Hospital Pathology Associates (HPA) provides pathology services to Allina hospitals in Minnesota and Wisconsin. As the largest private pathology group in Minnesota and one of the largest in the upper Midwest, HPA is an ensemble of seasoned pathologists and professional staff with a wide range of expertise not often found elsewhere. Several years ago, HPA introduced a new position in their healthcare team to streamline workflow: the pathology aide. The pathology aide plays a key role in allowing pathologists to focus on diagnosing cases and enhancing patient care.

For recent college graduates who are aspiring to become physicians or other healthcare professionals, few experiences are more valuable than serving as a pathology aide. Being a pathology aide provides hands-on experience in a medical setting and allows recent graduates to begin a career in medicine. Working alongside accomplished pathologists and other healthcare professionals at HPA offers a unique perspective into the responsibilities and challenges physicians face on a daily basis. As an active member of the healthcare team, pathology aides gain valuable exposure to medicine and make a positive contribution to the daily operations of a medical facility. In sum, the pathology aide position is a one-year, full-time commitment for aspiring healthcare professionals and is the connection graduates need to gain a valuable healthcare experience!

HPA is offering nine distinct pathology aide positions, which are listed below. To submit an application, please send the following materials to HPA-EC@Allina.com:

• Cover Letter (please rank your top three position preferences in a numbered list, then use your cover letter to explain why you should be selected for the position you ranked as #1)
• Resume
• Unofficial transcript

All applications must be submitted by 8:00AM on Monday, February 15th, 2021. If selected for an interview, applicants will be expected to complete a virtual interview on Saturday, February 27th. The interview will consist of a series of short interviews with pathologists and the current pathology aides. If the circumstances allow, we will invite you to come in person to HPA’s Abbott Northwestern Hospital campus in Minneapolis (2800 10th Ave S Suite 2200, Mpls, MN 55407).

Details:

• Full-time employment from early June 2021 to end of June 2021
• Competitive wage of $18/hour
• Health insurance, benefits, and paid time off
• Three weeks of on-site training
• Free Parking

Positions available:

Education Coordinator (1 position available)

The Hospital Pathology Associates (HPA) Education Coordinator organizes and prepares HPA-staffed multidisciplinary patient care-planning conferences for Allina and other participating institutions. Additionally, the Education Coordinator works closely with pathologists on projects and tasks on an as-needed basis and coordinates HPA review of medical literature and publications.

Specific duties:

• Arrives at 8:00 AM and typically departs around 4:00 PM
• Coordinates and prepares the materials needed for disease-treatment conferences for HPA pathologists
• Collaborates with pathologists and various hospital administrators on a daily basis
• Assists with other educational projects as needed
• Coordinates HPA review of medical literature and publications
• Assists other pathology aides as needed

Prerequisites and required skills:

• 4-year undergraduate degree or 2-year associate’s degree with the intention of applying to graduate or medical school
• Highly proficient with computers and technology (specifically with Microsoft Office applications)
• Strong communication and administrative skills
• Ability to problem solve and manage time efficiently
• High-level of enthusiasm and client-service orientation
• Manage multiple ongoing projects
• Organized and detailed-oriented

Workflow Coordinators (3 positions available)

The Hospital Pathology Associates (HPA) Workflow Coordinators serve as the primary organizers and distributers of glass slides emanating from the Allina Histology, Cytology, and Hematology laboratories. After receiving the slides, the Workflow Coordinators organize, prioritize, and distribute the cases to pathologists in order to facilitate an orderly and efficient workflow using “Lean” processing principles. The position involves exhaustive review of electronic medical records and familiarity with medical terminology, as the Workflow Coordinators gather the relevant information a pathologist would need to properly diagnose a case. Additionally, the Workflow Coordinators will occasionally work on special projects and assist the Education Coordinator.

Specific duties:

• Typical shift hours (one worker per each shift)
• Arrives at 4:00 AM and departs at 12:00 PM
• Arrives at 7:00 AM and departs at 3:00 PM
• Arrives at 10:00 and departs at 6:00 PM
• Identify and retrieve specific clinical information from patients’ charts and outside health care facilities
• Communicate and problem solve with multiple pathologists and hospital personnel
• Assist Education Coordinator and Lean/Quality Projects Coordinator as needed

Prerequisites and required skills:

• 4-year undergraduate degree or 2-year associate’s degree with the intention of applying to graduate or medical school
• Computer literate (specifically with Microsoft Office applications)
• Organized and detailed-oriented
• Adapt and respond to problems in an efficient and creative manner
• Ability to multi-task efficiently during periods of high workload and stress
• Initiate changes independently and demonstrate personal accountability

Quality Assurance Coordinator (1 position available)

The Hospital Pathology Associates (HPA) Quality Assurance (QA) Coordinator serves a key role by directly supporting the QA program at HPA. This position also requires special projects work in innovation, process improvement activities, and other quality assurance endeavors for the group and its numerous activities. This includes managing information, coordinating communication, and analyzing case and materials data from the hospital and physician office practices. This position works directly with the QA Pathologist to help oversee the lean projects and quality initiatives for the group.

