Senior Pathologists' Assistant, Anatomic Pathology - FT - Day

Senior Pathologists' Assistant

Make a difference every single day!

At Cedars-Sinai, we're motivated by a collective spirit of innovation and the challenge to continuously improve. Above all, we share a real passion for helping others. Day after day, from department to department, our people give their all to create a community unlike any other. This is just one of the many reasons U.S. News & World Report has named us one of America's Best Hospitalsand now we invite you to join us and make a difference every single day in service of this outstanding work excellence and innovation in patient care, research, and community service. From working with a team of dedicated professionals to using state-of-the-art facilities, you'll have great resources to do something incrediblefor yourself, and for others.

What will you be doing in this role?

The Senior Pathologists' Assistant is a professional person who is qualified by academic and practical training to provide service in Anatomic Pathology, as well as provide case review, guidance, education and training to other staff. Responsibilities include dissecting and grossly describing tissue specimens, assisting with and teaching pathology dissection techniques to residents, performing autopsies, assisting with frozen section services, procuring tissue for research, coordinating teaching conferences and organizing and maintaining teaching materials. Duties may also include assisting with QA statistics reports and clinical research. Performs all job duties with sensitivity and attention to the developmental issues of the patient population(s) being served. May consult on more complex cases with management and/or physician.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Performs gross examination and dissection of surgical tissue using strong anatomy knowledge and prosection skills to submit representative sections for histologic examination and provides biopsy grossing services.
• Assists pathologists and residents in the Intraoperative Consultation Suite (IOC) with tasks such as cutting frozen sections, performing touch preps, staining slides, and freezing muscle/nerve tissue. Also assists with postmortem examinations and autopsies, including Coroner's cases.
• Responsible for quality assurance, education, re-education, and training of anatomical pathology staff. Provides input and guidance to Pathologist Assistants and other staff, oversees training of new employees, and manages the daily care and maintenance of the grossing room, IOC, or autopsy areas.
• Collaborates with faculty and scientists to procure tissue for research and education, developing and implementing new procedures and quality assurance protocols.
• Operates and maintains laboratory equipment such as grossing stations, tissue processors, cryostats, ovens, fridges, freezers, cassette printers, digital x-ray systems, and other equipment. Provides input to troubleshoot issues and assists with preventative maintenance.
• Assists with the triaging of specimens to ensure efficient workflow, tissue processing, and adherence to histology production standards and case turnaround time.
• Advocates for voice recognition software and contributes to CAP worksheets updates, auto text/template creation, and modifications.
• Accurately identifies specimens, labels samples with at least two identifiers, and follows protocols to ensure patient/specimen safety and quality outcomes.
• Provides high-quality gross examination descriptions, adheres to grossing templates and inking protocols, takes high-quality x-ray images, annotates diagrams, and submits required special studies.
• Documents cassettes submitted, orders appropriate histology protocols, ensures correct tissue size for processing, and reviews/edits specimen panels and billing codes.
• Documents Non-Conforming Events (NCEs) initiates problem-solving activities and takes corrective action when necessary.
• Writes and revises policies and procedures, supports the implementation of new processes, and provides educational experience with prosection procedures and techniques.
• Collaborates with subspecialty directors to write and edit CAP worksheets and gross templates to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Assists management in ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including quality assurance and safety requirements.
• Handles special projects or assignments as needed.

Qualifications

Requirements:

• Master's Degree from an accredited Pathologists' Assistant program.
• Pathologists Assistant Certification, Issued by ASCP.
• Five (5) years of experience as Pathologists' Assistant.
• Three (3) years of experience at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, preferred.

** Note: We will also consider entry-level candidates (including PAs without prior experience) for non-senior roles. **