[Histonet] RE:Switching from hospital histo to Research

[Gayle Callis]

Dear Linda and Carol,

Another thing - develop an invaluable network of research histotechs to 
help you as you go along.  Histonet is one place to find these people, and 
in the end, you will spend a lot of time with them in very lengthy private 
conversations.  Attending NSH workshops and participating in their 
committees has been a huge help to our laboratory, right down on how to set 
up GLP, and just about any other methodology -

As for Linda, she is one of my invaluable contacts - sharing ideas, 
literature, the lost method, problem solving with individuals like her not 
only boosts your knowledge but you also become good friends along the way 
and maybe someday co-present workshops on various reserach related topics 
as we have done.

Enjoy your research experience - and remember to avoid those "crispy 
critters" .

Gayle Callis
MT,HT,HTL(ASCP)
Research Histopathology Supervisor
Veterinary Molecular Biology
Montana State University - Bozeman
PO Box 173610
Bozeman MT 59717-3610



At 12:48 PM 5/14/2007, you wrote:
>Hi, Carol!
>         You  stated:
>
>  " I'm contemplating making a switch from a routine hospital histology 
> department to supervising a pharmaceutical research histology dept. 
> working with mostly rodent tissue.  Any opinions, suggestions, or 
> resources anyone would like to contribute would be greatly 
> appreciated.  It seems like a much less stress level than a hospital is 
> at times,..... so what am I missing or not thinking about as far as the 
> "problems" in this type of histology?"
>
>         Well, I made the switch 18 years ago and the thoughts of going 
> back to clinical have never entered my mind.  What's not to like?  Better 
> pay, better benefits, MUCH less stress,  no more working holidays or 
> weekends unless I choose to do so.  I think the primary ingredient to a 
> successful transfer is that you must be self motivated and capable of 
> independent work.  In clinical your days are fairly well defined (e.g. 
> embed, section, stain, etc.).  In research, you just never know what each 
> day will bring.  If you like orderly, routine days then you might want to 
> stay in clinical.  I brought human protocols to my research lab and they 
> all had to be severely modified.  Rodent tissue is so lean you must 
> modify processing protocols or you will end up with (as Gayle Callis 
> says) "crispy critters".  You will be asked to perform stains you have 
> only read about and they will probably need to be modified on top of 
> that. The only thing I really miss is being able to consult with a 
> pathologist and histology colleagues when I encounter problems. Part of 
> that problem was solved by joining NSH's VIR & Hard Tissue committees 
> where I have bunches of "bonehead buddies" doing the stuff I am.  I still 
> haven't found a research pathologist - much to my chagrin.
>         I thought I was happy in clinical histology until I entered the 
> world of research.  Now, I know true happiness!
>
>         Hope this helps,
>         Linda
>
>
>
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