The Pathology Support Specialist position within the Pathology Department and the Office of the Medical Examiner provides a full range of administrative assistance to the department faculty and managerial level staff for the Department of Pathology and Office of the Medical Examiner. This individual is routinely exposed to a wide range of death types that include trauma-based deaths, suicides, homicides, overdoses and others. This position requires emotional maturity and the ability to manage the associated stressors. Additionally, the position includes the requirement to interact over the phone with grieving families, community stakeholders like law enforcement, attorneys, court representatives or physicians’ offices, as well as in-office staff.
The Pathology department offers as supportive environment with a clear path for career advancement or placement within the career path beyond the entry level position, commensurate with experience and qualifications.
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BENEFITS
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Wellness reimbursement.
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Continuing education and tuition reimbursement.
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Employer-funded retirement plan.
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Two medical plan options: PPO and High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with employer HSA contribution.
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Flexible work solutions based on position and department.
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Up to four weeks of PTO accrual beginning in year one.
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Paid holidays.
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Paid volunteer time.
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Paid preferred holiday.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
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Provides administrative support to Department of Pathology chair, faculty, and staff.
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Responsible for coordination of high-volume (60+) and high-intensity phone calls as received by the Office of the Medical Examiner and the Department of Pathology.
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Evaluates incoming correspondence including telephone calls, voicemail messages, faxes and emails to determine significance and assigns to appropriate staff/faculty.
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Communicates regularly with families of deceased individuals, funeral home personnel, law enforcement personnel and legal offices.
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Management of faculty and staff court appearances through subpoena requests with multiple area courts for 14+ counties located in Michigan and Indiana.
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Responsible for the preparation and distribution of highly sensitive information pertaining to medicolegal death investigations, as needed.
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Schedules and coordinates the conduct of department and faculty meetings.
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Responsible for monitoring and electronically submitting accounting items for the Department of Pathology and its faculty members, to include ordering, invoicing and payments required.
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Responsible for management and delegation of multiple high-frequency departmental email inboxes.
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Monitors deaths investigated for 14 county medical examiner offices to ascertain that death certificates are completed by appropriate medical examiner and sent to the funeral director within 24 hours, as required by law.
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Ascertains any and all time-sensitive Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests received are responded to and completed in a timely manner meeting legal requirements.
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Assists with processing daily cremation permits authorizations.
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Responsible for generating and/or updating of current department forms.
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Responsible for monitoring inventory of office supplies and reorders items, as needed.
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Collects, sorts and distributes department mail.
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Responsible for collection and distribution of departmental meeting minutes, as requested.
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Contributes to and manages special projects or events, as required.
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Availability to work occasional overtime on weekends or evenings to complete time sensitive projects.
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Acquires knowledge for new technology and policy/procedure revisions.
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All other duties as assigned.
EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:
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Bachelor’s degree in related field, preferred
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Minimum of five years of administrative assistant or related experience
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Highly proficient in Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, document management, and other software as required by the Department of Pathology
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Knowledge and proficiency in grammar and spelling skills
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Experience in healthcare environment, preferred
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High level of emotional intelligence to effectively communicate with others verbally and in writing
OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
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High level of working knowledge of the structure and content of the English language, including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar.
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Comfortable communicating with family members of recently deceased individuals.
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Demonstrates strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize tasks.
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Demonstrates strong time-management skills.
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Knowledge and proficiency of medical terminology.
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Discretion, compassion and exemplary attention to detail.
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Ability to operate automated standard office equipment such as multi-line phone system, copier, fax machine, etc.
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Ability to interpret, comprehend, and transmit complicated and detailed instructions accurately.
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Ability to accept and apply feedback.
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Regular and predictable attendance is expected.
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Demonstrates the ability to recognize priorities in organization of work flow.
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Able to perform duties independently, with minimal need for direct supervision.
About Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed)
We are committed to excellence and health equity through transformative medical education, high-quality, patient- and family-centered care, innovative research, and community partnerships within a welcoming, supportive, and engaging culture. Our vision is health equity for all in Southwest Michigan through innovation in the practice and study of medicine.
The medical school is a collaboration of Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo's two teaching health systems, Beacon and Bronson Healthcare. The medical school is a private nonprofit corporation supported by private gifts, clinical revenues, research activities, tuition, and endowment income. WMed is the recipient of a $100 million foundational gift and the Empowering Futures Gift, a philanthropic commitment of $300 million to support the mission of the medical school. WMed contributes to the economic vitality of Southwest Michigan through the services we provide, as well as the creation of 1,600 new jobs, with an estimated annual economic impact of $353 million in Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties.
WMed is fully accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and the Higher Learning Commission. The medical school offers a comprehensive, innovative four-year Doctor of Medicine degree program as well as a Master of Science degree program in Biomedical Sciences. We train physicians in 10 residencies and four fellowships accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. To support our educational mission, we have Joint Accreditation for interprofessional continuing education, which incorporates accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
WMed Health is the clinical practice of the medical school with more than 300 providers offering comprehensive primary care and specialty services in several locations throughout the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek areas. Faculty in the Department of Pathology serve as the Office of the Medical Examiner for counties throughout Michigan and northern Indiana.
The W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus located in downtown Kalamazoo serves as the primary educational facility with student study and social spaces, team-based learning halls, faculty and administrative offices, a state-of-the-art Simulation Center accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, basic science research labs, as well as toxicology and forensic pathology labs.
WMed builds upon Kalamazoo’s century-long foundation of drug discovery and medical device development with a strategic investment in clinical, laboratory, community, and educational research. The Center for Immunobiology, Center for Clinical Research, Research Histology Lab, Innovation Center, and Human Research Protection Program contribute to the medical school’s advancement of knowledge through innovation and discovery.
Equal Employment Opportunity Employer in compliance with applicable State and Federal law.
