Clinical Research Coordinator job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 4 of 5

considerable preparation

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

BLS 2025–35 · broader occupation

Median pay

$167,220

BLS May 2025 · broader occupation

1. Schedule subjects for appointments, procedures, or inpatient stays as required by study protocols. importance 4.5 of 5
2. Perform specific protocol procedures such as interviewing subjects, taking vital signs, and performing electrocardiograms. importance 4.4 of 5
3. Assess eligibility of potential subjects through methods such as screening interviews, reviews of medical records, or discussions with physicians and nurses. importance 4.4 of 5
4. Prepare study-related documentation, such as protocol worksheets, procedural manuals, adverse event reports, institutional review board documents, or progress reports. importance 4.4 of 5
5. Inform patients or caregivers about study aspects and outcomes to be expected. importance 4.4 of 5
6. Record adverse event and side effect data and confer with investigators regarding the reporting of events to oversight agencies. importance 4.3 of 5
7. Monitor study activities to ensure compliance with protocols and with all relevant local, federal, and state regulatory and institutional polices. importance 4.3 of 5
8. Oversee subject enrollment to ensure that informed consent is properly obtained and documented. importance 4.3 of 5
9. Maintain required records of study activity including case report forms, drug dispensation records, or regulatory forms. importance 4.3 of 5
10. Identify protocol problems, inform investigators of problems, or assist in problem resolution efforts, such as protocol revisions. importance 4.2 of 5
11. Review proposed study protocols to evaluate factors such as sample collection processes, data management plans, or potential subject risks. importance 4.2 of 5
12. Collaborate with investigators to prepare presentations or reports of clinical study procedures, results, and conclusions. importance 4.1 of 5
13. Track enrollment status of subjects and document dropout information such as dropout causes and subject contact efforts. importance 4.1 of 5
14. Code, evaluate, or interpret collected study data. importance 4.1 of 5
15. Direct the requisition, collection, labeling, storage, or shipment of specimens. importance 4.0 of 5
16. Instruct research staff in scientific and procedural aspects of studies including standards of care, informed consent procedures, or documentation procedures. importance 4.0 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Documenting/Recording Information, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Getting Information, Working with Computers and Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Dispense medical devices or drugs, and calculate dosages and provide instructions as necessary.
• Arrange for research study sites and determine staff or equipment availability.
• Interpret protocols and advise treating physicians on appropriate dosage modifications or treatment calculations based on patient characteristics.
• Contact industry representatives to ensure equipment and software specifications necessary for successful study completion.
• Register protocol patients with appropriate statistical centers as required.
• Solicit industry-sponsored trials through contacts and professional organizations.

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administrative and Medicine and Dentistry.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft PowerPoint, Clinical trial management software, IBM SPSS Statistics, SAS. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for the broader occupation.
• Experience: BLS lists 5 years or more of work experience in a related occupation as typical.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 4 of 5 (considerable preparation). A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become a clinical research coordinator.

Most clinical research coordinators surveyed by O*NET (60%) name a bachelor's degree as the education the job requires.

Job title: Clinical Research Coordinator
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Clinical Research Coordinator to plan, direct, or coordinate clinical research projects.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- 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.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists 5 years or more in a related occupation as typical; adjust to this role]
- Strength in reading comprehension, active listening and writing
- Working knowledge of Customer and Personal Service and English Language
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For the broader BLS occupation Natural Sciences Managers, the median annual wage was $167,220 in May 2025. The broader occupation's median hourly wage was $80.39.

BLS counts the O*NET occupation Clinical Research Coordinators within Natural Sciences Managers and publishes no separate wage for it, so the figure is for that broader occupation.

BLS projects employment in the broader occupation Natural sciences managers to grow 8.2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full clinical research coordinator salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real clinical research coordinator posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Schedule subjects for appointments, procedures, or inpatient stays as…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only clinical research coordinator work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (reading comprehension and active listening); clinical research coordinator interview questions turns them into practice questions.