Equity for Clinical Research Coordinators Translates to Quality Care for Patients at UC Davis

Dear UC Davis Health Labor and Employee Relations:

Patient care suffers when continual retention issues, chronic overworking of the staff, and lack of career pathways for Clinical Research Coordinators go unaddressed. We shoulder enormous medical responsibility, advising both patients and doctors. Our specialized experience takes years of intensive training to ensure quality clinical trials that uphold UCD Health's reputation for research excellence. To serve our patients successfully, we must:

• Possess a high-level understanding of medical terminology, technical knowledge, and project management as the primary communicative link between study doctors and study patients. 

• Be highly organized, as we often juggle many different studies at once.  

• Maintain high-level training on up-to-date regulatory requirements at both the state and federal level to ensure that our studies are operating in good compliance at all times.

• Nurture and maintain professional relationships with other universities and research sponsors, serving as representatives of UC Davis Health nationwide.  

We’re an integral part of the quality patient care pipeline. Our pay, which starts at $31/hr, doesn’t reflect the enormity of this responsibility. To perform world-class research, we need world-class working conditions. We demand a meeting within the next month to discuss:

1. An equity increase reflects our medical responsibility and allows positions at UC Davis Health to remain competitive with the market.

2. Definitive and transparent career pathways between Assistant CRC, CRC, and Sr. CRC Roles to incentivize staff to remain at UCD Health. 

CRC retention has been an ongoing issue for years, and now staff are now at their breaking point. We are stretched so thin, we risk making mistakes that could have catastrophic consequences for patients. The integrity of medical research and the future of medical knowledge relies on the integrity of the folks at the CRC and RA level. If we do not conduct high-quality medical research, doctors cannot provide high-quality medical care.

For-profit labs and pharmaceutical companies, which provide greater support and resources as well as about 25% higher pay, have greatly expanded across California in recent years. UC Davis Health cannot hope to retain qualified and experienced CRCs if they do not match market pay and offer strong career pathways for researchers.