Laboratory Assistant-LGH-Full time, Evenings- 1pm-9:30pm

The Laboratory Assistant provides support to the medical laboratory technicians and scientists. The role adheres to regulatory compliance, maintains quality standards, and facilitates effective communication within a clinical laboratory. Responsibilities encompass pre-analytical steps in specimen processing, answering phone calls and maintaining effective communication within the laboratory, other departments, and providers. Manages the pneumatic tube system, specimen problem resolution relevant to the assigned duties, and billing functions within the clinical laboratory. Additionally, manages workload, promotes operational efficiency, addresses conflicts as needed, and embraces any assigned duties for the laboratory's excellence.

JC 0648

Responsibilities

Regulatory Compliance and Quality: Employees are obligated to uphold strict compliance with all regulations and standards set by Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA), College of American Pathologists (CAP), Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA), The Joint Commission (TJC), and other regulatory bodies. This includes active participation in quality assurance initiatives and adherence to best practices in laboratory testing. Perform duties as assigned by the medical director.

Compliance: Employees must complete the necessary initial orientation and training, obtain, and maintain relevant certifications, participate annually in mandatory training, competency assessments, and consistently demonstrate satisfactory job-specific performance assessments on on-going basis.

Communication: Answering phone calls and maintaining effective communication within the laboratory, other departments, and providers.

Specimen Receiving and Processing: Performs pre-analytical tasks as assigned, including but not limited to receiving specimens through established processes, logging specimen within the electronic health record system, distributing specimens to relevant departments within the laboratory, preparing specimens for testing (such as centrifugation), and loading specimens on analyzers/testing platforms, and assists in preanalytical phases of manual testing, such as preparing and staining slides, etc.

Performing and Reporting Waived Testing: Maintain qualifications for reporting patient results performed on waived testing platforms.

Procedure Compliance: Adhere strictly to the laboratory’s standard operating procedures for specimen handling and processing. Maintain comprehensive records relevant to assigned tasks as mandated for compliance with regulatory requirements.

Quality Control: Implement and document the laboratory’s quality control protocols, including instrument calibrations and maintenance, ensuring consistent test accuracy and reliability.

Corrective Action: Detects and addresses problems that delay specimen processing and ensure that all billing information is accurate. Follows established policies for corrective action when test systems deviate from acceptable performance levels. Identify and rectify or report any issues that may impact test performance or results.

Problem Resolution: Detect and address problems that could negatively affect test performance. Escalate issues to the technical consultant, clinical consultant, or director when necessary.

Documentation: Keep detailed records of all corrective actions taken when test systems fall outside established specifications.

Other Duties: Perform any additional duties as assigned or requested, as the job specifications may be modified or updated at any time.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

High school diploma/GED.

Preferred Qualifications:

Associate or bachelor’s degree.