Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator - Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) (Brain Health Network & Brain Health Care Accelerator (BHCA))

Department:

SOM KC The Alzheimer's Disease Center (ADC)

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Alzheimer's Disease Center Staff

Position Title:

Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator - Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) (Brain Health Network & Brain Health Care Accelerator (BHCA))

Job Family Group:

Professional Staff

Job Description Summary:

The Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator provides nursing expertise and clinical guidance in support of the Brain Health Network and the Brain Health Care Accelerator (BHCA), complementary initiatives focused on expanding access to brain health assessment, diagnosis, care planning, and dementia-related support. The Network supports participating sites statewide, while the BHCA engages clinicians across the KU Health System. The coordinator works closely with the Program Manager, clinical leadership, the KU Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (KU ADRC), and participating organizations to support both initiatives.

The coordinator applies nursing knowledge and clinical judgment within the scope of licensure and established clinical protocols to help healthcare professionals recognize cognitive concerns, navigate assessment and care pathways, identify appropriate referrals, and address clinical questions related to brain health and dementia care. The role also supports clinical education, patient safety, and evidence-based practices while identifying gaps in care and opportunities to improve clinical resources and processes.

Job Description:

Job Duties

Clinical Nursing Consultation and Care Coordination

• Apply professional nursing judgment to review clinical information and assessment findings, support care recommendations, and determine appropriate referrals and care coordination activities.
• Help teams determine next steps following screening or assessment results, diagnostic findings, referrals, or identification of cognitive concerns.
• Provide clinical guidance on appropriate referrals to KU Memory Care, e-consult services, the Cognitive Care Network (CCN), LEAP!, Treatment Hub resources, and other services, including referral appropriateness, urgency, and patient care coordination.
• Identify and escalate clinical, patient safety, and quality-of-care concerns to the appropriate clinical leader or specialist in accordance with established protocols.
• Document clinical support and care coordination activities in accordance with program requirements.

Clinical Partner Support and Care Pathways 

• Serve as the primary clinical contact for participating Network partner sites and BHCA clinicians. 
• Build working relationships with physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, care coordinators, and site champions. 
• Respond to clinical and workflow questions using approved protocols, Clinical Action Briefs, the Cognitive Care Roadmap, and other resources.
• Clarify referral requirements, including necessary information, documentation, and testing.
• Address challenges related to assessment, documentation, communication, care planning, and referral workflows.
• Identify and address workflow barriers that delay or prevent appropriate referrals in collaboration with partner sites. 

Partner Education and Onboarding

• Participate in onboarding discussions with prospective partners to assess clinical readiness, including workflows, staffing, clinical capabilities, access to testing and imaging, and referral resources.
• Support new clinician and care support champions during onboarding, including education on assessment workflows, referral processes, care planning, available resources, and Brain Health curriculum content.
• Provide education on brain health assessment, cognitive concerns, dementia diagnosis, communication, treatment planning, and referral pathways.
• Help sites integrate brain health practices into routine care. 

Quality Improvement, Evaluation, and Network Learning 

• Identify trends in clinical questions, workflow barriers, referral patterns, and implementation challenges across sites. 
• Contribute clinical and workflow context to evaluation and reporting activities. 
• Participate in bi-monthly case review and safety workflow meetings for Treatment Hub sites. 
• Apply observations from partner-site interactions into improvements in training, resources, and implementation strategy. 

Partner Engagement and Network Activities 

• Represent the clinical perspective at partner meetings, Brain Health Days, training events, and other activities. 
• Coordinate activities with the Program Manager, clinical leadership, KU ADRC, and partner organizations. 
• Document clinical questions, support provided, and recurring implementation needs.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. It is only a summary of the typical functions of the job, not an exhaustive list of all possible job responsibilities, tasks, duties, and assignments. Furthermore, job duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. 

Work Environment 

• Hybrid work arrangement with remote and on-site responsibilities.
• Up to 25% travel to partner sites and program events throughout Kansas; reliable transportation required.

Required Qualifications 

Certifications/Licenses:  

• Current license to practice as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the state of Kansas. Must maintain RN license in the state of Kansas while in this position.

Work Experience:  

• Three (3) years of nursing experience. 
• Two (2) years related work experience with basic understanding of regulations governing clinical research (CFR, GCP, HIPAA).
• Experience in early dementia diagnosis and care. 
•  Experience educating and supporting clinicians and healthcare staff.
• Experience conducting clinical assessments.
• Experience translating clinical guidance into practical workflows, education, or patient-care processes. 

Preferred Qualifications 

Work Experience:  

• Three (3) years nursing experience in primary care, geriatrics, neurology, dementia care, care coordination, or population health. 
• Experience working with individuals with cognitive impairment, dementia, or other neurologic conditions in a community setting. 
• Experience in primary care transformation, care coordination, population health, quality improvement, or implementation of evidence-based practices. 
• Experience providing clinical education to physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, or other healthcare professionals. 
• Experience working across multiple healthcare organizations or with community-based partners. 
• Experience with cognitive assessment, dementia diagnosis, care planning, caregiver support, or dementia-related referral pathways. 
• Experience developing protocols, workflows, or decision-support tools. 

Skills 

• Organization
• Interpersonal skills
• Computer skills
• Problem solving
• Communication
• Adaptability
• Systems Thinking

Required Documents 

• CV/Resume 
• Cover Letter 

Comprehensive Benefits Package:

Coverage begins on day one for health, dental, and vision insurance and includes health expense accounts with generous employer contributions if the employee participates in a qualifying health plan. Employer-paid life insurance, long-term disability insurance, and various additional voluntary insurance plans are available. Paid time off, including vacation and sick, begins accruing upon hire, plus ten paid holidays. One paid discretionary day is available after six months of employment, and paid time off for bereavement, jury duty, military service, and parental leave is available after 12 months of employment. A retirement program with a generous employer contribution and additional voluntary retirement programs (457 or 403b) are available. https://www.kumc.edu/human-resources/benefits.html

Employee Type:

Regular

Time Type:

Full time

Rate Type:

Salary

Compensation Statement:

The pay range listed for this position is determined by our compensation program using market data and salary benchmarking. A combination of factors is considered in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, education, experience and training, qualifications relative to the requirements of the position, and funding. At the University of Kansas Medical Center, a reasonable estimate for the starting pay range will be the minimum to midpoint of the posted range, taking into account the combination of factors listed above. 

Pay Range:

$70,200.00 - $105,300.00

Minimum

$70,200.00

Midpoint

$87,700.00

Maximum

$105,300.00