Pediatric Palliative Care Research Student Internship

RESEARCH ASSISTANT II Student Intern:

GENERAL SUMMARY:

We are looking to add a member to our Palliative Care clinical research team within the Department of Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). This research assistant will work within the Wolfe lab, which is led by Dr. Joanne Wolfe, Chief of Pediatrics. Our lab encompasses several physicians with varying expertise, backgrounds, and research interests across Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, and MGH. As a whole, our lab aims to improve wellbeing for seriously ill pediatric patients and their families. We focus on identifying and measuring developmentally appropriate outcomes for patients and their families. We then systematically develop and rigorously evaluate interventions aimed at improving these outcomes. Our research seeks to impact care throughout the illness trajectory from diagnosis, advanced illness, end-of-life, and bereavement, and across all ages from perinatal through young adults. Key projects for this role include 1) optimizing rest and rejuvenation for families of medically complex children and 2) the impact of subspecialty palliative care interventions for children with severe neurological impairments.

The RA will work closely with one or more physicians and will be a lead site coordinator for multiple projects. These projects require strong communication skills while interacting with clinicians, patients, and caregivers, often to conduct surveys or qualitative interviews. The ideal RA has a high attention to detail and is self-motivated to navigate and execute the research procedures required within these complex protocols. This role provides an immersive experience in the clinical research process and supports development and learning opportunities.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under general supervision, the Research Assistant II may be responsible for some or all of the following:

• Participant enrollment, retention, and follow-up

• Qualitative Interviewing, transcription logistics, and analytic coding

• Data entry and maintenance

• Project-related activities (i.e., reports, creating presentations)

• Literature searches

• Medical record screening and review

• Analysis participation and manuscript preparation

• Regulatory upkeep of studies and documentation submission to the institutional review board

• Other project-related administrative responsibilities as requested.

MINIMUM JOB QUALIFICATIONS:

Prior research experience strongly preferred.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

• Excellent interpersonal skills, dependable, motivated and willingness to learn new tasks

• Computer skills, including prior use of Microsoft Office products

• Ability to relate effectively in-person and on the telephone to diverse groups of people, community members, physicians, nurses, and researchers

• Excellent organization, communication, and problem-solving skills

• Regard for patient/data privacy essential

• Good oral and written communication skills

• Work independently with excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize tasks

• Ability to complete work and to meet deadlines

• Spanish fluency welcomed

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

None

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out or if you are interested in applying for this part-time position (10-15hrs a week, to start June 2024, for a 1 year minimum duration). Stipends available, though prefer to combine with a school credit semester. Please send a cover letter and resume to meavery@mgh.harvard.edu.