Professor, Clinical Faculty Appointment (CFA), Laboratory Medicine

Blood Bank Pathologist, Department Of Laboratory Medicine

The Transfusion Medicine Section provides all CLIA and FDA-compliant services related to blood and blood product donation, testing, and processing, transfusion of blood and blood products, and the testing and evaluation of patients selected for transfusion. In addition to delivering high quality patient-care services, the Section contributes to the educational mission of the institution by providing training in a high-volume transfusion medicine service to clinical and post-doctoral fellows, as well as a wide range of other professional personnel. Research activities related to patient care and transfusion medicine services are also essential activities in the Transfusion Medicine Section.

The candidate's major responsibilities will be to assist in oversight of operations with particular emphasis on the scientific, technical, regulatory, and interpretative activities. The candidate will assist transfusion medicine and donor services with operational clinical activities and the daily operation of a very busy transfusion medicine service. Specific activities include compliance with CMS/CLIA, FDA, OSHA, AABB, CAP, JC and relevant state statutes and regulations. The successful candidate will be involved in an intensive and active clinical consultation service providing for transfusion oversight of over 220,000 units of blood and blood products per year and the donation of over 27,000 blood and blood products per year through the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Donor Services. The services also assist with oversight of Quality Control/Quality Assurance programs related to transfusion medicine. The successful candidate must have adequate clinical skills to be able to interact and consult with a variety of oncology patients, consulting physicians, and transfusion medicine donors and the ability to assess and manage the clinical care transfusion requirements for acute oncological clinical presentations.

The candidate must be able to visually review, evaluate and correctly interpret medical records, patient data, patient specimens, blood and blood products, and test results based on previous training, experience and knowledge. The candidate must be able to visually identify specimen constituents, contents and/or components directly or viewed through a microscope and integrate observations into diagnostic and biologically relevant information. The candidate must assist in the continuing enhancement of new technologies for transfusion medicine services. The candidate must be able to comprehend the relevance of printed results and correlate patient data with research and clinical findings. The candidate must be able to ensure that quality control/quality assurance standards are implemented and that the laboratories which the candidate directs are in compliance with the numerous regulatory and accreditation requirements of transfusion medicine services. The candidate must be able to relate quality control result data to specimen and product analysis data, assuring that appropriate action is taken based on results obtained. The candidate must be able to identify and solve problems related to job responsibilities utilizing knowledge and experience. The candidate must be able to work using standard precautions for bio-hazardous materials and exercise appropriate control and precautions in the management of other chemical and organic compounds as required for the regulatory compliance of a clinical laboratory. The candidate must be acquainted with the manual and technical procedures and equipment used in donor services and transfusion medicine. The candidate must have basic computer skills including word processing, spreadsheet, email, internet and databases. The candidate must have manual dexterity for various functions with the instruments used in product collection and processing, laboratory diagnosis and research. The candidate must be able to move from one laboratory to another.

The candidate must assure compliances with the standards of CMS/CLIA, CAP, JC, FDA, AABB, and other regulatory and accreditation agencies as required. The candidate gives direction, guidance, prioritization, and technical assistance to laboratory personnel. The candidate interviews applicants, evaluate laboratory personnel on their job performance, and makes hiring promotion, merit, and termination recommendations and decisions. The candidate participates in and supports process improvement initiatives. The candidate represents Transfusion Medicine on the UTMDACC Transfusion Medicine Committee and other relevant clinical staff and hospital committees. The candidate represents Transfusion Medicine in local, regional, state and national meetings and organizations.

The candidate demonstrates commitment to the clinical, translational, and investigational aspects of transfusion medicine including emerging technologies. The candidate collaborates with diagnostic investigators and users at MDACC and other institutions. The candidate demonstrates the ability to design, execute, interpret and integrate scientific data for publication in peer-reviewed journals and for research applications. The candidate has developed and will maintain an independent laboratory research program (preferred, but not required). The candidate seeks government and/or private agency funding support for his/her independent research (preferred, but not required).

The candidate supports and participates in the training of fellows in the Transfusion Medicine Training fellowship program and in the rotations of fellows and residents from Laboratory Medicine and other Divisional fellowship programs. The candidate must be able to present lectures and journal clubs to faculty, fellows and technical personnel using appropriate visual aids. The candidate must have teaching skills to train a spectrum of personnel including other faculty, post-doctoral and pre-doctoral fellows, residents, medical students, technologists, School of Health Professions students, technicians, and other laboratory personnel.

The candidate must be a self-motivated, energetic, committed and conscientious professional who communicates effectively, both verbally and in writing; has leadership skills and experience; is compliant with organizational regulatory requirements; and relates well to others who are in professional, technical or administrative roles in the Division. The candidate has demonstrated the ability to work effectively in a matrix organization with complex interdisciplinary interactions and maintain interpersonal relationships and collaborations. The candidate must maintain up-to-date general knowledge in the field of pathology and laboratory medicine and board certification. The candidate must have the ability to interact and communicate effectively with clinicians, patients and donors.

Degree(s): M.D. or M.D., Ph.D. in a field appropriate to faculty role.

Board Certification: Board certification in Anatomic Pathology/Clinical Pathology or Clinical Pathology is a requirement. Board specialty certification by The American Board of Pathology in Transfusion Medicine or Transfusion Medicine board eligible is also required, with achievement of Transfusion Medicine board certification within 3 years of employment if of board eligible status.

Licensure: License-eligible or licensed to practice in Texas.

Experience: Assistant Professor applicants must have at least 1 year of full-time post-doctoral training in transfusion medicine. Associate Professor applicants must have at least 5 years' experience as Assistant Professor or equivalent or 10 years' experience post clinical degree. Two years' experience in supervising an academic transfusion medicine service is preferred. Related training in other immunological, immunogenetics, or histocompatibility testing is not required but would assist in the delivery of transfusion medicine clinical services.