Education, pay, and job status: a national survey of transplant coordinators

To identify education, pay, and job responsibilities, an informal 19-item survey was sent to 1661 transplant coordinators; 424 (26%) were returned. Respondents worked in all phases of transplantation. Education levels varied widely; most respondents had some formal nursing education. Full-time salaries were from $25,000 to $110,000 per year; 67% worked 40 to 50 hours and 19% worked more than 50 hours per week. Of 402 clinical coordinators, 280 (70%) took call, and 122 (30%) did not. Call frequency varied with rotations every second, third, and fourth week; 44% of those taking call did not receive additional on-call pay. Nurse-managed clinics (with physician availability) were the predominant workplace for clinical coordinators. Autonomy and contact with patients were the most liked aspects of the job, and the least-liked aspects were on-call status and paper-work. Increased salary and added support staff ranked top among desired changes in the job. Transplant coordinators appear to be committed professionals who are critical to all endeavors in organ transplantation.