Jobs and Careers

Medical Lab Assistant I

West Columbia, United Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 23 Jun 2026

About the role

Lab Administration
PRN
PM Shift
1230-2100 and some weekends

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.

Lexington Health also includes an accredited Cancer Center of Excellence, the state’s first HeartCARE Center, the largest skilled nursing facility in the Carolinas, and an Alzheimer’s care center. Its postgraduate medical education programs include family medicine and transitional year residencies, as well as an informatics fellowship.

Job Summary

The Medical Lab Assistant I performs a variety of tasks related to specimen collection and pre-analytical processing of biological specimens for testing performed in the clinical laboratory. Responsible for providing excellent customer service to patients and visitors during registration and laboratory procedure ordering. Will obtain all demographic and financial information to ensure accurate and legal billing and medical record data. Provide clerical functions such as ordering, reporting registration, filing, and scanning with accuracy while maintaining competency in all computer modules including EPIC. Manages telephone inquiries timely providing guidance or direction as needed. Collect specimens in accordance to procedure and/or federal guidelines, including Department of Transportation. Preparation of specimens for review by Cytotechnologist, Pathologists, and technologist, where applicable. Provide general maintenance of working areas to maintain clean workspace environment and instruments.

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum Education: High School Diploma or Equivalent
Minimum Years of Experience: Six months experience in a Laboratory setting or equivalent customer service experience.
Substitutable Education & Experience (Optional): Experience can be substituted for an Associate's Degree or a Technical Certification in health related field.
Required Certifications/Licensure: None
Required Training: Basic computer skills. Interest and skills in biological, chemical or biochemical sciences.

Essential Functions

Greets patients and/or representatives in a professional and courteous manner to obtain proper identification and insurance information along with physician orders to complete the registration process.
Provides instructions to patients and/or representatives in the proper preparation and collection of self-collected tests (i.e. stool, urine, semen, etc.)
Receives and tracks specimens delivered to the laboratory by patients, couriers, nurses, or other medical personnel to testing departments, and manages the storage and disposal of patient samples.
Ensures specimens are labeled properly to maintain accurate patient identification.
Answer telephone calls to provide guidance for inquiries providing excellent communication and customer service skills.
Collect urine specimens with Department of Transportation (DOT) guidelines for federal transportation or client's post-accident collections while following proper chain of custody protocols (Outreach and Phlebotomy only).
Responsible for delivering high quality service for all laboratory testing inquiries and serves as a resource to address problems and identify resolutions when possible.
Prepares, processes, stores and disposes all biologically hazardous reagents, chemicals and specimens following all regulatory and safety policies and procedures.
Independently interprets physician orders and/or communicating with physician for clarification while following policies and procedures for verbal orders.
Assists with data collection for statistical reports and quality assurance monitoring.
Assesses inventory needs, orders and restocks supplies in a timely manner. Assists will filling supply orders for clients.
Maintains competence in all policies/procedures and LIS/HIS systems including upgrades or changes. Maintains a working knowledge of reference lab portals to navigate patient's orders/results, where applicable.