Supervising Laboratory Assistant

Modified: March 9, 2020 10:26am

COUNTY OF ERIE - DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL
invites applications for the position of:

Supervising Laboratory Assistant

#62-017 - Open Competitive (open to the public)

Salary: $44,303 – $57,137 Annually
Opening Date: March 9, 2020
Closing Date: April 8, 2020
Application fee: $20.00

Residence Requirements:

THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION. There is one anticipated vacancy at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation. 

A promotion examination will be held at the same time as this examination. The list resulting from the promotion examination will be used first but appointments from this open competitive examination are anticipated. Use of the list may be suspended after it is one year old for any position which it is practical to fill through a new promotion examination.

Examples of Duties:

A Supervising Laboratory Assistant supervises Laboratory Assistants and coordinating central specimen receiving and processing procedures in a clinical laboratory at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation; 

Supervises Laboratory Assistants in the unit by making assignments, scheduling work shifts, preparing procedural manuals and evaluating work performance and technical competencies;

Supervises and participates in regular preparative and reporting procedures of a clinical laboratory such as specimen accession into an electronic data system, processing, centrifuging and aliquoting clinical specimens, and transmitting finalized/verified laboratory reports;

Assists in the education and training of lower-level staff and students;

Performs complex procedures for programming and maintaining operation of electronic data system;

Intervenes with problem samples and/or test requests and interpretation of client requests;

Archives and retrieves specimens for additional testing or forwarding to an external clinical laboratory;

Prepares reports, maintains records, supplies and equipment and stays current on industry topics;

Interacts with personnel from other laboratory divisions to ensure accurate and timely laboratory processing and reporting.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

A.) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with an Associate's Degree in Chemistry, Biology or related technical field and six (6) years of technical laboratory or technical medical experience; or:

B.) Completion of sixty (60) semester credit hours from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university, with a minimum of twenty-four (24) semester credit hours in Chemistry, Biology or closely related technical field, and six (6) years of technical laboratory or technical medical experience; or:

C.) Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and eight (8) years of technical laboratory or technical medical experience; or:

D.) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A), (B) and (C).

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements.

2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

Examination date:

May 16, 2020

Applications Must Be Postmarked or Hand Delivered By:

April 8, 2020

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However, candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

Supervision

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale, and discipline.

Clinical pathology

These questions test for knowledge of various areas of clinical pathology such as hematology, blood banking, microbiology, clinical chemistry, diagnostic immunology, and urinalysis. Questions may cover such topics as common tests and protocols; sample collection and preparation; reagents, standards, controls, stains, and media for various tests; normal and abnormal values for commonly performed tests; diagnostic tests and characteristics used to identify common microorganisms; medical and clinical terminology; reaching reasonable conclusions about test results.
 

General laboratory principles and practices

These questions test for knowledge of such areas as care and handling of toxic/dangerous materials; simple first aid and safety procedures; the metric system; simple laboratory calculations; care and use of laboratory glassware and equipment; and common laboratory procedures.
 

Use, care, and operation of laboratory instruments

These questions test for knowledge of common laboratory instruments. Questions may cover such topics as underlying principles, uses, and advantages of laboratory instrument methodologies; calibration, preventive maintenance, and corrective actions as applied to common laboratory equipment and instruments; and basic statistics as they relate to laboratory analysis and quality control.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES: Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited. You may not bring books or other reference materials.


**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.