Medical Lab Scientist

Lexington Health is a comprehensive network of care that includes six community medical and urgent care centers, nearly 80 physician practices, more than 9,000 health care professionals and Lexington Medical Center, a 607-bed teaching hospital in West Columbia, South Carolina. It was selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare and was first in the state to achieve Magnet with Distinction status for excellence in nursing care. Consistently ranked as best in the Columbia Metro area by U.S. News & World Report, Lexington Health delivers more than 4,000 babies each year, performs more than 34,000 surgeries annually and is the region's third largest employer.

About the role

The Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) provides laboratory services for the consumers of healthcare to include both LMC inpatients and outpatients. The MLS ensures excellent quality in laboratory testing and accurate forms of analysis that improve patient outcomes. The MLS performs both routine and specialty testing that provides fast, precise information for patient diagnosis and treatment. All responsibilities are carried out in accordance with the mission, vision, and strategic imperatives of Lexington Medical Center.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree from a national or international accredited educational institution.
• Actively hold Medical Laboratory Scientist (MT/MLS) certification by the American Society of Clinical Pathologist (ASCP) Board of Certification (BOC) or an equivalent state or governmental certification including: National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel (NCA), American Medical Technologies (AMT), or American Association of Bioanalysts Board of Registry (AAB). National certification may be at the medical laboratory science (MLS) level or a categorical certification in a recognized discipline of clinical laboratory science (i.e., chemistry, hematology, blood bank, microbiology). With a categorical certification, the employee's practice will be limited to the category or categories listed by the certifying board.
• Candidates without active MT/MLS certification that are registry eligible may be considered but must obtain certification within one year of hire. Candidates hired as registry eligible that fail to obtain certification within one year must have MT/MLS certification before reapplying.
• Candidates with current active Medical Laboratory Scientist (MT/MLS) certification will be considered in lieu of Bachelor's Degree.

Responsibilities

• Perform manual and automated laboratory testing requiring instrumentation to complete testing.
• Collect specimens, including venipunctures and capillary punctures for blood specimens from patients of various ages using developmentally appropriate techniques.
• Process laboratory specimens related to assigned departments.
• Select, perform, evaluate, and monitor the performance of test procedures independently using manual and/or instrumental techniques.
• Perform instrument calibration, routine quality control, preventative maintenance, and verification of correct instrument operation; recognize indicators of malfunction and perform corrective action.
• Perform troubleshooting procedures on all assigned department equipment, communicate with service, and relay appropriate information to personnel; document appropriately.
• Review patient and instrument data for accuracy and maintain proper records (e.g., quality control reports).
• Recognize abnormal results, evaluate and correlate data with other test results/diagnosis; interpret appropriately and conduct follow-up action if required; seek appropriate assistance with problems.
• Perform proper notification of abnormal results per policy.
• Maintain competency for waived, moderate, and high complexity testing (checked semi-annually the first year of hire and annually thereafter) in all testing assigned.
• Adhere to safety policies and procedures as established by LMC.
• Provide patient care/support appropriate to the cognitive, physical, and emotional needs of the patient group served.
• Perform all assigned testing independently and successfully multi-task as necessary; promote teamwork within the department.
• Perform additional assignments such as inventory of supplies, writing or revising laboratory procedures/manuals, reports, and other documents.
• Review quality control documents for QC outliers and trends and take appropriate action; print and review documents such as abnormal results, critical values, overdue logs/pending logs and communicate appropriately.
• Train new employees/students on technical procedures and equipment as assigned.
• Work collaboratively with coworkers, nurses, physicians, and other healthcare workers, laboratory and hospital administration, patients, and families in a teamwork approach.
• Inform other personnel of circumstances that may affect the quality of testing and take responsibility to initiate appropriate follow-up.
• Notify appropriate personnel of critical test results or results deemed "alert" values.
• Provide courteous and accurate communication while following LMC confidentiality policies.
• Demonstrate the ability to facilitate learning for coworkers, students, and other members of the healthcare team and community, including both formal and informal facilitation.
• Maintain continuing education requirements for national certification and LMC level requirements.
• Participate in the teaching of medical laboratory science students/new employees in a clinical setting.
• Demonstrate sensitivity to recognize, appreciate, and incorporate differences into the provision of care (e.g., cultural, spiritual, gender, race, ethnicity, lifestyle, socioeconomic status, age, and values).
• Demonstrate clinical reasoning, including decision-making, critical thinking, and informed experiential knowledge and skill.
• Ensure Hazardous Waste or Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals are discarded, stored, and managed with other compatible waste streams in properly labeled and closed containers prior to being shipped offsite for disposal. Complete initial RCRA training within 6 months of hire and annual RCRA training thereafter.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

Schedule

Full-time PM shift (1500-2330) with rotating weekends.

Benefits

• Day ONE medical, dental, and life insurance benefits.
• Health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs).
• 403(b) match plan: LHI matches dollar for dollar up to 6%.
• Employer-paid life insurance equal to 1x salary; option to elect supplemental life insurance up to 3x salary with low-cost premiums.
• Adoption assistance.
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term disability coverage after 90 days of eligible employment.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Student loan forgiveness.