Pathology Assistant

The CHA laboratory provides everything from routine blood and urine tests to special tissue evaluation.

Summary:

Under the direct supervision of the Lab Director and Associate Pathologist, assist in the preparation of human surgical specimens and perform other assigned duties to ensure optimal patient care and the safety and efficiency of the Pathology Department.

Responsibilities:

Specimen Processing and Gross Description of Surgical Specimens:

• Accurately and efficiently provides gross descriptions of all surgical specimens.
• Is competent and adept in the use of Dragon Voice recognition.
• Independently troubleshoots issues with Dragon Voice.
• Creates new templates for dictation for Dragon Voice.
• Accurately and efficiently dissects tissue and puts it into a properly labelled cassette for processing.
• Accurately and efficiently prints cassettes as needed.
• Completes worksheets for each specimen.
• Ensures specimen comments, including IHC, special stains, and levels, are transcribed correctly onto the specimen worksheets.
• Performs frozen sections with staining and delivers slides within acceptable time limits.
• Prepares touch preps and stains slides as needed.
• Provides high quality photographs of gross specimens and microscopic slides.
• Delivers specimens to radiology for new images.
• Efficiently delivers tissue, hardware, or other foreign bodies to doctors’ offices or directly to patients as needed.
• Assists in the printing of proofs of dictation and other patient’s information as needed.
• Loads the specimens on the processor as needed.

Gross Room Quality Control and Equipment Maintenance:

• Correctly performs all required daily and monthly instrument procedures according to specific schedules and protocols.
• Troubleshoots and resolves quality control failures and instrument failures; contacts technical service representatives when required.
• Maintains an adequate supply of inventory at all times.
• Ensures that the grossing room is kept clean and organized.
• Monitors all temperature dependent equipment.
• Manages and labels chemicals and chemical hazardous waste properly.

Team Skills:

• Participates daily to efficiently complete all required department work within the appropriate time interval.
• Constructively analyzes work processes and contributes to improving workflow as needed.
• Actively participates in committee/task force team meetings as assigned.
• Attends and participates in all department meetings, reads minutes, and completes assigned follow up tasks within deadlines.
• Demonstrates flexibility in resolving scheduling issues.
• Trains new employees on policies and procedures of the department.
• Supports department initiatives with technical knowledge and education for other departments.

Administrative Responsibilities:

• Assists in the organization and coordination of anatomic pathology conferences.
• Assists in the preparation of documents and tissue for send out cases as needed.
• Assists pathologists in the preparation for accreditation inspections.
• Writes technical procedures in accordance with established technical guidelines.
• Performs other tasks as assigned or directed by the manager.

Safety:

• Keeps work area disinfected and adheres to safety policies.
• Successfully completes annual review training in Safety and Risk Management.
• Demonstrates techniques to minimize exposure to formalin fume exposure.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education:

Minimum of a Baccalaureate degree; degree in biomedical or health sciences preferred. Completion of NAACLS accredited Pathologist’s Assistant program required.

Certification:

Current Pathologist’s Assistant certification through the American Society for Clinical Pathology required.

Experience:

New certified graduates acceptable; 3 or more years experience in a clinical pathology setting preferred. Must have dictation experience; experience with voice recognition preferred.