Senior Pathology Histotechnologist (Derm)

Senior Pathology Histotechnologist

What we do here changes the world. UTHealth Houston is Texas' resource for healthcare education, innovation, scientific discovery, and excellence in patient care. That's where you come in.

Assists in supervising daily histology laboratory operations and performs advanced histology and immunohistochemistry (IHC) procedures to support accurate and timely pathology diagnoses. Oversees workflow, trains and mentors staff, performs quality control and troubleshooting, manages supplies and equipment, ensures regulatory compliance, and supports continuous process improvement. May assume responsibility for laboratory operations and personnel management in the absence of the manager, including staffing, performance management, and maintaining CAP inspection readiness.

Once you join us you won't want to leave. It's because we reward our team for the excellent service they provide. Our total rewards package includes the benefits you'd expect from a top healthcare organization (benefits, insurance, etc.), plus:

• 100% paid medical premiums for our full-time employees
• Generous time off (holidays, preventative leave day, both vacation and sick time all of which equates to around 37-38 days per year)
• The longer you stay, the more vacation you'll accrue!
• Longevity Pay (Monthly payments after two years of service)
• Build your future with our awesome retirement/pension plan!

We take care of our employees! As a world-renowned institution, our employees' wellbeing is important to us. We offer work/life services such as...

• Free financial and legal counseling
• Free mental health counseling services
• Gym membership discounts and access to wellness programs
• Other employee discounts including entertainment, car rentals, cell phones, etc.
• Resources for child and elder care
• Plus many more!

Position Summary:

Participates and helps supervise the day-to-day operations of the laboratory. Processes and prepares patient tissue according to department procedures using a wide range and depth of technical and specialized knowledge. Actively participates in continuous improvement of laboratory services to ensure high quality and timely pathology for quality diagnosis. Responsible for the implementation and success of histology and IHC techniques.

Position Key Accountabilities:

• Monitors and processes the histology queue for various tasks that need to be performed and perform these tasks independently or with minimal supervision.
• Provides day-to-day direction and guidance to Lab Techs, Histotechnicians, and Histotechnologists.
• Provides training and competency of new employees as well as maintaining competencies on existing employees. Ensures completion of competencies, including proper documentation.
• Performs tissue processing, embedding in paraffin, cutting, sectioning, and mounting on slides of routine to complex tissues (such as fatty tissues, poorly fixed tissues, etc.), following established departmental protocols, for interpretation by a pathologist.
• Performs routine and complex staining on various IHC platforms by following established departmental protocols. Complies with all departmental procedures and adheres to all rules and protocols.
• Operates vendor software for IHC stainers, internal LIS, and workflow software.
• Identifies and troubleshoots any problems that may adversely affect performance or quality of histology workflow or staining processes, escalating to the manager if needed.
• Performs QC for reagents and chemicals. Performs slide QC on routine and complex cases for all staining protocols.
• Troubleshoots any instrumentation errors, involving technical support and/or the manager, as needed.
• Sets up and completes validation/verification processes for equipment and instruments for laboratory procedures to include routine, advanced, and specialized histology and staining techniques, to also include installation, maintenance, and calibration.
• Actively participates in continuous improvement of laboratory services to ensure high quality and timely pathology for quality diagnosis. Identify any issues which might adversely impact the quality of test results and/or employee safety and immediately communicate these to the appropriate management representative as necessary for prompt resolution.
• Responsible for managing supplies and inventory, including the ordering of supplies.
• Assist in writing new procedures and revising procedures.
• Prepares and assists with maintaining departmental readiness for CAP inspections and stay knowledgeable of the CAP Anatomic Pathology, All Common, and Laboratory General Checklists. Actively participate in the PT process, to include assigning, performing, reviewing, and submitting PT results to CAP.
• Supervises the management of all laboratory functions and staff in the absence of manager. Responds to emergencies and is available for phone calls/call back work, as necessary.
• Helps maintain blocks and slide files, as well as gross tissue storage and discarding tissue per established policy.
• Maintains laboratory in a clean, functional state including cleaning or performing scheduled equipment maintenance, calibrations, and certifications as required. Reviews monthly maintenance and temperature logs to further ensure compliance.
• Manages Human Resources activities of department in regards to: recruiting and selection, hiring and termination, training, professional development, mentoring, counseling, performance evaluations, and salary planning.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Certification/Skills:

• None
• Work may involve handling biohazardous, chemical, and radiological materials, as well as operating associated equipment. Required safety training and appropriate engineering and administrative controls including the use of personal protective equipment must be followed.
• Certified Histotechnologist (HTL(ASCP)) by American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) required
• Qualification in Immunohistochemistry (QIHC) by National Society for Histotechnology (NSH) preferred

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's Degree required

Minimum Experience:

4 years of experience as a Histotechnologist required 10 years of experience as a Histotechnician including previous Senior/Managerial experience

Physical Requirements:

Exerts up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 20 pounds frequently and/or up to 10 pounds constantly to move objects.

Security Sensitive:

This position is a security-sensitive position pursuant to Texas Education Code 51.215 and Texas Government Code 411.094. To the extent that a position requires the holder to research, work on, or have access to critical infrastructure as defined in Texas Business and Commerce Code 117.001(2), the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure is a minimum qualification to be hired for and to continue to be employed in that position. Personnel in such positions, and similarly situated state contractors, will be routinely reviewed to determine whether things such as criminal history or continuous connections to the government or political apparatus of a foreign adversary might prevent the applicant, employee, or contractor from being able to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure. A foreign adversary is a nation listed in 15 C.F.R. 791.4.

Residency Requirement:

Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas.