The Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery provides innovative, quality care for cosmetic and plastic surgery needs while simultaneously training surgeons to become experts in the field. Its faculty are specialists in their practice, including breast reconstruction, hand surgery, pediatric cleft and craniofacial surgery, gender affirming surgery and microsurgery. The team of plastic surgeons sponsors a six-year integrated plastic surgery residency program, a hand surgery fellowship program and, together with the Department of Urology, a gender surgery fellowship program.

 

This position requires a high level of cultural humility and competence when working with transgender and nonbinary individuals. Candidates with lived experience, strong ties to the LGBTQ+ community, or demonstrated expertise in gender-affirming care are strongly encouraged to apply.

 

The Senior Clinical Research Assistant (SCRA) will work closely with Dr. Dy and the research study team to implement the Support for Transgender and Nonbinary Individuals Seeking Vaginoplasty (STRIVE) Study. 

The STRIVE study is the first national randomized trial to focus on improving well-being, access to surgical care and other health outcomes for transgender and nonbinary (referred to as trans) people seeking genital gender-affirming surgery (GGAS). Trans people have gender identities that are different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Due to discrimination based on their gender identity in settings such as schools, the workplace, housing and health care, trans people face much higher rates of distress as well as poorer health and quality of life. Trans people are often unable to access necessary surgeries and hormone therapy to help align their bodies with their gender identities due to a lack of trained medical providers and limited insurance coverage for gender-affirming care. 

Data collection and management (30%)

• Collection and entry from electronic health records data, complete data abstraction, and oversee quality assurance protocol
• Maintain secure qualitative data storage on shared drives and in qualitative analysis software.
• Manage qualitative data collection processes through scheduling interviews/focus groups, overseeing participant incentive receipt, ensuring implementation of data collection protocols, and checking transcripts.

Study enrollment, participant support, and intervention delivery (50%)

• Provide support to a team of Peer Support Specialists, who have lived experience preparing for and/or supporting others in preparing for gender affirming vaginoplasty .
• Lead screening and enrollment of patients for clinical and qualitative studies, including communicating the study protocol, conducting verbal and written informed consent to potential subjects, and scheduling for research activities.
• Facilitate data collection (survey, interviews) from enrolled study participants.
• Provide technical support to enrolled participants.

Stakeholder engagement and coordination (10%)

• Coordinate meetings and assist in preparation of materials for stakeholder groups
• Support the evaluation of stakeholder engagement.
• Work with multiple team members to ensure communication across project team and stakeholder groups.
• Collaborate closely with Peer Support Specialists and Peer Support Coordinator to minimize and eliminate barriers to intervention delivery or participant engagement.
• Work professionally with external partners – including academic researchers, advocates, and community stakeholders – to execute all elements of research activities.

General research and administrative support (10%)

• Participate actively and collaboratively in team meetings and project planning sessions.
• Contribute to quality assurance checks and ongoing monitoring of study progress (e.g., help prepare progress reports for the study funder(s))
• Support the development and/or management of regulatory compliance with clinical research protocols (e.g., eIRB and eCRIS submissions)
• Work with multiple team members to coordinate and track study purchases (ex: participant equipment and incentives).
• Support literature reviews, publication development and submission.
• Coordinate team meeting schedules and documentation.
• Other administrative duties shared by the research team, including meeting logistics, note-taking, event planning, maintaining records of communications.

• Bachelor's Degree in relevant field AND 1 year of relevant experience OR
• Associate's AND 3 years of relevant experience OR
• 4 years of relevant experience OR
• Equivalent combination of training and experience
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Intermediate or higher-level skills of MS Office suite
• Independent time management skills, including ability to prioritize workload
• Excellent ability and strong desire to work in teams.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust, rapport, and authentic relationships with study participants, team members, and community partners, while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries
• Regular and reliable attendance

• Master’s degree or 2 – 3 years equivalent experience in community engagement, public health, or health services research
• Prior professional or community experience in gender affirming health & healthcare, racial disparities/social determinants of health with self-motivation for continued independent learning in anti-racism praxis and gender inclusivity 

• Experience with qualitative methods 

• Experience with interacting or managing relationships with a variety of stakeholders and roles

• Prior experience or familiarity with peer support models/services in the healthcare setting.

• This position will work in clinical research involving human subjects within UW Medicine and therefore clinical Research Study Coordinator training is required, including research-specific training in Protection of Human Research Subjects, Good Clinical Practices and HIPAA compliance.

This position is a Monday – Friday position with a possible hybrid (office, clinic, home) work schedule. It will primarily be an 8:00 am – 4:30 pm position but may have flexible hours based on meetings and study requirements.

Oregon Health & Science University values a diverse and culturally competent workforce. We are proud of our commitment to being an equal opportunity, affirmative action organization that does not discriminate against applicants on the basis of any protected class status, including disability status and protected veteran status. Individuals with diverse backgrounds and those who promote diversity and a culture of inclusion are encouraged to apply. To request reasonable accommodation contact the Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Department at 503-494-5148 or aaeo@ohsu.edu.