in medical research or primary care service.
- Demonstrated communication (written and spoken) skills with medical providers, researchers, quality improvement teams and clinic managers.
- Demonstrated application of specific research methods for practiced-based research, physician and patient recruitment, and the management and conduct of any of a variety of research studies in diverse primary care medical settings.
- Must be self-motivated and goal orientated with excellent organization skills and able to meet goals with a minimum of supervision.
- Computer literacy needed for literature searches, data entry, data management, data tabulation, statistical analysis and data.
- Proficiency in MS Excel and Word required; experience and expertise with MS PowerPoint and Access is desired.

Principal duties:

JOB SUMMARY: The Research and Practice Support Specialist (Research Specialist) is an integral member of the Wisconsin Research and Education Network (WREN) and the UW Department of Family Medicine. The position will be the primary assistant to the WREN Network Coordinator and research project Principal Investigators. For the current projects, the position will work on a variety of tasks to assist in the development of the Wisconsin Research Network infrastructure and support the conduct of research activities in conjunction with the network. Some travel within the state of Wisconsin will be required.

DUTIES:

1. Provide research and administrative support to the WREN Network Coordinator.

2. Provide direct on-site and telephone support for clinical practices conducting WREN research and/or Quality Improvement (QI) projects.

3. Develop and nurture working relationships with assigned WREN members clinical staff, develop rapport with key clinic staff and problem solve to facilitate teambuilding to result in establishing systems fitting the culture of the individual site.

4. Document assigned WREN practice¿s qualitative and quantitative measurements.

5. Communicate best practices and issues observed in assigned WREN practices to WREN administrative team.

6. Develop data instruments, data collection systems and data reporting methods that are compatible with office systems in multiple clinical sites. Data instrument development requires an understanding of the research question and may include focus groups, face-to-face or telephone patient interviews, patient questionnaires, medical record reviews, or extracting information from computerized medical information systems.

7. Develop project specific effective QI reporting and performance tools and reports. Provide data reports to WREN project teams for the purpose of meeting/exceeding quality goals.

8. Resolve concerns relating to the research/QI undertakings as may be expressed by WREN project teams in assigned study sites, taking direct action to address issues in a timely manner and/or bringing them to the attention of the Principal Investigator or Project Manager, if necessary.

9. Conduct and manage all aspects of human subject data collection in assigned clinics. These activities include, but are not limited to: scheduling and conducting interviews, extracting data from medical records and reporting results to appropriate audiences.

10. Assist the WREN Network Coordinator with writing and providing required protocols and consent forms to UW Institutional Review Board (UW IRB) for initial applications, expedited reviews and continuing reviews.

11. Use PowerPoint or similar presentation tools appropriate to report research results to state and/or national audiences.

12. Other WREN support activities as necessary.

Additional Information:

- Work schedule on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8 AM to 4 PM; work schedule on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays is negotiable within the hours of 8 AM to 5 PM depending on position percentage.
- Prefix assignment determined by years of relevant experience.
- Extensive driving is required and must provide own transportation for which mileage traveled will be reimbursed through project resources at the current state level.
- Employment contingent upon results of criminal background check.

TO ENSURE CONSIDERATION

Application must be received by: AUGUST 12, 2008

HOW TO APPLY:

Unless another application procedure has been specified above, please send resume and cover letter referring to Position Vacancy Listing #59608 to