How to hire a medical research assistant

How to hire a medical research assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step medical research assistant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a medical research assistant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new medical research assistant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a medical research assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your medical research assistant job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a medical research assistant for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

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   Hiring the perfect medical research assistant also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of medical research assistant salaries for various roles:

   Type of Medical Research Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Medical Research Assistant	Medical assistants complete administrative and clinical tasks in the offices of physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities. Their duties vary with the location, specialty, and size of the practice.	$12-30
   Medical Scribe	As a medical scribe, their main responsibility is to follow a physician's daily work and do charting of patient encounters in real-time by accessing their medical electronic health record (EHR). It is their duty to make sure the patient schedules are followed, generate referral letters for physicians and manage and sort medical documents within the EHR... Show more	$11-18
   Medical Internship	When it comes to a medical internship, one of the primary duties is to attend to the patients' needs while under a more experienced physician's supervision. During this period, the medical interns must rotate in various fields of specialties or departments for exposure... Show more	$15-37

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • DR
   • Vital Signs
   • Medical Terminology
   • Phlebotomy
   • Surgery
   • Patient Appointments
   • EKG
   • Blood Pressure
   • Surgical Procedures
   • Appointment Scheduling
   • Exam Rooms
   • Medical Procedures

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Create and maintain confidential patient files; implement EHR systems to automate patient records management for the purposes of meaningful use.
   • Conduct intake and triage of medical histories for new and returning patients.
   • Record patient's medical history, vital statistics and information into charts and EMR.
   • Perform appointment scheduling and registration for patients as well as updating patient demographic and insurance information.
   • Perform tests (EKG's), as per protocol.
   • Sustain compliance with OSHA and HIPPA standards.

   More medical research assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the medical research assistant job description is a good way to get more applicants. A medical research assistant salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a medical research assistant in Arkansas may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level medical research assistant. Additionally, a medical research assistant with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average medical research assistant salary

   $40,303yearly

   $19.38 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level medical research assistant salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

   Average medical research assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$69,614	$33
   2	New York	$59,654	$29
   3	California	$59,511	$29
   4	Connecticut	$57,575	$28
   5	District of Columbia	$57,433	$28
   6	Maryland	$57,410	$28
   7	New Jersey	$53,739	$26
   8	Ohio	$52,664	$25
   9	Michigan	$44,804	$22
   10	Utah	$44,603	$21
   11	Texas	$36,785	$18
   12	Florida	$35,826	$17
   13	Georgia	$33,569	$16
   14	Tennessee	$31,636	$15
   15	South Carolina	$31,348	$15
   16	Oklahoma	$29,804	$14
   17	Arkansas	$29,713	$14
   18	Missouri	$29,577	$14
   19	Nebraska	$28,944	$14

   Average medical research assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Norton Rose Fulbright	$117,519	$56.50
   2	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	$67,556	$32.48	1
   3	General Dynamics Mission Systems	$65,235	$31.36
   4	Georgetown University	$55,692	$26.77	5
   5	ProMedica Toledo Hospital	$53,347	$25.65	26
   6	Thrive Behavioral Health	$53,331	$25.64	2
   7	University of California	$50,259	$24.16	246
   8	Huntsville Hospital	$45,832	$22.03	19
   9	Terros Health	$45,428	$21.84	7
   10	Pharmaceutical Product Development	$44,782	$21.53
   11	General Dynamics	$44,752	$21.52	17
   12	Day Kimball Health	$44,731	$21.51	2
   13	Central Ohio Primary Care	$42,805	$20.58	17
   14	Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System	$42,725	$20.54	13
   15	Tenet Healthcare	$41,193	$19.80	119
   16	Henry Ford Health System	$39,589	$19.03	8
   17	LifePoint Health	$39,461	$18.97	151
   18	Northern California Medical Associates	$39,350	$18.92
   19	University Physicians' Association, Inc.	$39,289	$18.89	25
   20	Celerion	$39,285	$18.89	6

4. Writing a medical research assistant job description

   A medical research assistant job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a medical research assistant job description:

   Medical research assistant job description example

   The Medical Assistant provides direct patient care by taking vitals, patient history, venipuncture, lab, x-ray, referrals, and patient phone messages as directed by the provider and/or clinical supervisor. This position requires population specific competencies. Adheres to National Patient Safety Goals as appropriate based on the level of patient contact this position requires.
   
   INTEGRIS is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All applicants will receive consideration regardless of membership in any protected status as defined by applicable state or federal law, including protected veteran or disability status.
   
   Current nationally recognized Medical Assistant certification/registration, or the ability to obtain certification/registration within 120 days of hire; OR * The ABR-OE (Assessment-Based Recognition in Order Entry) or other nationally recognized credentialing allowing for electronic medical heath record (EHR) order entry; or the ability to obtain within sixty (60) days of hire. AND
   6 months customer service experience preferred
   CPR certification within 90 days of employment
   Must be able to communicate effectively in English (Verbal/Written)
   
   IMG Float Pool:
   
   If position requires intraday travel, the incumbents must be able to operate an INTEGRIS-owned vehicle OR personal vehicle (non- INTEGRIS-owned) and therefore must have a current Drivers License from the state of residence, as well as a driving record which is acceptable to our insurance carrier.
   The Medical Assistant responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
   
   Gathers and documents information about patient condition, which include lab values, pain levels, patient education needs, nutritional status and potential complications
   Contributes to the assessment/re-assessment of patients
   Monitors and documents patient status
   Participates in the development of the plan of care, including implementation and evaluation of appropriate patient care interventions which may include medication administration (exclusive of narcotics)
   Manages large call volume while maintaining excellent telephone etiquette
   Organizes workflow to meet patient needs in a timely manner * As needed by patient contact level, adheres to National Governing Board and Patient Safety Goals
   May retrieve and transport medications
   
   Reports to assigned director, manager, supervisor or lead.
   
   This position may have additional or varied physical demand and/or respiratory fit test requirements. Please consult the Physical Demands Project SharePoint site or contact Risk Management/Employee Health for additional information. Moderate exposure to hazardous risks, including potential for exposure to infections and communicable diseases, blood and body fluids, electrical equipment, chemicals. Must follow standard precautions.
   
   All applicants will receive consideration regardless of membership in any protected status as defined by applicable state or federal law, including protected veteran or disability status.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right medical research assistant for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your medical research assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit medical research assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with medical research assistant candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new medical research assistant

   Once you've selected the best medical research assistant candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new medical research assistant first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a medical research assistant?