Clinical Lab Assistant II-Full-time Days

Northwestern Memorial Healthcare • Geneva, IL

1d

About The Position

The Clinical Lab Assistant II supports Northwestern Medicine’s patient-first mission and complies with organizational policies, ethical standards, and applicable regulatory and accreditation requirements. This is a full-time, 40-hour-per-week position serving various Northwestern Medicine Cancer Centers, including Delnor Hospital in Geneva, Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb, and Huntley Hospital.

The role works with laboratory staff and clinical teams to receive, process, route, and track specimens; enter and retrieve information in laboratory and hospital computer systems; and perform diagnostic testing as directed. The assistant also helps maintain instruments, test kits, supplies, quality-control records, and laboratory equipment, and communicates specimen issues and critical or notifiable results to appropriate clinical personnel.

Department-specific duties may include phlebotomy and other specimen collection, microbiology setup and testing preparation, biological specimen transport, and assistance with biopsy processing and anatomic pathology slide requests.

Requirements

• High school diploma.
• At least 1 year of work experience in a general laboratory, specimen processing, or phlebotomy area, or enrollment in a laboratory-related education program.

Nice To Haves

• Phlebotomy certification or training from an accredited school or institution.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with main laboratory staff, ancillary departments, nurses, and providers to support patient care.
• Receive specimens into the laboratory information system and register specimen drop-offs, ensuring accurate data entry.
• Input and retrieve laboratory results in laboratory or hospital computer systems.
• Process specimens for transport to reference laboratories and distribute specimens to the appropriate testing areas.
• Identify and resolve problems using appropriate resources, with assistance from a supervisor, manager, pathologist, or coworkers as appropriate.
• Verify the accuracy of instruments and test kits; perform quality control and maintenance, and troubleshoot as needed.
• Operate and maintain laboratory automation systems as appropriate.
• Perform diagnostic or analytic testing of specimens; interpret, document, and report results to providers.
• Perform waived and/or moderate-complexity testing under the direction of a CLS.
• Ensure appropriate testing is ordered and identify the correct reference laboratory for referred specimens.
• Communicate specimen rejections and critical or notifiable results to appropriate clinical personnel, and complete required documentation.
• Review or record refrigerator temperatures and QC/QA records as assigned; record concerns in the Corrective Action Log and report maintenance issues for repair.
• Follow up on outstanding orders, including time-sensitive draws and charges.
• Answer laboratory phone calls and triage them appropriately.
• Coordinate courier pickups as needed.
• Perform phlebotomy and other laboratory specimen collections according to age-related standards as required.
• Complete required biological transport training and maintain competency; recognize temperature-dependent transport conditions and select the correct packing-list destination.
• Monitor and maintain specialty supplies, including kits, swabs, and collection containers, and distribute them to units.
• Ensure supplies are available and stored at appropriate temperatures.
• Perform microbiology setups or other testing-preparation duties.
• Assist with bone marrow and other biopsy processing as needed.
• Pull anatomic pathology slides for second-opinion requests and log returned materials into Epic.

Benefits

• Tuition reimbursement
• Loan forgiveness
• 401(k) matching
• Lifecycle benefits
• A range of benefits intended to support employees’ physical, emotional, and financial well-being and provide protection for unexpected life events

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: High school or GED