Clinical Laboratory Assistant 2

University of Miami•Miami, FL

About The Position

The Clinical Laboratory Assistant 2 supports technical and professional personnel in clinical and research laboratories by performing routine duties and providing broad support for laboratory operations. In the Bone Marrow Processing and Accessioning Laboratory, the role handles accessioning of bone marrow aspirates, core biopsies, clot sections, touch preparations, and ancillary specimens. The assistant verifies patient identifiers, specimen labeling and integrity, transport conditions, test orders, and routing to the appropriate laboratories, while monitoring time-sensitive handling requirements and resolving specimen discrepancies. The position also supports quality assurance and regulatory compliance, staff training and cross-training, and accurate data entry in the Laboratory Information System (LIS) and CoPath. The role coordinates with laboratory departments, clinicians, nursing units, procedural areas, operating rooms, and clinics to support appropriate specimen submission and accessioning.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent, or relevant experience, certification, or license.
Minimum of 2 years of relevant experience.
Ability to learn new procedures, technologies, and protocols and adapt to changing priorities and work demands.
Ability to work collaboratively and contribute to a team environment.
Proficiency with office software, technology, and relevant computer applications.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

Identify, handle, and accession patient samples requiring laboratory testing.
Transport specimens and communicate test results in a timely and accurate manner.
Maintain laboratory files and logs neatly and accurately.
Process specimens, including centrifugation, aliquoting, and volume measurement.
Maintain adequate inventory levels according to protocol, rotate stock when applicable, and verify received items against packing slips.
Participate in departmental performance improvement processes.
Maintain an assigned work area in a clean and orderly condition.
Maintain confidentiality of patient information according to federal and state guidelines and regulations.
Generate patient reports and forward them to the appropriate departments or physicians.
Investigate and respond to inquiries and problems related to referral testing, specimen requirements, and improper or inadequate samples.
Serve as lead or backup when the Supervisor is unavailable.
Accession bone marrow aspirates, core biopsies, clot sections, touch preparations, and ancillary specimens.
Verify two patient identifiers and ensure specimen identification, labeling, container integrity, fixatives, and transport conditions meet requirements.
Enter and verify test orders in the LIS and CoPath, ensuring alignment between clinical orders and specimen types.
Coordinate specimen routing to Hematopathology, Flow Cytometry, Cytogenetics, Molecular Diagnostics, and Histology as required.
Monitor time-sensitive handling requirements to preserve bone marrow specimen cellular viability.
Resolve discrepancies involving missing orders, labeling errors, specimen quantity, or collection defects, and escalate specimen issues to clinicians, nurses, and procedural areas.
Maintain quality control measures for bone marrow accessioning workflows and carry out corrective actions for mislabeling, near misses, and non-conformances as directed by the Supervisor.
Assist with training new staff, workload distribution, productivity expectations, and cross-training.
Maintain accurate and timely LIS and CoPath data, including patient demographics, provider information, specimen source and type, and test orders and priorities.
Support downtime procedures and recovery processes.
Coordinate with Pathologists, Residents/Fellows, Histology, Cytology, Flow, Cytogenetics, Molecular laboratories, nursing units, procedural suites, operating rooms, and clinics.
Adhere to University and unit-level policies and procedures and safeguard University assets.