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Work Shift

Day

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Summary

This position supports Mercy's philosophy of patient centered care through technical leadership in the Laboratory. The Technical Lead provides functional supervision of Lab staff in their area of responsibility, including competency assessment and new staff training. The Technical Lead directs and reviews the performance of all tests in the lab or lab section, implements and maintains quality control and quality management programs for the lab or lab section, maintains and reviews instrument records for the lab or lab section, develops policies and procedures related to testing in the section, and adheres to various accrediting agency standards.

Job Description

Job Duties

• Ensure that accurate and clinically relevant information is communicated with patients, their families, and co-workers at hand offs and other times as needed. Take all measures necessary to ensure that the appropriate and involved parties have communicated necessary information in order to allow for the best possible patient outcome
• Properly identifies patients and samples during the pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical phases of testing.
• Maintains and improves skills by participating in at least one continuing education activity annually.
• Actively seeks and identifies opportunities for process improvement.
• Responsible for procedure writing, updating, and validating.
• Ensures compliance with all regulatory requirements that apply to the lab or lab section.
• Acts as a resource for laboratory medicine information to providers and others.
• Uses laboratory information system to access information and enter information.
• Educates and trains new staff and students.
• Provides leadership to technical staff and role models professional behavior.
• Initiates crucial conversations with staff concerning behavior and performance, can issue up to a documented counseling level of corrective action.
• Works with the Lab Manager to recommend further disciplinary action and to assist in performance management and evaluation.
• Responsible for submission and review of proficiency testing, including working with the Lab Manager as needed on corrective action.
• Maintains technical competencies as outlined in staff level job descriptions by working at the bench at least 25% of the time. This includes a regular weekend and/or holiday rotation.
• Actively participates in Laboratory Leadership activities and other teams, committees, and councils as assigned.
• Serves as primary resource and troubleshooter for lab/section instrumentation.
• Ensures proper inventory and ordering of department supplies.
• Assists Lab Manager with staffing and scheduling needs and works on the bench as needed to meet minimum staffing levels and during periods of high patient census. 
• Adjusts scheduled activities, tasks, projects and obligations as needed to meet fluctuating staffing and patient needs.
• Follows Mercy's safety guidelines, carries out job-specific safety duties and responsibilities, and promptly reports any unsafe conditions, situations, incidents and injuries.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of laboratory testing procedures
• Knowledge of regulatory requirements, including CAP, COLA, CLIA, DNV, and FDA
• Ability to work quickly and efficiently under pressure without sacrificing quality
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and work with interruptions
• Skilled in use of standard laboratory instrumentation
• Skilled in use of the laboratory information system (LIS)
• Ability to think critically about test results in relation to patient condition
• Ability to recognize and correct problems with quality control
• Ability to recognize problems and troubleshoot laboratory equipment
• Ability to be detail-oriented
• Ability to complete appropriate documentation and paperwork clearly and completely
• Knowledge of basic management principles
• Ability to coach and hold staff accountable

Professional Experience

• Required: At least 2 years in a clinical laboratory setting, with at least one year in the area of responsibility.

Education

• Required:  Associate's degree in medical laboratory, biological, or chemical science; completion of a 50 week US military medical laboratory training program; or completion of other laboratory training program.

Licensure, Certification, Registration

• Required: Certification with American Society for Clinical Pathology - ASCP or American Medical Technologists - AMT as a Medical Laboratory Technician, Medical Laboratory Scientist or Medical Technologist or other prior CLIA recognized certifications may be acceptable.

Physical Requirements

Light: Exert up to 20 lbs. of force occasionally and/or up to 10 lbs. of force frequently

Pay Rate Type

Hourly

Mercy is an independent, community-based organization supporting the Cedar Rapids area for over 120 years.

Mercy is an equal-opportunity employer. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion and therefore evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, civil union status, parental status, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.