Clinical Lab Assistant - Day Shift, Specimen Handling

RWJBarnabas Health; Communipaw (NJ); On-site; USD 32,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

RWJBarnabas Health is seeking a Lab Assistant at Jersey City Medical Center. The role involves receiving, verifying, and distributing specimens, handling barcoded samples, and supporting an interdisciplinary team to ensure diagnostic accuracy and patient safety.

The position emphasizes meticulous specimen processing, data privacy, and adherence to safety standards. Ideal candidates have a high school diploma, up to 2 years of lab experience, and strong computer and communication skills.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED equivalent required.
• 0–2 years of experience, ideally within a laboratory environment.
• Demonstrates familiarity or experience with specimen processing.
• Demonstrated competence in organizing, multi-tasking, and prioritizing high-volume workloads for timely clinical completion.
• Effective communication skills, with the ability to express details clearly and professionally both verbally and in writing.
• Strong technical acumen with the ability to easily comprehend and execute complex operational and safety instructions.
• Proven ability and willingness to maintain a strict level of data privacy and confidentiality regarding sensitive medical results.
• Excellent computer skills with a history of navigating databases or sorting automated medical logs preferred.
• Physical capability and comfort to work within an environment that involves handling biohazard specimens and meeting active physical demands.
• Scheduling requirements: Per Diem (PD) Day Shift, 6:00 AM – 2:00 PM. Weekdays are flexible, but rotating weekend and holiday availability is required.

Responsibilities

• Reporting to the Laboratory Supervisor or Director while verifying, accepting, and processing tissue and fluid specimens delivered via the pneumatic tube system or direct delivery from the ED, nursing units, PAT, and outside clinics.
• Conducting comprehensive sorting and rapid distribution of properly barcoded specimens to their appropriate laboratory sections, prioritizing emergency department, critical care floors, and STAT specimens for immediate delivery.
• Participating as an active member of the interdisciplinary team by operating laboratory machinery, including spinning all specimens intended for Troponin evaluation prior to transferring custody to the Chemistry department.
• Developing, maintaining, and continuously monitoring all pending or collected patient specimens through the designated laboratory database system to ensure accurate tracking and tracking software metrics remain current.
• Facilitating professional communication by answering incoming phone calls observing proper telephone manners and accurately referring inquiries to specific technical sections when advanced assistance is required.
• Coordinating external laboratory compliance by carefully preparing and processing all clinical PKU specimens slated to be sent out to the New Jersey State Department of Health.
• Completing comprehensive administrative oversight by monitoring regulatory logs, printing/sorting inpatient, outpatient, and medical record cumulative documents, maintaining processing area order, and applying manual tracking knowledge during computer system downtime.

Skills

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Attention to detail

Data privacy

Computer skills

Multitasking

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Tools

Laboratory machinery

Job description

RWJBarnabas Health is seeking a Lab Assistant at Jersey City Medical Center. The role involves receiving, verifying, and distributing specimens, handling barcoded samples, and supporting an interdisciplinary team to ensure diagnostic accuracy and patient safety.

The position emphasizes meticulous specimen processing, data privacy, and adherence to safety standards. Ideal candidates have a high school diploma, up to 2 years of lab experience, and strong computer and communication skills.