LABORATORY ASSISTANT

Position/Program Information

TYPE OF RECRUITMENT
Open Competitive Opportunity

EXAM NUMBER Y4976Y

FILING DATES:
July 16, 2021 at 10:00 A.M., (PT)
Until the needs of the service are met and is subject to closure without notice.

SPECIAL SALARY INFORMATION:
Manpower Shortage Recruitment - New appointments and current incumbents shall be compensated at Step 5 of the applicable salary range. This is in effect until June 30, 2025, or until it is determined that a shortage no longer exists, whichever is sooner.

ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY:

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) is the second largest municipal health system in the nation. DHS operates as an integrated health system, operating 26 health centers and four acute care hospitals, in addition to providing health care to youth in the juvenile justice system and inmates in the LA County jails. Across the network of DHS' directly operated clinical sites and through partnerships with community-based clinics, DHS cares for about 600,000 unique patients each year, employs over 23,000 staff, and has an annual operating budget of 6.5 billion. For additional information regarding DHS please visit www.dhs.lacounty.gov .

Through academic affiliations with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Southern California (USC), and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Sciences (CDU), DHS hospitals are training sites for physicians completing their Graduate Medical Education in nearly every medical specialty and subspecialty. In addition, to its direct clinical services, DHS also runs the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency and the County's 911 emergency response system, as well as Housing for Health and the Office of Diversion and Re-entry, each with a critical role in connecting vulnerable populations, including those released from correctional and institutional settings, to supportive housing.

We currently have 4 acute hospitals, 25 health centers, $6.9 billion dollar budget and 23,000 employees.

MISSION:
To advance the health of our patients and our communities by providing extraordinary care.

DEFINITION:
Assists laboratory personnel in the performance of standard laboratory tests on human and other specimens or assigns, trains, and reviews the work of a group of lower-level laboratory positions.

Essential Job Functions

• Verifies patient's name and permanent file number by matching information on request form and specimen container. Logs in specimen information such as patient's name, permanent file number, and hospital ward number in laboratory log, worksheet or computer; routes specimen to appropriate workstation or laboratory for the standard tests to be performed.
• Processes specimens for subsequent analysis by licensed personnel by performing duties such as making primary inoculations of test material to be cultured and smearing and staining test specimens on laboratory glass slides and/or plates.
• Receives patient specimens such as blood, urine, feces, pulmonary fluids, gastro-intestinal fluids, body carry fluids, and sputum slides with standard laboratory request forms providing information such as patient's name and tests to be performed by licensed personnel.
• Prepares specimens for laboratory testing by adding fixatives or preservatives utilizing a prescribed technique/instrument appropriate to the type of specimen.
• Maintains laboratory supplies and equipment by cleaning stain set-ups and filters; refresh or replace solutions according to department policies and procedures.
• Lifts and moves containers holding several gallons or other substantial quantity of constituent parts or compounds produced.

Requirements

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:
Six (6) months' experience in laboratory work in a public health, medical or biological laboratory.

PHYSICAL CLASS III - Moderate: Includes standing or walking most of the time, with bending, stooping, squatting, twisting, and reaching; includes working on irregular surfaces, occasionally lifting objects weighting over 25pounds, and frequent lifting of 10-25 pounds.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:

Additional credit will be given to applicants who possess the following desirable qualifications:

• An Associate’s Degree or higher from an accredited college or university.*
• Work experience in an Acute Care Hospital Laboratory.**

*In order to receive credit for the Associate’s Degree or higher in the Desirable Qualifications, you must include a legible copy of the official diploma or official transcripts from the accreditation institution with your application at the time of filing or email a copy of the degree to us within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of filing your application online.

**Work experience in an Acute Care Hospital Laboratory is defined as: Assists laboratory personnel in the performance of standard laboratory testing on human blood, body fluid, tissue, stool, urine, or other specimens in a hospital operating 24/7 that provides inpatient medical care and other related services for surgery, acute medical conditions, or injuries (usually for short-term illness or other conditions).

Additional Information

EXAMINATION CONTENT:
This examination will consist of two parts:

Part I - An evaluation of experience based upon application information and desirable qualifications, weighted 50%.

