[Histonet] Re: Recent changes in HT Certification

[Karen Drummey]

Evening:

  I am curious if anyone out there is aware of the reasoning behind the discontinuation of the ASCP certification for HT's as of December 2006?  I was told, upon graduation, that there was a five year window within which to become registered.  I graduated many years ago with a B.A., M.A.(eq) but returned to study for the AAS in Applied Lab Science and graduated with a 4.0 in Histotechnology in May 2005.  I took the computerized test immediately and passed with a very high score.  So many histotechs are needed; however, most of the hiring managers (many of whom I hope read this E-mail) base everyone's skill level on their current education ONLY and the lack of an ASCP certification.  There is no established program in the Continental United States that culminates in the acquisition of both the HT (or HTL) degree and the ASCP certification.  I welcome being corrected if someone knows of such a program.  It took me several months to gain employment and I am limited in time and acquisition of tissue at this point.  I was not too concerned because I believed that I had ample time to become registered.  I received a letter last week from the Board of Registry directing me to sign up immediately for the November practical because the ASCP would no longer  be available to HT graduates after December 2006.  My main question is ....What are the implications of this move?  What good is an ASCP certification if it is obsolete one month after grading?  My academic advisor was not made aware of this move until I wrote and called.  The program coordinators are not being informed by the Board of Registry and it is simply not just for people to be sucked into a program, allowed to pay for an education only to graduate without the ability to get the certification they will be asked for just to be considered for a hospital or lab based position.  I have found the whole experience frustrating and in a constant state of flux.  The HT's and HTL's with years of experience believe that all newcomers are academicians who cannot perform the tasks of the lab.  The problem that I have seen is that there are no real "teachers" or instructors left in the world of Histotechnology.  Everyone is an administrator and a student must force themselves into the program and into the mix of the lab in order to learn anything.  I was "tested" by a HT veteran of 14 years who had to use Carson's textbook just to denote the color of collagen in a Trichrome stain.  She then told my advisor that I passed the test and could even "pronounce all the big words without looking at the book!"  Is this the REAL world of "old" Histology.  Funny, I graduated with my first degree in the late '80's and I never met a researcher in Biological Sciences who required a textbook to test my knowledge.  I have written to the Board of Registry and, of course, heard nothing.  This is a sweeping and unjust move on a recent graduate and, even given the abilities, one may not be able to live, breathe and eat Histotechnology in order to meet a goal imposed at the eleventh hour.  
  If anyone knows anything about this ruling and why these changes are being introduced so swiftly, please respond to KDrummey <@t> msncom<mailto:KDrummey <@t> msn.com>.  If anyone can justify the ruling I would be most happy to hear from you and, if you are a Board Member, maybe you could reimburse my tuitions and expenses for the last two years I have spent proving that I remember what I learned 20 years ago and then justify the end of career that never got off the ground.

Thank You...KDrummey <@t> msn.com