Employment

Primary Function

Performs clinical procedures and testing in accordance with approved policies and procedures and clinically accepted standards.  Performs and reviews quality control and maintenance procedures while being cross-trained to function in any area of the clinical laboratory. Performs scheduled duty on weekends, holidays, and when requested to do so in order to facilitate patient care.

Job Description

• Performs clinical procedures and testing in accordance with approved policies and procedures and clinically accepted standards in the following areas; chemistry, microbiology, hematology, immunology, urinalysis, serology, parisitology, and blood banking.
• Performs and reviews quality control and maintenance procedures while being cross-trained to function in any area of the clinical laboratory.
• Performs instrument start-up procedures, observes all safety procedures, identifies instrument malfunctions, unacceptable reagent performance, provides clinical instruction to other technologists and technicians, reviews complex section procedures and participates in proficiency testing (CAP) as requested.
• Performs laboratory instrument calibration standardization and preventative maintenance.
• Performs phlebotomy procedures in accordance with accepted policies and standards on pediatric and adult patients.
• Keeps abreast of new developments by attending continuing education seminars.
• Prepares reports and performs research as directed by the Supervisory Medical Technologist.
• Provides assistance to Medical Technologists in assessing, preparing, and/or updating procedure manuals.
• Maintains confidentiality of reports and provides careful and respectful treatment to all patients and staff members.
• Uses safe work practices that include maintaining a clean workplace, following established policies and procedures for safety and infection control, following universal blood/body fluid precautions, and reporting accidents/incidents promptly.
• Organizes and prioritizes work efficiently to maintain a high level of productivity without sacrificing quality.
• Assists the laboratory in maintaining CAP/JCAHO accreditation by compliance with standards and accurate performance of proficiency testing. Will also meet all competency requirements, including age specific competencies as mandated by accreditation organizations.

• Separates serum and plasma from red cells and performs Chemistry testing on specimens from simple qualitative tests through complex quantitative analyses using both manual and automated methods.
• Performs quantitative analysis on urine and CSF specimens.
• Verifies that results are reportable by analyses and interpretation of quality control.
• Repeats testing on both specimens and quality control materials as necessary to assure accuracy of results.
• Maintains equipment in working condition. Performs preventative maintenance as scheduled and needed. Maintains records of preventative maintenance and corrective actions. Keeping equipment in working condition may include minor repairs and will require extensive knowledge of the problem and working with technical experts from equipment vendors.
• Incumbent must also be able to assess when samples must be recollected due tovarious interferences such hemolysis or lipemia as some test results are erroneous with these interferences.
• Cultures pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms for the purpose ofidentifying and performing susceptibility assays on clinically significant isolates forthe treatment of patients.
• Monitors all specimens submitted for proper collection, preservation, andidentification. Specimen types may originate from any part of the body but are most commonly fluids, wounds, blood, throat swabs, rectal, or vaginal swabs.
• Places specimens in appropriate holding transport media or broth.
• Prepares, treats, and inoculates specimens onto appropriate media and maintainsthem under special conditions (ex. CO2 enhancement, oxygen deprivation, etc…) to enhance the growth of microorganisms.
• Examines culture and subculture growth for possible pathogens, discriminatingbetween potential pathogens versus normal flora or contaminants.
• Separates colonies needed for identification and susceptibility testing.
• Using biochemical analytical methods, identifies isolated colonies to the specieslevel for bacteria.
• Identifies the presence of fungal elements.
• Performs susceptibility testing using precise dilutions of microorganisms withknown concentrations of antimicrobials.
• Performs gram stains, oxidase, and indole testing, as well as other manual biochemical methods.
• Maintains equipment in working condition. Performs preventative maintenance as scheduled and needed. Maintains records of preventative maintenance and corrective actions. Records include temperature checks, QC testing, rapid testing, and records of media QC testing. Keeping equipment in working condition may include minor repairs and will require extensive knowledge of the problem and working with technical experts from equipment vendors.
• Reports susceptibilities using NCCLS standards to aid the physician in appropriatetherapy.
• Performs venipuncture, capillary puncture, therapeutic phlebotomy, and bleedingtimes as appropriate.
• Prepares, treats, dilutes, and identifies blood specimens for all requestedhematological analysis (ex. CBC, ESR, Reticulocyte Counts, Coagulation, WBC differential, RBC Counts and morphology, etc…).
• Performs cellular analysis on body fluids (ex. CSF, Joint fluids, semen, etc…).
• Performs hematology testing and reports the results in a timely manner.
• Refers specimens and slides to Medical Technologists who use their clinical knowledge of normal and abnormal physical conditions to appropriately and adequately identify those patients requiring more testing and analysis by more specialized personnel (ex. Hematologists, Pathologists, etc…).
• Incumbent must be able to test non-ideal specimens by pretreatments to removeinterferences when encountered, e.g., lipemia.
• Maintains equipment in working condition. Performs preventative maintenance as scheduled and needed. Maintains records of preventative maintenance and corrective actions. Keeping equipment in working condition may include minor repairs and will require extensive knowledge of the problem and working with technical experts from equipment vendors.
• Performs all required Blood Bank procedures according to the standards of theAABB including but not limited to ABO, Rh typing, antibody screening, antibodyidentification, antibody titer, cross-matching, direct coombs, and the transfusionreaction investigation.
• Co-ordinates with the American Red Cross for the acquisition of needed products and maintains records of acquired blood products to ensure safety and tracing as needed.
• Selects correct types of blood products depending on component needed, adhering to protocol and severity of the situation.
• Monitors all critically temperature-controlled refrigerators and freezers according toAABB and CAP standards.
• Maintains equipment in working condition. Performs preventative maintenance as scheduled and needed. Maintains records of preventative maintenance and corrective actions. Keeping equipment in working condition may include minor repairs and will require extensive knowledge of the problem and working with technical experts from equipment vendors.
• Capable of reacting immediately and appropriately in all emergency transfusion requirements.
• Performs automated or manual “dipstick” testing of urine and performs microscopic exams of urine sediment.
• Maintains equipment in working condition. Performs preventative maintenance as scheduled and needed. Maintains records of preventative maintenance and corrective actions. Keeping equipment in working condition may include minor repairs and will require extensive knowledge of the problem and working with technical experts from equipment vendors.
• Assist in teaching students or newly hired technicians in all areas of the laboratory as needed.
• Attain adequate skills to be able to work with limited supervision on weekends, holidays, 1st, 2nd and 3rd shifts when needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor (ex. workload reports, changing shifts occasionally to accommodate workload requirements, etc…).
• Subject to on-call status as necessary and must be able to return to the laboratory within 15 minutes when called by a provider for laboratory work on patients at all hours of the day.

Must possess a valid NCDL.

Education/Experience

• Position requires an Associate’s Degree in Medical Laboratory Technology and certification of MLT (ASCP) or equivalent accrediting body, or applicant must obtain certification within 24 months of hire date.
• Student(s) enrolled in an accredited MLT program doing their clinical rotation at the CIHA laboratory would be eligible for hire prior to graduation. A high school diploma or equivalent is required and records of training to perform moderate complexity testing as defined in the CLIA regulation 42CFR493.1423. Failure to graduate at specified date, if hired, would be grounds for termination.
• Position requires 18 months to become technically proficient.