What does a program and research coordinator do?
Research and program coordinators are responsible for helping with the establishment of research data from laboratory investigations and clinical trials with the administration of a research supervisor or a lead researcher. Their duties include leading field investigations and evaluating existing research materials after realizing the scope and limitations of the study. They record their results and valuable resources on the research database as sources to the research team. Research and program coordinators must have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, especially generating data and collaborating with other researchers for the progress and improvement of the study.
Program and research coordinator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real program and research coordinator resumes:
- Assess study participants for adverse reactions or complications and manage side effects of chemotherapy and other study relate drugs.
- Clarify and communicate IRB guidelines to research team and provide quality assurance oversight.
- Assist in evaluation and implementation of IRB tracking software/database and subsequent maintenance of records via database or software.
- Conduct interviews with patients on their understanding of trials and designing modifications to trial literature in order to enhance understanding.
- Organize CRF pages in a structural order to reflect the schedule of assessments as specified in the protocol.
- Monitor and document subject's progress in studies including source document, CRF completion, regulatory documentation and drug accountability.
- Conduct phone assessments to determine eligibility (MRI compatibility/personal and family history of mental illness).
Program and research coordinator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Program And Research Coordinators are proficient in Patients, Research Program, and IRB. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Interpersonal skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Program And Research Coordinators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 16%
Assist with new patient eligibility evaluation, registration, and coordinating protocol related care of patients enrolled in clinical trials.
- Research Program, 9%
Managed Cooperative Research Program budget.
- IRB, 7%
Clarified and communicated IRB guidelines to research team and provided quality assurance oversight.
- Informed Consent, 5%
Conducted public health research on issues in informed consent, bioethics and other clinical areas.
- Clinical Research, 5%
Assisted principle investigators/Study Coordinators in clinical research, made appointments with study protocol.
- Research Data, 5%
Research data and information collected/analyzed for manuscript publication.
"patients," "research program," and "irb" are among the most common skills that program and research coordinators use at work. You can find even more program and research coordinator responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a program and research coordinator to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what program and research coordinators do because "natural sciences managers must be able to communicate clearly with a variety of audiences, such as scientists, policymakers, and the public." Additionally, a program and research coordinator resume shows how program and research coordinators use communication skills: "managed mri imaging data through the picture archiving and communication system. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform program and research coordinator duties is interpersonal skills. Program and research coordinators responsibilities require that "natural sciences managers lead research teams and therefore need to work well with others in order to reach common goals." Program and research coordinators also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "used interpersonal skills to welcome patients before clinical trial visit with nurse and doctor. "
Leadership skills. program and research coordinators are also known for leadership skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to program and research coordinator responsibilities, because "natural sciences managers must be able to organize, direct, and motivate others." A program and research coordinator resume example shows how leadership skills is used in the workplace: "provide leadership and support in developing other study coordinators (scs) and research associates (ras) in clinical trials. "
Problem-solving skills. For certain program and research coordinator responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a program and research coordinator rely on this skill, as "natural sciences managers use scientific observation and analysis to find answers to complex technical questions." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what program and research coordinators do: "provided issue resolution and complex trouble shooting for investigators, providers, and patients. "
Time-management skills. Another crucial skill for a program and research coordinator to carry out their responsibilities is "time-management skills." A big part of what program and research coordinators relies on this skill, since "natural sciences managers must be able to perform multiple administrative, supervisory, and technical tasks while ensuring that projects remain on schedule." How this skill relates to program and research coordinator duties can be seen in an example from a program and research coordinator resume snippet: "collected and reported key study performance information, including study start-up metrics, enrollment, data collection timeliness/quality. "
See the full list of program and research coordinator skills
The three companies that hire the most program and research coordinators are:
- Johns Hopkins University70 program and research coordinators jobs
- Chenega6 program and research coordinators jobs
- Mount Sinai Health System6 program and research coordinators jobs
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Program and research coordinator vs. Clinical trial manager
A clinical trial manager is primarily responsible for organizing and supervising clinical trials, ensuring to meet all goals while maintaining smooth operations. They are also responsible for collaborating with managers to set targets, hiring staff and participants for studies, and arranging the event. This planning includes its location and schedule. A clinical trial manager must also maintain documentation of all processes, liaise with scientists and key personnel, acquire necessary legal paperwork and certifications, and gather data accurately. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to implement the company's policies and regulations at all times.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, program and research coordinator responsibilities require skills like "research program," "research data," "immunization," and "public health." Meanwhile a typical clinical trial manager has skills in areas such as "clinical trial management," "clinical operations," "oversight," and "project management." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Clinical trial managers tend to make the most money working in the pharmaceutical industry, where they earn an average salary of $97,986. In contrast, program and research coordinators make the biggest average salary, $81,962, in the non profits industry.On average, clinical trial managers reach similar levels of education than program and research coordinators. Clinical trial managers are 2.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 3.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Program and research coordinator vs. Clinical project manager
A clinical project manager specializes in developing and organizing clinical trials. Their responsibilities revolve around planning and coordinating with all necessary personnel and experts, scheduling meetings, and preparing necessary documentation, ensuring compliance with all laws and regulations. Moreover, a clinical project manager must devise strategies and train all staff, develop protocols and guidelines, coordinate with vendors and suppliers, evaluate staff and verify documentation, and assist in all activities to ensure that every process aligns with the project's agenda. Should there be any issues or concerns, a clinical project manager must conduct corrective measures right away.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real program and research coordinator resumes. While program and research coordinator responsibilities can utilize skills like "research program," "research data," "immunization," and "public health," clinical project managers use skills like "manage cross," "project management," "oversight," and "cro."
On average, clinical project managers earn a higher salary than program and research coordinators. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, clinical project managers earn the most pay in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $103,836. Whereas program and research coordinators have higher pay in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $81,962.clinical project managers earn similar levels of education than program and research coordinators in general. They're 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Program and research coordinator vs. Study director
Technically, a study director carries out scientific responsibilities for protocol design or study plan and approval. Study directors supervise the gathering, analysis, interpretation, documentation, and reporting of data results. They handle the matriculation of students with regard to data management system development. Working with the computer systems team is part of their duties so they will be able to establish a data management system in tracking the study participants. They also support the toxicology team or group on different project teams.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, program and research coordinators are more likely to have skills like "patients," "research program," "clinical research," and "research data." But a study director is more likely to have skills like "toxicology," "data collection," "study design," and "project management."
Study directors earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $87,246. Program and research coordinators earn the highest pay from the non profits industry, with an average salary of $81,962.Most study directors achieve a similar degree level compared to program and research coordinators. For example, they're 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 7.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Program and research coordinator vs. Clinical associate
A clinical associate is responsible for supporting the operations of a medical facility by performing administrative and clerical duties as needed to provide high-quality care services for the patients and assisting health care professionals in performing medical procedures. Clinical associates monitor the conditions of the patients, administer medication, collect laboratory samples, and conduct initial medical assessments such as checking temperature and vital signs. A clinical associate must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on addressing different patients' needs and reporting the patients' progress to the physicians.
Types of program and research coordinator
Updated January 8, 2025











