Medical Laboratory Scientist-Lab Weekend Evenings

## Company Description At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better health care, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. We pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, our goal is to take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better? ## Job Description **\*\*This is a casual (non-benefited) position located at Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital. The schedule for the role is every other weekend, 2:30p to 11p.\*\*** The **Medical Laboratory Scientist** reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards. A Medical Laboratory Scientist performs test procedures in a clinical laboratory and conveys the results to the physician or designee in an accurate and timely manner for the purpose of patient diagnosis and treatment **RESPONSIBILITIES:** - Technical responsibilities: - Performs all aspects of pre-analytic workflow appropriate for the specific laboratory section to ensure orders are entered correctly, specimens collected are appropriate for the test ordered and are correctly processed/transported. - Verifies order where necessary - Verifies non-patient information (e.g., collection time) according to established protocol. - Handles unresolved orders, troubleshoots where needed. - Verifies with physicians and/or nurses prior to laboratory information system (LIS) order entry to resolve unclear, duplicate or otherwise ambiguous orders. - Verifies specimens for add-on tests are available and acceptable and generates add-on test orders. - Recognizes when fraud and abuse compliance issues require adjustments to the test order - Collecting, receiving and processing of specimens: - Verifies specimens are correctly and completely labeled upon receipt. Evaluates specimens for appropriateness and takes necessary corrective action. Appropriately documents unacceptable specimens and proper notifications as needed. - Prioritizes specimen processing based on established priorities. - Aliquots specimens according to established protocols. - Performs all aspects of analytical testing appropriate for the specific laboratory section,following established written protocols and standard operating procedures (SOP) - Maintains test system integrity: - Performs preventive maintenance on instruments/equipment in a timely fashion according to defined schedule. - Verifies reagents and supplies meet defined acceptability criteria upon receipt and prior to use; takes action to ensure unacceptable items are removed from use. - Ensures that sufficient reagents and supplies necessary for test performance are available. Notifies senior staff when minimum inventory level is encountered. - Performs and records all necessary quality control (QC) required for test system performance. - Evaluates QC results and takes necessary corrective actions according to established protocol. - Performs specimen preparation: - Performs any necessary pretest specimen preparation according to protocols (e.g., microbiology plating, cell cultures, filtering, extraction, separation, elution, absorption, etc.) - Transfers or ships specimens to approved testing locations according to SOPs - Performs tests: - Prioritizes testing based on assignment or established priorities, completes testing within defined turn-around-times (TAT). - Recognizes the need for and follows any age-specific protocols - Responds effectively to changes in the workflow by coordinating a simultaneous series of tests when needed or adjusti…