[Histonet] Grossing

Wed May 25 05:23:31 CDT 2005

Heather,

I feel your pain. I do grossing of all the small things, also. I am the
"Histology Supervisor" but I am the only civilian in my department and
the only histotechnologist. I have a military member to embed and help
cut blocks in the morning. I do all the special stains, recuts, etc. I
also do all the FNA's as we no longer have cytotechnologists (our Pap
Smears are shipped out). The pathologist looks at the non-gyn and FNA
slides to give the diagnosis. My day starts at 6:00 am and I am suppose
to get off of work at 2:45 but that rarely happens (I don't get overtime
or comp. time either).  I have all the duties of the other lab dept.
supervisors but they do not do any bench work. They are also 3 grades
higher than me. My paper work has stacked up so high on my desk that I
can't even see the surface of my desk. I got told yesterday by our
pathologist that he wants me to start keeping up with his QA cases that
he sends out for review since our lab QA person said that he doesn't
have time to do it!!  I showed him my desk and told him that I have 4
SOP's to write, 5 SOP's to revise, tons of other administrative paper
work to do (eventually), and a long list of just general lab work to do
(filing slides, disposing of waste tissue, etc). His attitude is that I
should take this on as an additional duty since it belongs to Histology.
I am at my wits end and leave work each day exhausted. I stay behind
more than I care and some days I just want to scream.  I have tried to
talk with the pathologist and the lab manager (both military) but it all
falls on deaf ears. It seems that military hospitals everywhere are
treating their histo techs this way.  If I didn't have 25 1/2 years of
federal civilian service, I would leave here for a better job where I am
truly appreciated and not worked like a mule. The fact that I am well
into my 50's doesn't help me getting hired somewhere else. So I guess
that I will just try to ride it out and try to keep my wits about me. 

Good luck in trying to get your pathologists to see the light. Thanks
for letting me vent my frustrations, also.

Keep Smiling,
Diane

Diane C. Gladney, HT (ASCP)
Supervisor, Histology/Cytology
Moncrief Army Community Hospital
Dept. of Pathology
4500 Stuart Street
P.O. Box 484
Ft. Jackson, SC  29207 

Email:  diane.gladney <@t> se.amedd.army.mil
Phone:  803-751-2530  FAX:  803-751-7829 

-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
[mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of
Heather.A.Harper <@t> pcola.med.navy.mil
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 12:24 PM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Grossing

   Currently I am grossing in the small specimens and I do all the
miscellaneous stuff, plus all my paper work that a supervisor has to
do..
Grossing consumes 2 hrs of my morning and generally do not start until
between 8:30-9:00. My shift ends at 2:30. My co-worker works the night
shift
(10-6) and embeds, cuts and stains (literally). I want to get some
opinions.
Since I already accession, gross, etc... Is it fair for the pathologists
to want me also to do the recuts and special stains? I feel an enormous
pressure about this issue and I simply can't understand why some
pathologists act like it's so detrimental to be able to view slides and
get recuts/special stains the same day. I do not want to be rushed
through grossing to accommodate 2 of the 3 pathologists. Am I right or
wrong for feeling this way. I need feedback.

Heather A. Harper

Naval Hospital of Pensacola, FL

Supervisor Histology/Morgue

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