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Clinical Research Coordinators

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Clinical Research Coordinators: Job Description

Plan, direct, or coordinate clinical research projects. Direct the activities of workers engaged in clinical research projects to ensure compliance with protocols and overall clinical objectives. May evaluate and analyze clinical data.

The Daily Work of Clinical Research Coordinators Perform?

The day-to-day responsibilities of clinical research coordinators span:

  • Schedule subjects for appointments, procedures, or inpatient stays as required by study protocols.
  • Perform specific protocol procedures such as interviewing subjects, taking vital signs, and performing electrocardiograms.
  • Assess eligibility of potential subjects through methods such as screening interviews, reviews of medical records, or discussions with physicians and nurses.
  • Prepare study-related documentation, such as protocol worksheets, procedural manuals, adverse event reports, institutional review board documents, or progress reports.
  • Inform patients or caregivers about study aspects and outcomes to be expected.
  • Record adverse event and side effect data and confer with investigators regarding the reporting of events to oversight agencies.
  • Monitor study activities to ensure compliance with protocols and with all relevant local, federal, and state regulatory and institutional polices.
  • Oversee subject enrollment to ensure that informed consent is properly obtained and documented.

Key Skills and Knowledge

Top clinical research coordinators combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Key Skills

These are the skills most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Writing  4.0 / 5
0
5
Reading Comprehension  4.0 / 5
0
5
Active Listening  4.0 / 5
0
5
Coordination  3.9 / 5
0
5
Speaking  3.9 / 5
0
5
Critical Thinking  3.8 / 5
0
5

Core Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service  4.3 / 5
0
5
English Language  3.8 / 5
0
5
Administrative  3.7 / 5
0
5
Medicine and Dentistry  3.2 / 5
0
5
Administration and Management  3.0 / 5
0
5
Biology  3.0 / 5
0
5

This career also goes by job titles like:

  • Clinical Coordinator
  • Clinical Data Coordinator
  • Clinical Manager
  • Clinical Program Coordinator
  • Clinical Program Manager
  • Clinical Project Manager
  • Clinical Research Administrator
  • Clinical Research Coordinator

How Many Clinical Research Coordinators Are There?

There are about 491,897 clinical research coordinators working in the United States today. Employment is projected to grow by +10.4% over the projection horizon.

Forecasted number of jobs for Clinical Research Coordinators

Clinical Research Coordinators Pay

Statistic Value
Annual median $110,931
Hourly median $53.33
10th percentile $76,600
25th percentile $93,765
75th percentile $128,096
90th percentile $145,261

Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.

Salary ranges for Clinical Research Coordinators

Clinical Research Coordinators Salary by State

State Annual median salary
Massachusetts $218,800
California $204,100
New Jersey $202,310
Connecticut $179,170
Washington $178,270
North Carolina $167,430
District of Columbia $164,650
Maryland $162,610
Illinois $158,690
Kansas $158,100
Missouri $143,730
Colorado $143,150
South Carolina $143,150
Rhode Island $141,380
Tennessee $140,430
Virginia $139,220
Oregon $136,840
Pennsylvania $136,700
New Hampshire $136,200
Ohio $135,990
Maine $135,900
Michigan $135,180
Arkansas $134,430
West Virginia $134,410
North Dakota $133,540
Kentucky $131,780
Minnesota $131,410
New York $131,180
Texas $130,140
Alaska $128,480
Alabama $127,210
Arizona $126,320
Wisconsin $125,050
Idaho $120,640
South Dakota $120,310
New Mexico $118,600
Utah $117,190
Montana $117,140
Georgia $116,560
Puerto Rico $115,270
Mississippi $113,730
Nebraska $113,730
Guam $111,270
Wyoming $109,600
Hawaii $106,580
Nevada $103,500
Iowa $102,880
Oklahoma $100,990
Florida $100,640
Indiana $88,610

Where Clinical Research Coordinators Earn the Most

Compensation for clinical research coordinators vary by region. These regions lead on median pay:

Region Median annual wage Share of U.S. jobs Location quotient
New England $204,301 10.9% 3.20
Far Western US $188,481 20.3% 1.26
Middle Atlantic $161,559 27.6% 2.36
Great Lakes $135,087 8.2% 0.63
Southeast $134,493 16.7% 1.18
Plains States $134,244 3.4% 0.62
Southwest $128,246 9.0% 0.77
Rocky Mountains $127,754 3.7% 0.92

Top Metro Areas

Metro area State Median annual wage Employment
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA CA $222,840 5,160
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA CA $221,480 1,100
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MA $219,380 7,670
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR AR $211,880 100
Worcester, MA MA $211,400 340
Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT CT $210,890 140
Kennewick-Richland, WA WA $209,260 110
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA WA $208,230 2,260

Industry Breakdown

The largest employers of clinical research coordinators work in these industries:

Industry Employment Median annual wage
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 49,690 $180,800
Manufacturing 8,090 $176,600
Health Care and Social Assistance 6,670 $101,730
Educational Services 5,200 $84,360
Management of Companies and Enterprises 4,340 $178,300
Wholesale Trade 3,930 $207,590
Other Services (except Public Administration) 1,200 $120,890
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 900 $139,840
Clinical Research Coordinators sectors

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

Clinical Research Coordinators industries

Tools and Technology

  • Analytical or scientific software: IBM SPSS Statistics (hot technology)
  • Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
  • Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
  • Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
  • Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
  • Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
  • Project management software: Microsoft Project (hot technology)
  • Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
  • Object or component oriented development software: Python (hot technology)
  • Object or component oriented development software: R (hot technology)
  • Analytical or scientific software: SAS (hot technology)
  • Analytical or scientific software: The MathWorks MATLAB (hot technology)

What the Workplace Is Like

The work environment for clinical research coordinators tends to involve the following characteristics:

  • E-Mail
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
  • Contact With Others
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team

How to Become Clinical Research Coordinators

Entry-level clinical research coordinators positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.

Other Careers to Consider

Similar Occupations

Where to Study

Aspiring clinical research coordinators often complete programs in:

2 programs across 2 majors

About the Data

Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:

  • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
  • BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
  • O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 11-9121.01 (Natural Sciences Managers).

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