Lab Support Specialist (I)

Saratoga Hospital•Malta, NY

28d•$18 - $27

About The Position

We're looking for a dedicated Lab Support Specialist to join our team and help us continue delivering the level of care our patients and families deserve. In this role, you'll be a vital part of our clinical team, ensuring excellent service, collaboration, and patient outcomes in a fast-paced healthcare environment. You will Perform phlebotomy techniques to obtain blood specimens on patients of all ages. The Lab Support Specialist will interpret and transcribe physician orders onto manual requisitions and into the computer Order Entry System. You will also perform all medically necessary activities required along with assisting in lab functions as required for proper specimen accessioning. Assist in training new employees. Assist in clerical functions of department.

Requirements

High school graduate or GED required.
Prior phlebotomy experience preferred.
Valid New York State driver's license required.
Must be at least 21 years of age and approved to drive Saratoga Hospital vehicles for shifts requiring travel for offsite specimen collection.
Certification or eligible with a recognized board of registry recommended.
Ability to organize and establish day-to-day priorities while utilizing critical thinking skills in all aspects of the job.
Must be able to multitask while remaining professional, focused, composed and positive.
Excellent customer service skills and must display integrity, friendliness and compassion.
Must be able to establish an appropriate and effective rapport with others.
Must be flexible to take initiative and embrace new opportunities to grow both personally and organizationally.
Problem solving skills.
Proficient with Microsoft Office products: Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Strong organizational skills.
Effective interpersonal skills.
Ability to work as part of a team and independently.
Strong communication and teamwork skills
Commitment to providing patient-first, high-quality service
Comfort working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment

Responsibilities

Patient Care: Recognizes age-specific requirements including but not limited to determining a safe blood volume to be collected and choosing appropriate devices.
Proficient to work independently in services; In-house, outpatient collection station(s), Urgent Care/Emergency Department, Cath Lab and medical imaging.
Monitors patients for adverse reactions, which can include but are not limited to syncope, nerve damage, and hematoma formation.
Is responsible for understanding patient limitations for collection site including but not limited to post mastectomy and dialysis access.
Must be able to problem solve when faced with unusual circumstances in patient care areas.
Blood Specimen Collection: Performs all phases of phlebotomy with a 95% success rate on neonate infant, children (1-7 years), and adolescent, adult and geriatric patients.
Must be able to collect a high quality specimen by determining the appropriate site for collection, as well as collect specimens in the correct order of draw, with appropriate equipment and prep, as well as labelling specimens with the appropriate identifiers.
Ensures specimens are maintained according to requirements, and processes specimens.
Must be able to problem solve issues involving collection equipment, and electronic equipment.
Accessioning: Performs accessioning in Laboratory Information System with a high degree of accuracy.
Must maintain specimen requirements by triaging incoming specimens.
Reviews provider orders for all required elements and instructs providers on how to provide missing information.
Accepts provider orders by phone and fax; sends patient results by fax.
Must be able to use critical thinking and communication skills to solve problems concerning requisitions and incoming specimens.
Communication: Provides information to technical staff through electronic communications regarding patient state, collection site, and resulting expectations to ensure results can be assessed accurately for interfering substances.
Greets and identifies patients appropriately using Press-Ganey customer defined scripting.
Explains venipuncture procedure fully and makes patient feel at ease.
Time Management: Determines priority of tasks using available resources taking into consideration order priority, patient condition and ordering provider requests; determining what adjustments must be made when necessary.
Client Services: Travels to offsite patient locations and couriers specimen collection supplies, used sharps containers, trash accumulated during collection, as well as blood and urine specimens.
Records collection data at client site regarding patient interaction.
Communicates with physician practices specimen collection, storage, and processing issues or concerns.
Deliver compassionate, patient-centered care in alignment with Saratoga Hospital values
Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to support health, healing, and service excellence
Perform clinical responsibilities with a focus on safety, quality, and efficiency
Use hospital systems and tools to document care and support operations
Continuously seek opportunities to improve processes and support patient and staff satisfaction
Serve as a positive, professional representative of our hospital and community