Pathology Lab Assistant Sr. - Per Diem - Mercy San Diego

This is a per diem/casual position working varied weekdays typically from 7:30am-4pm or 9am-5:30pm. Training will be 2-4 weeks as needed on both shifts. Located at Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego in Hillcrest. Saturdays will be required occasionally and shift times may vary based on business needs. Will be required to float to Scripps Mercy Chula Vista as needed.

Why join Scripps Health?

At Scripps Health, your ambition is empowered and your abilities are appreciated:

• Nearly a quarter of our employees have been with Scripps Health for over 10 years.
• Scripps is a Great Place to Work Certified company for 2026.
• Scripps Health has been consistently ranked as a top employer for women, millennials, diversity, and as an overall workplace by various national publications.
• Becker's Healthcare ranked Scripps Health on its 2026 list of 150 top places to work in health care.
• We have transitional and professional development programs to create a learning environment that enables you to thrive in your specific field as well as in your overall career.
• Our specialties have been nationally recognized for quality in areas such as cardiovascular care, oncology, orthopedics, geriatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and gastroenterology.

Why join this team?

• Grow your skills in a supportive, fast-paced pathology environment with ongoing training across multiple lab sections.
• Gain exposure to a wide range of complex cases and procedures while maintaining accuracy in high-volume specimen processing.
• Collaborate closely with pathologists, radiologists, and surgeons as part of an expert multidisciplinary team.

What you'll do:

• Responsible for the handling and accessioning of surgical and outpatient tissues and cytologic specimens.

• Use the cryostat to cut frozen tissue sections for rapid specimen diagnosis by the pathologist and staining slides using H/E and DQ stains.
• Use the Faxitron for breast specimens to identify biopsy clips and Magseeds in the pathology tissue room.
• Attend various CT and Ultrasound radiologic and EUS and EBUS procedures to handle and triage collected tissue to prepare slides for rapid interpretation by the pathologist and place tissue in cassettes for cell block preparation in the acute care hospital.
• Attend bone marrow procedures (bedside and in radiology) to handle and triage collected tissue to prepare slides and prepare the core.
• Ensure that the specimens are identified and labelled correctly and protects the pathologist, department and organization at large against critical patient care errors.

Required:

• One (1) year of related lab experience, preferably in a large complex healthcare organization
• Graduation from college with a major in an applicable natural science; or two (2) years of college courses in the natural sciences plus two (2) years of applicable experience; or an equivalent combination of education and relevant lab experience
• Critical thinking and analytical skills
• Proven laboratory skills handling specimens, reagents and instruments
• High accuracy in work performance and attention to detail
• Excellent written and strong verbal communication skills
• Proficient with medical terminology, with an understanding of computer systems
• Excellent skills in verbal communication, organization, patient/specimen identification, written documentation, and specimen manipulation during invasive procedures
• Processing specimens in attendance of all procedure types requires a minimum of 6 months of specialized on the job training to reach full competency, performing analytical standard work enhancing specimen quality, to ensure accurate physician diagnosis.

Preferred:

• Cytology experience
• Histology experience
• Pathology or clinical lab experience
• Reference lab specimen send out experience
• Bio-hazardous material shipping experience
• Background in science
• Two years laboratory experience