Medical Laboratory Technician

JOB SUMMARY
Perform all aspects of patient care in a laboratory environment that optimizes patient safety with minimal medical/health care errors. Verify questionable results or samples and repeat procedure as necessary. Demonstrate ability to function in all areas of the clinical laboratory including blood bank, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, serology/immunology, and urinalysis.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Follows the laboratory’s procedures for specimen handling and processing, test analyses, reporting, and maintaining records of patient test results accurately and efficiently. Keeps work area clean and orderly.

• Adheres to laboratory quality assurance and quality control procedures. Documents all quality control testing, maintenance and calibration performed. Follow the procedures when quality control is not within the established acceptable level of performance.

• Documents all corrective action taken when the test systems deviates from the established performance specifications.

• Serves as technical resource by participating in staff training; answering questions of other professionals; participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.

• Identifies and communicates abnormal patient conditions by alerting supervisory personnel, the pathologist, the patient physician, or nurse; reporting mandated information to the public health department or other designated officials.

• Maintains medical laboratory supplies inventory by checking stock to determine inventory level; anticipating needed supplies; placing and expediting orders for supplies; verifying receipt of supplies.

• Contributes to a safe and secure environment for patients, visitors, physicians and co-workers by following established standards and procedures; complying with legal regulations.

• Maintains patient confidence by keeping laboratory information confidential.

• Serves and protects the hospital community by adhering to professional standards, hospital policies and procedures, federal, state, and local requirements.

• Enhances laboratory services and hospital reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.

• Other duties as assigned to support the overall effectiveness of the department and organizational performance in accordance with Curry Health Network’s Mission, Vision and Shared Values.

SHARED VALUES

Service: We serve with compassion and understanding.

Teamwork: We are one team – each one of us makes a difference.

Curiosity: We promote learning.

Integrity: We live by honesty, trust, and doing the right thing by our organizational values.

MINIMUM JOB REQUIREMENTS

Education & Experience

• Associate’s degree in medical laboratory technology/laboratory science or chemical, physical, biological science is required with ASCP or AMT certification.
• Experience in an acute patient care environment is required.

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills; able to communicate effectively in English, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to successfully and positively interact with providers and employees at all levels throughout the organization and the public.
• The skills required for proper specimen collection, including patient preparation, if applicable, labeling, handling, preservation or fixation, processing or preparation, transportation and storage of specimens.
• A working knowledge of reagent stability and storage.
• The skills required to implement quality control policies and procedures of the laboratory.

An awareness of the factors that influence test results, and the skills required to assess and verify the validity of patient test results through the evaluation of quality control sample values prior to reporting patient test results.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Physical Demands

On-the-job time is spent in the following physical activities:

None of the time: Taste or smell

Up to 1/3 of the time: Push/pull, Stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl, Reach with hands and arms

From 1/3 to 1/2 of the time: Talk or hear

Up 2/3 of the time and more: Stand, walk, sit, talk or hear, use hands to finger/handle or feel, push/pull, stoop/kneel, crouch/crawl, reach with hands and arms.

This job requires that weight be lifted, or force be exerted as follows:

None of the time: 50+ pounds up to and more than 100 pounds

Up to 1/3 of the time: Up to 10 pounds and up to 25 pounds

From 1/3 to 1/2 of the time: None

Up to 2/3 of the time and more: None

This job has special vision requirements as follows:

Close, color, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment

This job requires exposure to the following environmental conditions:

None of the time: Wet, humid conditions (non-weather), Fumes or airborne particles, Toxic or caustic chemicals, outdoor weather conditions, extreme cold (non-weather) extreme heat (non-weather), Risk of electrical shock, work with explosives

Up to 1/3 of the time: Work near moving mechanical parts, risk of radiation, vibration

From 1/3 to 1/2 of the time: None

The typical noise level for the work environment is: Very Quiet to Moderate noise

Hearing requirements: Ability to hear instructions, alarms and patient call.

This job requires the following repetitive motion actions:

From 0-1 hours per day: Repetitive use of foot control

From 1-2 hours per day: Firm/Heavy Grasping

From 3-4 hours per day:

From 5-6 hours per day:

From 7+ hours per day: Repetitive use of hands, fine dexterity, Grasping: simple/light (both hands)

This is designated as a hard to fill position. Please refer to policy HR-A37