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The Autopsy Coordinator will assist with the Memory & Aging Center Autopsy Program and the Neurodegenerative Disease Brain Bank, under the supervision of the Brain Bank Administrative Manager and the Principal Investigator. This position involves multiple responsibilities, including providing administrative support, educating and enrolling participants, coordinating tissue procurement, and completing documentation to ensure the successful operation of this critical program. The program requires 24/7 coverage of the autopsy pager, and the incumbent will share this on-call responsibility with the other members of the team and is contacted at the time of death to facilitate the procurement of donor tissue, frequently working with the Administrative Manager and Principal Investigator to problem-solve when unique autopsy situations arise (and occasionally addressing such situations independently.) When on call, the coordinator will be contacted at the time of a tissue donor's death to facilitate the procurement of donor tissue. S/he is responsible for maintaining contact with the cohort of living research participants and disseminating pathology reports to donor families.  Advanced planning with families, technicians, and funeral homes is imperative. The incumbent is one of two primary liaisons with the Department of Pathology, additional collaborators from outside organizations, and other dementia research centers. S/he is a public face of UCSF's brain autopsy/donation program, representing the program at research events and addressing all questions from potential donors. 

The Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center (MAC) is an internationally renowned clinical research center with a diverse workforce of over 260 full-time employees with offices and clinical research space located in the Sandler Neurosciences Building and multiple other buildings on the UCSF Mission Bay Campus. The Fein MAC provides clinical care for patients suffering from neurodegenerative disease processes; from this clinical population, external referrals, and direct recruitment efforts we enroll patients into more than 50 structured research protocols and/or treatment trials.  We are a California Alzheimer's Research Center and a federal Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.

The Fein MAC is the largest division within the Department of Neurology. The Department of Neurology is a teaching, research, and clinical care unit within the School of Medicine (SOM). The Department of Neurology is a large, multi-site department, with locations including Mission Bay, Parnassus, Mt. Zion, ZSFG, VAMC, and the Gladstone Institutes, and is affiliated with the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. The department comprises 14 administrative divisions and 11 clinical specialties. The department has over 230 faculty and academic employees, 290 staff positions, and 170 trainees, including residents, clinical fellows, and postdoctoral scholars.

Our department's mission includes delivering the most exceptional clinical care to our patients, leading transformative cutting-edge research, and training the leaders of tomorrow in both neurology and neuroscience. Our department's faculty, trainees, and staff work at a University and in a community that values and embraces diversity and strives to make an impact worldwide through our global and public health efforts.

Required qualifications:

• HS graduation and sufficient experience and demonstrated skills to successfully perform the assigned duties and responsibilities.
• Excellent verbal and written communications and presentation skills; excellent organizational skills; and excellent interpersonal skills to work effectively in a diverse team.
• Advanced ability with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Windows.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, team-based environment; project management and coordination skills; ability to prioritize tasks and meet multiple deadlines on concurrent projects.
• Ability to establish cooperative working relationships with patients, co-workers, & physicians.
• Demonstrated advanced interpersonal skills, including but not limited to teamwork and the ability to communicate frankly and compassionately with family members of dying patients and bereaved families
• Ability to remain available 24/7 while taking pager coverage
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with other cross-functional teams and establish cooperative working relationships with patients, co-workers, & physicians.

Preferred qualifications:

• Demonstrated proficiency with medical terminology.

• Experience working with patients or study subjects.

• Ability to abstract data from medical records and transfer it to data collection forms or directly into databases.

• Knowledge or experience in aging, end-of-life issues, and dementia

• 2 years of work experience in a medical, research, or academic medicine environment

% 

of time

Essential Function (Yes/No)

Key Responsibilities

(To be completed by Supervisor)

20

Facilitate patient enrollment in the brain donation program, ensuring completion of the informed consent process as well as documentation and accurate record-keeping/team communications. Educate and maintain contact with enrolled donors, potential donors, and families, addressing any and all inquiries they may have. Contribute to keeping records and documentation of enrolled donors updated.

10

Pre-coordinate autopsies whenever possible (begin contacting funeral homes, hospice or other care staff, next of kin, pathologists, and technicians/transport companies once we have received notice of a donor's declining health status.) 

30

Cover the 24/7 autopsy pager (with guidance from the Autopsy Coordinator) ~33% of weekdays, weeknights, and weekends as needed: respond to inquiries; evaluate eligibility for NDBB brain donation; respond as soon as reasonably possible to death notifications to coordinate autopsies. If the page is received at a time when the coordinator is in a good position to respond, they are requested to respond as soon as possible, preferably within 15 minutes. If the page is received at a time when the coordinator is in a difficult position to respond (during a doctor visit, while attending a live performance, while taking a test, etc.), the coordinator is expected to respond as soon as can be reasonably achieved without interrupting the activity but within two (2) hours from the time the page was delivered. If the page is not received upon arrival, because the coordinator is engaged in an activity (swimming, hiking outside pager coverage, etc.), the coordinator is expected to regain access to the pager, recognize receipt of the page, and respond within two (2) hours from the time the page was delivered. Respond to inquiries from the public that come in through the autopsy cell phone line; evaluate eligibility for NDBB brain donation by checking LAVA and APEX; respond immediately (within 15 min) to death notifications and work with families, pathology team, funeral homes, and remote technicians/transport companies if applicable to ensure A. the timely procurement of tissue at death, B. correct permits and consents on file, C. sensitive and thorough communication with family members, and D. timely return of the body to the care of the funeral home if applicable.

30

10

Maintain inventory of study supplies such as brochures, folders, program printouts, autopsy permits, business cards, pager troubleshooting, etc., and other duties as assigned.

100%