Herbal Medicine Assistant

Deadline to apply: Tuesday, October 31, 2023

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Company

West Lake Clinic is a private health clinic offering Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine since 2002. Services include health assessment, diet and lifestyle recommendations, therapeutic treatment with acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal supplements, tuina (acupressure), and related treatments. At present, there is one practitioner. Occasionally, there are allied professionals, including massage, chiropractic, and others.

Duties and responsibilities

See below

Wage and benefits

• The position is for 32-40 hours per week, mainly Monday to Friday. Weekends may be considered.
• Wage is $18.46 per hour.
• EI, CPP, WCB and vacation pay are paid according to Saskatchewan and Canadian legislation.

Screening and interviewing process

• Applications may be mailed or emailed to the Company Contact below by October 31, 2023.
• Applicants will be ranked according to an eligibility scale (attached) and offered initial interviews (phone, on-line, in-person or combination) in order of highest eligibility to lowest.
• Assessment tests will be held either in the initial interview or in a follow-up interview.
• The successful applicant will be offered a probationary position for 13 weeks to assess the working relationship. If both the employee and employer are satisfied, the employee will be offered the permanent position.

Company Contact Information

• David Ip – Owner/Operator
• West Lake Clinic
• 105 McMurchy Avenue, Unit 1
• Regina SK  S4R 3G5
• Phone:      1-306-790-9378
• Email:        davidip@westlakeclinic.ca

Location

• West Lake Clinic
• 105 McMurchy Avenue, Unit 1
• Regina Saskatchewan  S4R 3G5

Duties and Responsibilities

Work	Examples
Herbal medicine	Assist clinic professional during assessment of patients to carry out treatment programs of diseases and wounds, minor office treatments, rehabilitation and to develop materials for use with patients; Advise on herbal prescriptions for patients; Compare different formulas; Prepare, package, label and administer herbal prescriptions and supplements; Interpret examinations, diagnoses and prescriptions. Take patient health and medical history, label and process lab reports, scans, referrals, etc.; record vital signs and information about patients. Ensure accuracy of prescription information.   Patient health education and counselling including for non-prescription products, results of diagnostic tests and records; Assist with research on patient nutrition, dietary supplements and prescriptions. Assist clinic professionals with patient health education.     Manage herbal pharmacy and supplies; Order inventory; Compound prescriptions including packaging and labelling; Ensure accuracy of prescription information; Set up, take apart, maintain, clean, repair and review working condition, care, calibration, sterilization of clinic and medical equipment according to standard safety protocols; Use testing and measuring equipment according to prescriptions; Inspect and test products. Prescreening new patients; Maintain client information and prescription records in clinic database. Assist patients with wheelchairs or walkers to move to examination table; position patients for treatments by clinic professionals or machines; prepare examination and treatment instruments; instruct patients about test procedures and record results; Assist in assessment, examination and measuring of patients as directed; Monitor patients throughout procedure and assist with post-treatment care and reaction care; Record patient information.  Prepare and maintain clinic patient evaluation areas in a clean state, prepare solutions for hygienic sterilization of patient surfaces, instruments, herbal equipment, and clinic premises; Lay out examination and treatment instruments. Financial assessment of competing suppliers’ merchandise; Communicating and networking with suppliers, colleagues, etc.; Routine office functions; Handling payments, bills, receiving shipments, stocking, etc.
Reception	–       Receiving patients, enquiries, deliveries –       Phone, email, text –       Handling payments, receipts, cashier functions –       Preparing patient rooms –       Managing appointments –       Cleaning / janitorial –       Prescreening new patients –       Filing
Office manage­ment	–       Tracking, purchasing, and managing supplies –       Bill payments –       Clinic maintenance – cleaning, sanitizing, laundry, –       Possible chaperoning
Other	–       Other duties as assigned

Screening

Applicants must meet the following minimums to be considered for an interview.

1. Skills and Eligibility
   • Achieve 60 points minimum total Skills and Eligibility
   • Qualify for some points in every category
   • Meet all Required categories
2. Assessment tests
   • Math and Reading/Writing:      Minimum 60%
   • Case studies:                          Minimum 60%
3. References
   • Name, position or relationship, contact information

Probation

During the first 13 weeks, the employer and the employee will evaluate the working conditions and degree of satisfaction. The employer will assess if the Assistant can learn the required tasks, work independently, and increase the productivity of the business. Observations may be requested from associates and clients to help with this assessment.

Training is provided for specific details or tasks but the employee must have adequate knowledge of foundations to build on. For example: 1. Direction will be given for laundry settings but the employee must know how to operate laundry appliances. 2. Training will be given to use a customized spreadsheet, but the employee must already have sufficient experience to use spreadsheet software. 3. Direction will be given for herbal storage, measurement and quality control, but the employee must be able to identify which herbs to select.

We expect that the evaluation process will be continual, and that all concerns should be known by the end of the probationary period.

If both the employer and employee are satisfied with the outcome, the employer will offer full-time permanent employment as described above.

Ongoing performance evaluation is a normal part of permanent employment.

Independence

• This position is paid by giving the practitioners more time to earn more revenue. If the practitioners have to correct the work or redo the work, the expected revenue is lost.
• Another source of the revenue is from improving Clinic management, e.g., paying bills before interest is charged, avoiding multiple orders, reducing interruptions. More mistakes means the business earns less revenue to pay for the Clinic assistant.
• After training, the Clinic assistant will work independently, most of the time.

Skills and Experience eligibility screening

Experience	Examples	Maximum score
Herbal knowledge	Knowledge of Chinese medical herbs Experience with TCM herbal treatment Familiarity with powdered granules Experience prescribing herbs for patients with pharmaceutical medications	70
Reception	Phone, email, text Receiving patients, enquiries, deliveries Handling payments, receipts, cashier functions Preparing patient rooms Managing appointments Cleaning / janitorial Prescreening new patients Filing	10
Office manage­ment / Financial	Tracking, purchasing, and managing supplies Bill payments Clinic maintenance – cleaning, sanitizing, laundry, Possible chaperoning Quickbooks or similar accounting software Bookkeeping (vendors, customers, reconciling, balances, reporting) Renewing and filing business registrations	5
Computer skills	SuperSaas, Janeapp, or similar scheduling software MS Word, MS Excel, email, Adobe Acrobat Startup, rebooting, backup, network malfunction, navigation Printers, scanners	5
Physical health	a lot of walking, a lot of computer use lifting up to 20 kg, moving furniture, appliances (very occasional) use of common cleaners, hydrogen peroxide and alcohol-based cleaners able to wear personal protective equipment (mask, gloves, etc.)	Required
Language – English	The language of the clinic is English. Most patients and associates speak English. You may require additional effort with some people to be sure information is clear. The Assistant must be able to discuss Clinic services and patient concerns in person, in writing, and on the phone. If English is not your first language, you must have a test score of at least CLB 4, IELTS 3.5, or CELPIP 4. Certification may be requested.	Required
Language – Chinese	Many patients and associates speak Chinese. Also, a lot of TCM research and resource material is only available in Chinese, including audio recordings and written material. Chinese language ability is not mandatory but would be valuable.	5
Medical experience	First Aid / CPR Terminology familiarity Professional medical training (TCM, nursing, physiotherapy, massage, etc.)	5

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