Clinic Lead

About the Role

The Clinic Lead is the on-site point person for daily clinic operations, serving as a working lead who balances direct patient care duties with frontline operational and team support. This role works alongside their team in both the front office and back office, providing hands-on support, training reinforcement, and in-the-moment guidance throughout each shift. The Clinic Lead is the first line of escalation for clinic-level issues and serves as the primary liaison between frontline staff and the General Manager.

Responsibilities

Clinic Operations & Patient Flow

• Serve as the operational point person on shift, ensuring smooth patient flow from check-in through discharge.
• Monitor and manage patient wait times, rooming cadence, and throughput in real time.
• Identify and address bottlenecks, staffing gaps, or workflow breakdowns promptly.
• Ensure the clinic is patient-ready at all times: supplies stocked, equipment functional, clinical areas clean and compliant.
• Escalate facility, safety, or operational concerns to the General Manager in a timely manner.

Back Office Clinical Duties (Medical Assistant)

• Perform all back office MA duties including patient rooming, vital signs, chief complaint documentation, medication administration (within scope), specimen collection, point-of-care testing, and wound care support.
• Maintain compliance with CLIA, COLA, and NextCare clinical quality standards.
• Complete competency checklists and laboratory training documentation for back office staff.
• Write Laboratory Corrective Actions as necessary and report results to the General Manager and Director of Laboratory Services.
• Ensure infection control, OSHA, and clinical safety standards are maintained throughout the shift.
• Perform moderate-complexity clinical testing across authorized disciplines (e.g., Chemistry, Hematology, Urinalysis) in strict accordance with the laboratory's COLA-approved SOP manual.
• Execute and document daily instrument calibrations, quality control (QC) tracking, and corrective actions for out-of-range values prior to reporting patient results.
• Maintain orderly, verifiable, and audit-ready logs for all pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical activities to ensure seamless biennial COLA on-site surveys.
• Participate in mandatory, documented competency assessments (semiannually in the first year of employment, and annually thereafter) covering all six CLIA-mandated elements.
• Successfully test and document blind proficiency testing samples exactly like patient specimens, adhering to strict anti-commingling regulations.
• Accession, process, centrifuge, and evaluate sample integrity, reporting data accurately into the Laboratory Information System (LIS).
• Promptly recognize critical, life-threatening results and follow immediate notification protocols to the attending healthcare provider.

Front Office Support

• Maintain working knowledge of front office processes including patient registration, insurance verification, co-pay collection, and discharge processing.
• Provide coverage or support in the front office as staffing needs require.
• Monitor front office workflows and communicate opportunities for improvement to the General Manager.
• Support the accuracy of TOS collections, data entry, and billing documentation at the clinic level.

Team Support, Training & Development

• Serve as a resource and mentor for Clinical Care Specialists (MAs) and Patient Service Specialists on shift.
• Provide real-time coaching and feedback to staff on clinical procedures, patient service, and workflow standards.
• Facilitate skills verification and on-the-job training for new hires in coordination with the Regional Trainer and General Manager.
• Provide performance observations and feedback to the General Manager on a regular basis.
• Participate in staff hiring interviews, providing clinical skill assessment input.

Patient Experience & Service Standards

• Model NextCare service standards in every patient interaction.
• Address patient concerns promptly and professionally; escalate to the General Manager as needed.
• Ensure all staff interactions with patients reflect NextCare's mission, values, and performance standards.

Regulatory & Compliance

• Ensure the clinic meets regulatory and NextCare standards including ADHS, COLA, OSHA, HIPAA, and corporate compliance requirements.
• Complete and report the results of monitoring activities and quality audits.
• Maintain accurate supply inventories and flag equipment needs to the General Manager.

Requirements

• Certified or Registered Medical Assistant (CMA or RMA) – Required
• Current CPR certification (AHA, Red Cross, ASHI, or NSC)
• Completion of an accredited Medical Assistant training program OR equivalent as outlined by state-specific requirements
• Minimum 2 years of back office MA experience in a medical office, urgent care, or emergency department setting
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced, team-oriented clinical environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in urgent care or high-volume ambulatory care settings
• Prior lead, senior, or supervisory MA experience
• Familiarity with CLIA/COLA compliance and laboratory quality standards
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical Demands

• Occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, lift, carry, use hands to handle or feel objects, tools or controls, reach with hands and arms, climb stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl, talk, hear, and lift and/or move up to 40 pounds.

Work Environment

• Comes in contact with patients in a wide variety of circumstances.
• May be exposed to unpleasant situations including accidents, injuries, illnesses, patient elements, and varying or unpredictable situations.