Medical Technologist Blood Bank

In 2020 united in a fierce commitment to deliver the highest quality care and exceptional patient experience Virginia Mason and CHI Franciscan Health came together as natural partners to build a new health system centered around the patient: Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. Our combined system builds upon the scale and expertise of our nearly 300 sites of care including 11 hospitals and nearly 5000 physicians and providers. Together we are empowered to make an even greater impact on the health and well-being of our communities.

This job is responsible for performing moderately complex to highly complex and specialized clinic laboratory tests/analyses of human blood, urine and other body fluids, tissues or substances using manual or automated techniques to obtain data for use in the diagnosis, management and treatment of disease/injury. Specific areas of accountability may include one, or a combination of, the following disciplines: transfusion service, chemistry, coagulation, hematology, microbiology, immunology, toxicology and/or urinalysis. Work includes 1) pretesting and processing samples, 2) performing, analyzing, interpreting, and confirming tests 3) documenting and delivering test results and 4) operating and maintaining standard Lab instrumentation and equipment.

Given the critical importance of test results to patient care and clinical outcomes, an incumbent is accountable for ensuring the accuracy of test results and related analyses based on strict adherence to established standards, procedures and regulatory requirements for test analysis, quality control, quality assurance, safety, blood-borne pathogen/infection control, specimen handling/processing and documenting/reporting patient results. While controls may affect certain decision-making opportunities, an incumbent is expected to exercise independent judgment to monitor, control and assess test conditions, specimen quality, chemical/biologic reactions, and instrument function; identify atypical organisms; solve unexpected problems; correlate quantitative, biochemical, physiologic and morphologic data to verify results; and evaluate/ implement new procedures.

Work requires professional knowledge of the four major disciplines of laboratory practice (e.g. transfusion service, chemistry, hematology and microbiology). Some positions may also require knowledge of a particular specialty discipline (e.g. toxicology). An incumbent applies professional knowledge of scientific principles and theory to determine the causes or possible significance of abnormalities and departures from the norm when test results do not conform to expectations; to alter procedures and techniques to correct problems; and to correlate and interpret test results (within the framework of the discipline) based on an understanding of the underlying physiologic phenomena and relationships among tests.

Education/Work Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university in a chemical/physical/biological or other life science and relevant generalist clinical laboratory experience within the last five years, OR Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university in laboratory medical technology, with clinical rotation.
• International education will be evaluated for equivalency.
  NOTE: Candidates with a Bachelor’s degree in a field other than those mentioned above AND who meet the required CLIA educational standards for testing personnel, will be considered.

Licensure/Certification:

• National MT certification with ASCP (American Society for Clinical Pathology), AMT (American Medical Technologists) or Certification with the US. Department of Health and Human Services as a Clinical Laboratory Technologist; OR
  MLT certification with a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university in a chemical/physical/biological or other life science.
• For new graduates, if not held at date of hire, one-time national certification must be obtained within the first six months of employment.