Medical Lab Assistant

MyMichigan Health•Saginaw, MI

17h•Onsite

About The Position

Laboratory assistants work under the direct supervision of the medical technologist (Medical Laboratory Specialist) and a pathologist or other qualified physician, performing pre-, post, and analytical tasks in histology, cytology, microbiology, and the general laboratory.

Requirements

Must hold and maintain an active, national Medical Laboratory Assistant (MLA) certification within 12 months of hire or transfer into role (preferred first attempt occurs within 3 months of hire). Non-certified employees hired to an acquired facility must actively pursue an acceptable route to ASCP Certification and will be provided an appropriate amount of time to become certified (no more than 3 years from date of acquisition 8/1/2028).
High School Diploma or equivalent
Successful completion of NAACLS approved Clinical Assistant program within the last five years OR Successful completion of a 50-week U.S. military medical laboratory training course in the last ten years OR 2 years of full-time clinical laboratory experience
OR High School Diploma or equivalent AND Associates degree or 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) from a regionally accredited college with a minimum of 6 semester hours (9 semester hours) of each chemistry and biology AND 1 year of full-time clinical laboratory experience
OR High School Diploma or equivalent AND Valid PBT (ASCP) certification AND 1 year of full-time clinical laboratory experience
Clinical laboratory experience in Specimen Preparation and Processing, Support for Clinical Testing, and Laboratory Operations
Organization skills
Manual dexterity
Customer service skills
Communication skills
Teamwork skills
Computer skills (demonstrate competency in Microsoft Windows)

Nice To Haves

Six (6) months experience in a clinical or microbiology laboratory and/or one (1) year experience in handling biological specimens
Medical terminology knowledge
Knowledge of laboratory policies, procedures and protocols
Knowledge of MISYS LIS, HIS and admitting policies and procedures

Responsibilities

Executes waived testing, including result reporting
Prepares tissue specimens (along with information entry into the laboratory information system) for technical personnel and the Pathologist (Histology/Cytology)
Assists with inventory management (Histology/Cytology, Microbiology)
Prepares urine specimens for testing (General laboratory)
Prepares analyzers for testing: Monitors inventory, loads supplies and specimens, and empties waste (General laboratory, Microbiology)
Prepares and stains slides for bacteriologic study; Properly plates specimens on specified media (Microbiology)
Prepares specimens for testing (Microbiology)
Keeps accurate temperature, quality control and various other required records
Assists with pending logs
Identifies specimens properly
Uses basic tools of the laboratory proficiently, including centrifuges, incubators and balances
Prepares specimens for processing
Performs venipunctures
Registers patients and accurately enters data into the hospital and laboratory information systems
Adheres to all laboratory policies and procedures
Maintains confidentiality of all medical information
Follows patient registration, billing and coding procedures where required
Demonstrates competency in Infection Prevention and Control practices and policies
Performance, operation, and reporting of waived and point-of-care testing (e.g., glucose, pregnancy tests, urine dipsticks, coagulation tests)
Performance and interpretation of quality control; critical values and STAT results; result retrieval and reporting
Preparation, labeling, and staining of slides; microbiology setup and plating
Processes related to reagents, standards, and controls; analytical instrumentation (loading, test initiation, error recognition and reporting, specimen dilution, and calibrations)
Review, clarification, and verification of physician orders
Follows strict identification policies to accurately identify specimens and perform specimen labeling
Determines acceptability of specimen for testing, specimen prioritization and distribution, specimen storage, transport, and special handling considerations (time, temperature, and light)
Specimen processing including, but not limited to, centrifugation and aliquoting
Adheres to all Federal CLIA, CAP, and OSHA regulations
Adheres to safety and infection control; waste disposal; laboratory equipment; professionalism and ethics; and laboratory information system (LIS) regulations
Provides for the age specific needs of the population served according to department standards and policies/procedures for patients who range in age from birth to 100+ years
All other duties as assigned