Health Science Specialist

Summary This position is located in the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) at VA Central Arkansas Healthcare System (CAVHA) in North Little Rock - AR. The Health Science Specialist is responsible for working closely with and providing a high level of support for GRECC clinicians and investigators in the conduct of human subjects' research and/or the development - implementation - and evaluation of innovative clinical models of care for older veterans. Duties ***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION - YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Coordinating all work-related activities required to complete single-site or multi-site projectsManaging regulatory documents and submitting to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the Research and Development (R&D) Committee all documents required for project approvalProviding or monitoring of projects and adheres to all applicable deadlines for submission of regulatory reports including adverse event reports - annual reports and other reportsAssisting with data collection - document retrieval - and writing reports needed to obtain initial and ongoing approval of the protocol by the IRB and R&D CommitteesAssisting with developing and maintaining a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual and adhering to this manual when administering and implementing the project protocolCompleting all aspects of the screening and recruitment process as stipulated in the project protocol and ensures that all patients/subjects included in the project meet all inclusion and no exclusion criteriaKeeping patients/subjects or their legal representative informed about all aspects of the project in which they are participatingUtilizing and maintaining an electronic record management system for each project and using it to record all applicable recruitment - procedure - and interview dataManaging participant compensation and maintaining compensation recordspreparing invoices for reimbursement of participantsCompleting assigned components of the initial (baseline) and follow-up/interim subject/patient assessmentPreparing and reviewing status reports and statistical data to verify compliance with reports and administrative criteriaAbstracting medical records to obtain data for each project as stipulated in the protocolsProviding data summaries and other project information that is required to complete all mandated project reportsPromoting building of team cohesiveness and effective communication with all individuals involved in any aspect of the project to enable effective team functioning and successful completion of the projectTraining other Health Science Specialists and verifies that they understand and adhere to all aspects of the protocol and all relevant policies - can reliably and correctly perform all proceduresPerforming the duties of a Level 1 quality assurance reviewer which entails auditing research study records for the presence of documentation required to maintain compliance with R&D and IRB standards/requirementsMonitoring and evaluating quality of all data and using proper approach for correcting all errors identifiedCreating daily data monitoring reports to present on-going status of data to the project leadParticipating in establishing operational guidelines for the use of each project assessment instrumentUtilizing appropriate software - entering all data into designated electronic databases and accurately transcribes recorded patient/subject interviewsConducting ongoing intra- and inter-rater reliability testing of all project instrumentsUtilizing various library and on-line search engines to perform extensive literature searches on specific topics as required for a given research or clinical projectPreparing bibliographies for use in various educational materials and tools - journal article submissions - and grant applicationsCompiling and producing education and training materialsAssisting in the preparation of manuscripts authored by a project lead for publication in peer-reviewed health/medical journalsConducting research for the papers and abstracting relevant literatureOther related duties as assignedWork Schedule: Monday - Friday - 7:30 am to 4:00 pm - subject to change based on needs of the facilityRecruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service - increase worker productivity - and better prepare the agency to operate during emergenciesThis position may be authorized for teleworkTelework eligibility will be discussed during the interview processFinancial Disclosure Report: Not Required