Lab Assistant

About the role

At RWJBarnabas Health, Lab Assistants become part of a purpose-driven environment where compassion, clinical excellence, and patient-centered care create meaningful opportunities to support medical diagnostic services. This role offers opportunities for professional growth, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a culture committed to quality, evidence-based laboratory practices, and continuous improvement.

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.
• Cooking, 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.

Requirements

• A High School Diploma or GED equivalent is required.
• 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.
• Strong professional judgment with the ability to make timely decisions consistent with departmental policies, goals, and regulatory rules.

Qualifications

• Compassion and empathy guide your interactions with patients, families, and your clinical laboratory colleagues.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.

Skills

• Compassion and empathy guide your interactions with patients, families, and your clinical laboratory colleagues.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.
• You are passionate about supporting individuals by protecting accurate diagnostic paths and maintaining strict levels of confidentiality regarding laboratory results and patient records.

Benefits

• Continuous learning, strict safety compliance, and professional development within an acute care laboratory framework are important to you.

Pay

The pay range for this position is $23.69 per hour.

Schedule

This role is available on a Per Diem basis, with evening shift hours from 2:00pm – 10:00pm. Days are flexible, but candidates must maintain open availability to work rotating weekends and holidays as clinically needed.