[Histonet] Who does the immunos? 2-cents more

[Georgia Stewart]

Roxanne,
What you said is very true, but unfortunately in the laboratory where I worked the pathologists didn't function in this way.  The supervisor is certified HT  but her only continuing education has been the 5 days she spent at Ventana learing how to use their automated IHC stainer.  
California does not license HTs or HTLs and as far as I know there is no requirement that a tech be certified before they can perform IHC in California.  One lab I'm familiar with, only allows the med techs to perform the IHC (on an automated stainer) because they are "educated and licensed" and don't allow the HTs to perform any IHC.  Don't think anyone at this facility is HTL certified.
 
 ASCP is some of the problem, but I feel it is also, in part, a result of the pathologists not wanting to recognize the ongoing need for continuing education, and not just in IHC.  The lab offered no incentive for continuing education, either in monetary assistance to attend seminars/state histology meetings, etc., or any increase in salary because of continuing education paid for by the tech.  The only ones who received monetary assistance were the cytotechs who are required to have continuing education.  The cytotechs are licensed by the state of California and they are also ASCP certified.  In this lab, licensing was the motivating factor for the pathologists to pay for the cytotechs continuing education.  
 
Georgia
 
Roxanne Soto <GODSGIRLNOW <@t> msn.com> wrote:
Karen,
This would depend on your state and you institution. Many institutions only allow technologists to do them. Some states will aonly allow 
Technologists to do them. If this is a brand new job description, then it can be incorporated into the job description. If it is an existng description, review it and see what it says, you can always add it to the current job description. I would recommend that it be a separate job description for the IHC Tech, because it takes a special kind of tech to be able to handle all of the stress and math and chemistry required to work up all of them antibodies and be able to troubleshoot them as well as being able to help the pathologists with their questions. For example, the antibody CEA--there is a monoclonal and a polyclonal antibody for this and the pathologist called me and asked for CEA and I asked hime if he wanted monoclonal or polyclonal and he asked me what the difference is. The person doing the IHC will have to have the knowledge to tell him that since he was ordering it on a liver biopsy and he was looking for cancer originating from the colon, what he probably wanted was CEA
 polyclonal, as this antibody is for liver metasasis from colonic cancers, and he probably wanted a hepar done as well.

Let me know if you need any other help----be glad to offer my 2 cents any time
Roxanne Soto
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Krat18 <@t> aol.com 
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu 
Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 1:26 PM
Subject: [Histonet] Who does the immunos?


What policy do most labs have about letting their techs do immunos? Are 
all the techs trained to do them, or are only the registered techs trained to 
do them, or do only a limited number of techs do them? Our program is fairly 
new, and there is a discussion among the pathologists and administration and 
techs about what is the best policy. I'd like to hear from other labs 
about their procedures.

Thanks in advance.

Karen
_krat18 <@t> aol.com_ (mailto:krat18 <@t> aol.com) 
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