Part II - An Interview which will evaluate Knowledge, Skills and experience, Job Preparation, Problem Solving, Interpersonal Skills, and Oral Communication weighted 50%.

Candidates must achieve a passing score of 70% or higher on each weighted part of this examination in order to be added to the eligible list for this examination.

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:
Applications will be processed on an "as-received" basis and those receiving a passing score will be promulgated to the eligible register accordingly.

VACANCY INFORMATION:
The eligible register resulting from this examination will be used to fill vacancies throughout the Department of Health Services as they occur.

The names of candidates receiving a passing grade in the examination will be placed on the eligible list in the order of their score group for a period of six (6) months following the date of promulgation.

No person may compete in this examination more than once every six (6) months.

AVAILABLE SHIFT :
Appointees may be required to work any shift, including evenings, nights, weekends and holidays.

APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION:

APPLICATIONS MUST BE FILED ONLINE ONLY. APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED BY U.S. MAIL, FAX, OR IN PERSON WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Apply online by clicking the green "APPLY" button at the top right of this posting. You can also track the status of your application using this website.

You may be required to verify your email address before the application can be submitted by entering a six-digit code sent to your email address. This only needs to be done once per email address, and if you already have a job seeker account on governmentjobs.com/careers/lacounty, you can verify at any time by logging in and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of your online application and to ensure you do not enter an incorrect email address.

All information is subject to verification. We may reject your application at any time during the examination and hiring process, including after appointment has been made. Falsification of any information may result in disqualification or rescission of appointment.

Utilizing VERBIAGE from the Class Specification and Minimum Requirements serving as your description of duties WILL NOT be sufficient to demonstrate that you meet the requirements. Doing so may result in an INCOMPLETE APPLICATION and you may be DISQUALIFIED .

This examination will remain open until the needs of the service are met. Application filing may be suspended at any time with or without advance notice.

Fill out your application completely. The acceptance of your application depends on whether you have clearly shown that you meet the requirements. Provide any relevant education, training, and experience in the spaces provided so we can evaluate your qualifications for the job. For each job held, give the name and address of your employer, your job title, beginning and ending dates, number of hours worked per week and description of work performed. If your application is incomplete, it will be rejected.

Applications electronically received after 5:00 p.m., PT, on the last of filing will not be accepted.

NOTE: If you are unable to attach required documents to your application, you may email the documents to the exam analyst, Kourtney Ortega at kortega4@dhs.lacounty.gov within 15 calendar days of filing online. Please include your name, the exam number, and the exam title.

For the foreseeable future, all notices including invitation letters, result letters and notices of non-acceptance will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application. It is important that applicants provided a valid email address. Please add kortega4@dhs.lacounty.gov and infor@governmentjobs.com to your email address book and to the list of approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as SPAM/JUNK mail. Please note, if you opt out of receiving emails, you can visit governmentjobs.com, log into your profile and check your inbox. The inbox retains an copy of all emails sent, for your records.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER :
Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.

COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT PUBLIC LIBRARIES : LA County Public Library has announced they are reopening some libraries with limited hours access throughout LA County. Refer to their website at https://lacountylibrary.org/reopening/ for more information.

For Candidates who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.

NO SHARING OF USER ID AND PASSWORD :
All applicants must file their application online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member's or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record.

FAIR CHANCE INITIATIVE :
The County of Los Angeles is a Fair Chance employer. Except for a very limited number of positions, you will not be asked to provide information about a conviction history unless you receive a contingent offer of employment. The County will make an individual assessment of whether your conviction history has a direct or adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and consider potential mitigating factors, including, but not limited to, evidence and extent of rehabilitation, recency of the offense(s), and age at the time of the offense(s). If asked to provide information about a conviction history, any convictions or court records which are exempted by a valid court order do not have to be disclosed.

ADA COORDINATOR PHONE: (323)914-7111

TELETYPE PHONE: (800) 899-4099

CALIFORNIA RELAY SERVICES PHONE: (800)735-2922

DEPARTMENT CONTACT:

Kourtney Ortega

Kortega4@dhs.lacounty.gov

Telephone Number: (213)288-7000

For detailed information, please click here

Closing Date/Time: Continuous

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• Los Angeles County

• (800) 970-5478

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