Clinical Lab Support Tech II — Specimen Processing Expert

001 University of Rochester; City of Rochester (NY); On-site; USD 28,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Rochester UR Medicine Labs is seeking a Lab Assistant/Specimen Receiving professional to support the specimen intake workflow at 220 Hutchison Rd, Rochester, NY. This full-time role requires accurate data entry, adherence to procedures, and priority handling of specimens.

You will enter patient demographics into the LIS and EMR, read requisitions, and help maintain specimen integrity while supporting other laboratory staff through training and cross-location travel as needed.

Qualifications

• High school diploma and 1 year of related experience or certification in a related field such as medical laboratory assisting or successful completion of an approved educational program (e.g WEMOCO or BOCES) required.
• 12 months related work experience in a health care setting or customer service field, including other lab divisions within UR Medicine such as Client Services, Phlebotomy, Clinical Trials, or similar roles; or 12 months successful performance as temporary employee (e.g. Strong Staffing) required.
• Or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Responsibilities

• Enters patient demographic and insurance information efficiently and accurately.
• Enters information into the electronic medical record.
• Ensures completion of all required fields.
• Understands required information on requisitions.
• Follows all procedures.
• Logs patient and test information from requisitions into the Laboratory Information System (LIS).
• Understands how to utilize UR Medicine Labs Test Menu and verifies that acceptable criteria are met.
• Understands how to read requisitions from different sources.
• Recognizes unacceptable specimen criteria and enters the problem test so that proper resolution can be made.
• Receives pre-accessioned specimens into the LIS from varying sources.
• Reconciles batch manifests and accounts for all specimens.
• Identifies specimen requirements and documents discrepancies or unacceptable criteria in the LIS.
• Identifies specialized testing requests and prioritizes specimens to meet the requested turnaround time (TAT).
• Triages samples received through the chute or drop-off window.
• Utilizes judgment, prioritization, and UR Medicine Test Menu to prepare specimens and determine stability, volume, need for centrifugation, and type of aliquotting technique to ensure the integrity of the specimen.
• Utilizes judgment and prioritization to distribute specimens to the appropriate department for prompt analysis.
• Utilizes judgment and discretion to determine specimen priority and volume of samples placed on the line.
• Mantains proficiency in operational systems and middleware while monitoring operations of each module on the automation line.
• Determines if manual intervention is required if an error occurs on the automation line.
• Receives phone inquiries from providers, physicians, customers, and internal lab personnel.
• Assesses the urgency of a situation and determines the appropriate routing.
• Investigates problem specimens that result in calling the provider for a resolution.
• Utilizes LIS for inputting complaints, documenting specimen requests, and addressing specimen integrity issues.
• Provides training for other laboratory personnel on all aspects of department-specific work as needed and under the direction of area leadership.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Attention to detail

Multi-tasking

HIPAA compliance

LIS proficiency

Medical terminology

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

LIS (Laboratory Information System)

Electronic Medical Record System (EMR)

Pre-Analytical automation Control Unit

Middleware

Job description

The University of Rochester UR Medicine Labs is seeking a Lab Assistant/Specimen Receiving professional to support the specimen intake workflow at 220 Hutchison Rd, Rochester, NY. This full-time role requires accurate data entry, adherence to procedures, and priority handling of specimens.

You will enter patient demographics into the LIS and EMR, read requisitions, and help maintain specimen integrity while supporting other laboratory staff through training and cross-location travel as needed.