[Histonet] HTL certification

[Dawson, Glen]

Hermina,

Two of my techs just took the HTL yesterday & passed.  According to them,
the written test was a nightmare.  Nothing came from the old stand-by
textbooks like Sheehan or Carson.  The BOR study guide provided zero help.
There was alot of IHC related questions that included trouble shooting and
appropriate controls for certain stains.  One or two ISH questions and 3 or
4 EM questions.  They highly recommend studying the anatomy of the eye.
Many poor quality pictures of unknown tissues were on it as well along with
some strange questions.  I believe that their tests were quite different
based on how good or bad they were performing.  Many managerial questions
including worker relations/performance scenarios, OSHA regulations, JHACO
rules & CAP regulation.   Most of the test dealt with topics that they were
not familiar with as they are students with little bench experience.

I'm thinking that the final scoring must be on a radical curve because both
were sure that they had failed by the end of it.  I know for a fact that
they couldn't have studied harder than they did for the test, but nothing
that they actually studied was on it.  Sorry for the gloom and doom, I'm
just passing on the sentiments of 2 individuals that just took the test.

Good Luck,

Glen Dawson  BS, HT & QIHC (ASCP)
IHC Manager
Milwaukee, WI



-----Original Message-----
From: Hermina Borgerink [mailto:hborgeri <@t> wfubmc.edu]
Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 11:23 AM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] HTL certification


Two of my techs will be taking the HTL certification this year.  I
checked the requirements on the ASCP Board of Registry home page and
found that they needed experience in the following areas:  fixation,
processing, microtomy, and routine as well as special staining.  I just
wanted to double check with those of you who have recently taken their
Board Certifications that EM and ISH experience are no longer required.
When I did my HTL certification there still were questions pertaining to
both topics, and I just want to make sure they won't be faced with
questions they are not trained in.  Any response would be greatly
appreciated and I thank you in advance.
Hermina 
 

Hermina M. Borgerink, BA, HT(ASCP)HTL, QIHC
Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Department of Pathology
Medical Center Blvd.
Winston-Salem, NC 27157
Tel. (336) 716-1538
Fax. (336) 716-1515
e-mail hborgeri <@t> wfubmc.edu

 




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