Specific duties:

• Time flexible (suggestion of 8:00 AM arrival and departing around 4:00 PM, but variable)
• Collect, analyze, and present large amounts of data via Excel and electronic medical records (EPIC) for Pathologist competency assessment and Joint Commission compliance, and other accreditation processes
• Work directly with HPA QA Pathologist and other pathologists to manage quality improvement/miscellaneous research projects
• Assists other pathology aides as needed
• Project Work Examples: run and analyze monthly, quarterly, and yearly reports; collect research data for particular pathology specialties concerning diagnostic rates/outcomes, etc.

Prerequisites and required skills:

• 4-year undergraduate degree or 2-year associate’s degree with the intention of applying to graduate or medical school
• Self-motivated, organized , detail-oriented
• Extremely proficient in Excel; able to collect and analyze data efficiently
• General computer literacy
• Strong communication and problem solving skills
• Ability to keep a detailed and up-to-date project list
• Ability to learn processes quickly and manage time efficiently
• Active listener and astute observer

Operating Room Runner (2 positions available)

The Hospital Pathology Associates (HPA) Operating Room Runners serve a unique role within Allina, more specifically at Abbott Northwestern Hospital (ANW). This position provides a rare opportunity to see what happens to surgical specimens after they leave the operating room. The Runners work directly with the OR staff and Surgeons to promptly pick-up and deliver specimens from the ORs to the Lower Level Laboratory at ANW. The Runners are expected to communicate directly with surgeons in the OR during specimen pick-up, especially when there are special requests for a patient’s specimen which may include an intra-operative consultation with specific questions for the Pathologist. The runners are stationed in the laboratory, giving them unique access to observe pathologists, pathologist assistants (PAs), and histology staff as they work through various cases. This new OR Runner program has been in place for less than a year and has been enormously successful in supporting patient care at ANW by ensuring consistent and rapid delivery of Pathology specimens to the Laboratory. Given the variability in specimen delivery requirements, there is ample time between deliveries that provides opportunities to help with special projects for HPA, typically involving data entry and analysis to support quality assurance, process improvement, and research.

Specific duties:

• Typical shift hours (one worker per each shift)
• Arrives at 7:00 AM and departs at 3:00 PM
• Arrives at 10:00 AM and departs at 6:00 PM
• Responsible for accurate and efficient delivery of specimens between operating rooms and Allina Laboratory
• Communicate with surgeons and relay messages to pathology staff
• Assists the QA and other Pathology Aides as needed

Prerequisites and required skills:

• 4-year undergraduate degree or 2-year associate’s degree with the intention of applying to graduate or medical school
• Self-motivated, organized, and detail-oriented
• General computer literate (specifically with Microsoft Office applications); able to collect and analyze data efficiently in Excel
• Strong communication and problem solving skills
• Ability to keep a detailed and up-to-date project list
• Ability to learn processes quickly and manage time efficiently

Biopsy Tech Transcriptionist (1 position available)

The Biopsy Tech Transcriptionist position is a part-time opportunity with approximately 3 hours of work per day, in the afternoon to early evening. As a Biopsy Tech Transcriptionist, you will facilitate the gross examination of GI biopsy specimens’ in the Pathology Laboratory. The position offers a unique perspective into diagnostic pathology’s responsibilities and challenges, and a chance to work alongside accomplished pathologists and other healthcare professionals.

Job duties include primarily data entry for each individual anatomic pathology specimen processed in the laboratory. This gross description, data entry, is a critical part of the pathology laboratory diagnostic process.

This position is within MNGI Digestive Health at its laboratory located in Maplewood, MN.

Specific duties:

• Arrives at 3:30 PM and typically departs around 6:30-7 PM, Monday-Friday
• Facilitates specimen gross examination by transcribing data from the Pathology Tech/Pathologists’ Assistant, who is directly handling the tissue specimens
• Data entry is into the pathology reporting template of the MNGI electronic medical record
• Manages paperwork and appropriately flags cases for cancer prioritization processing
• Manage specimen volume (case/block) counts at the end of the session and enters data in group calendar and text message

Prerequisites and required skills:

• Currently enrolled in or graduated from a 4-year undergraduate degree program or 2-year associate’s degree program
• Highly proficient with computers and technology
• Strong communication skills
• High-level of enthusiasm and client-service orientation
• Organized and detailed-oriented

Biopsy Technician (1 position available)

The Biopsy Technician role is a full-time position that involves working alongside HPA’s accomplished Pathologists’ Assistants and other healthcare professionals in the laboratory diagnostic process. As a Biopsy Technician, you will perform gross examinations of routine pathology specimens. A gross exam is the visual inspection of tissue removed from patients during surgical procedures. It involves describing, measuring, and sometimes manipulating the tissue (using ink or sectioning with a scalpel) before submitting the tissue for histologic processing. Gross examination of pathology specimens is one of the first and most critical parts of the laboratory diagnostic process and an integral part of patient care.

This position is within Allina HealthCare’s Central Laboratory in its Tenth Avenue Facility and is connected to the Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Specific duties:

• Arrive at 1:00 PM and departs at 9:30 PM, Monday through Friday
• Perform gross examinations of patient tissue specimens under the indirect supervision of a Pathologists’ Assistant
• Data entry of pathologic data into the electronic medical record
• Assist with the management of surgical specimens, including “flagging” cases for cancer prioritization processing

Prerequisites and required skills:

• Graduated from a 2-year or 4-year program with a bachelor’s/associate’s degree in a chemical, physical, biological, or clinical laboratory science
• Highly proficient with computers and technology
• Organized and detailed-oriented
• Strong communication skills
• High-level of enthusiasm and client-service orientation