Associate Practitioner

Job overview

Applications are invited from enthusiastic, confident, motivated and hardworking individuals to work as an Associate Practitioner within our Northumbria Microbiology  team. The post holder will work primarily at North Tyneside General Hospital laboratory, but will be required to rotate to  Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital laboratory, as part of the departments' shift system. Applicants will hold a Foundation Degree or the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) Certificate of Achievement or equivalent.

Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the closing date once the required number of suitable applications have been received

Please note, for Secondment roles before an application is submitted, please ensure you have received the appropriate approval and completed documentation required beforehand, as this may delay the process if an offer was to be made.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work as an Associate Practitioner in Microbiology, and rotate through all sections of the laboratory. They will support the Biomedical Scientists to ensure that high quality patient results are produced in an efficient and cost-effective way in all sections in which they are working.

The post holder will also have a flexible approach to working, demonstrate good organisational skills and the ability to work under supervision as well as mentoring support staff. Previous experience working in a NHS Microbiology laboratory is desirable but not essential as full training will be provided.

The successful candidate will work during their initial period of training Monday to Friday between the hours of 07:30 and 22:00 including weekends and bank holiday shifts depending upon the needs of the service. Once fully trained and competency assessed, they will participate in the full 24/7 shift system, also rotating to our other laboratory at NSECH.

Applicants will hold a Foundation Degree or the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) Certificate of Achievement or equivalent.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Post holder will:

• Preparing and processing clinical specimens for microbiological testing.
• Dealing with telephone enquiries from other departments, GPs, visitors to the departments.
• Liaising with staff from other departments, GPs and visitors to the department.
• Provide training,  support and mentoring to less experienced AP staff and Clinical Support Workers.

The laboratory has a number of automated and diagnostic systems, which includes, WASP, Vitek XL, Vitek MS, BacTec, Panther, GeneXpert, BioFire TORCH, VIDAS, Cobas, DS2 and Liaison.

The post holder will assist the Biomedical Scientists to ensure that high quality patient results are produced in an efficient and cost-effective way in all sections in which they are working.