Histopathology Technician - Las Vegas, United States - Department Of Veterans Affairs

Description

Summary

The Histopathology Technician carries out the day-to-day operations in the laboratory which includes routine and complex histopathological and cytopathological procedures; quality control and quality assurance procedures; operation and routine maintenance of instrumentation; troubleshooting; and principles of performance improvement. The incumbent utilizes specialized techniques for handling cell blocks, frozen sections, bone marrows, autopsies, and fine needle biopsies.

Duties

The duties and responsibilities of the Histopathology Technician include, but are not limited to the following:

• Manages anatomical pathology tissue storage and disposal and the maintenance of block and slide storage.
• Assists in the training of entry level position histopathology technicians.
• Assists in the establishment and writing of new policies and procedures including standard operating procedures (SOP).
• Assists in the maintenance of current quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) programs as well as the implementation of new QC/QA standards.
• Prepares technically adequate slides of surgical, cytology, and autopsy specimens by processing, embedding tissue, cutting, staining (including immunohistochemistry), and coverslipping.
• Applies knowledge of complex chemical reactions in both manual and automated staining protocols to complete special and immunohistochemical staining of tissue sections.
• Assists in the collection of, and processes bone marrows, autopsy and cytology specimens.
• Applies specialized techniques in slide preparation and staining as well as specimen handling and preservation during sample collection.
• Evaluates and solves problems related to the collection and processing pathology specimens.
• Assists pathologists with frozen section procedures.
• Adheres to all laboratory practices and policies.