[Histonet] Histonet Vacancies---DSI !!

Thu Apr 10 12:41:12 CDT 2008

HI -  I am Judith Williams, the creator of DSI!!! along with Jason Kruse.  I was the instructor at Clover Park Tech College last year and then I took another job at Univ of WAshington. I designed the idea and text along with Jason, one of their computer experts at the college. He did a fantastic job of making it interesting! He came to the lab and took photos and I explained each step- he took notes then made the cartoons and applied it. He and I worked on it, editing and tweeking it - he is so clever! I really want him to get a lot of credit for it. Isn't it wonderful!  
He and I are going to make CD's of it to send out for advertising histotechnology.  Will let you know about when they are going to be ready.
Glad you all enjoyed it. I am a huge CSI fan - so naturally we did that twist!
cheers to all histoworld!!!   We need to sell this career - its great!

Judith Williams, PhD, HT(ASCP)
Department of Comparative Medicine
University of Washington
Seattle, WA

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008, Cheri Miller wrote:

> I agree, its very clever!  I have saved it to share with my department!
> Cheryl Miller HT (ASCP)
> Histology Supervisor
> Physicians Laboratory,P.C.
> Omaha, Ne.
> 402 738 5052
> -----Original Message-----
> From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Morken, Tim
> Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008 10:37 AM
> To: Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> Subject: RE: [Histonet] Histonet Vacancies
>
>
> Patty, Thanks for the link to the new program. And the histology "DSI"
> game on the site is brilliant!!
>
>
> Tim Morken
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Patti
> Loykasek
> Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008 7:41 AM
> To: Dan Dan; Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> Subject: Re: [Histonet] Histonet Vacancies
>
> Well said, Dan. I do have one small caveat, there is a new school in the
> Northwest, Tacoma WA area. It is at Clover Park Technical College. Check
> it out at www.cptc.edu. The area histotechs have been quite supportive,
> and I think the program is off to a great start.
>
>
> Patti Loykasek BS, HTL, QIHC
> PhenoPath Laboratories
> Seattle, WA
>
>
>
>
>> I'll add my two-cents worth. It's hard to believe that after 25 years
>> in this business that the histotech "shortage" situation is pretty
>> much the same as it was long ago. There have certainly been
>> improvements in education and training of people in histology, but for
>
>> the most part (99%??) people just fall into histology rather than pick
>
>> it at some point in school. In fact, it is a very rare day when I meet
>
>> someone who went to school for histotechnology, At this date there is
>> still only one school on the west coast, and it is not the same school
> that existed for a while in Seattle!
>> The new one is in southern california. I looked into starting a
>> histotechnology course here in the SF Bay Area, but it takes a long
>> while with lots of justification and scrounging for equipment and if I
>
>> wanted to do it full time the pay would be half as much as I make now.
>
>> I could do it part time but then I'd be working 60-70 hours a week
>> rather than 50 I do now. For the time being I give presentations to
>> the local junior colleges. I may expand that to high schools. I know
>> they are interested in getting speakers, but finding the time...
>>
>> I work in the biotech field as an IHC lab manger. We don't require
>> HT/HTL/QIHC (though would love to have them!)but it is still very
>> difficult to get experienced histotechs and nearly impossible to get
>> experienced IHC techs around here. Most of the people I interview are
>> from the research field who may have done some IHC at some point. And
>> the ones who have good IHC experience are making very high salaries
>> that our company gags at matching. It is not possible to recruit out
>> of the Bay Area because the cost of housing is so high that no one
>> that is not already living here can afford to move here. Even getting
>> someone from southern cal is difficult - justifiying relocation
>> expenses is difficult. It is kind of a joke that the experienced IHC
>> techs know each other and spend their careers trading places at the
>> varioius companies. Anthony is quite right that it takes a lot of
> effort to educate HR and upper management about the need for higher pay.
>> They really have a hard time justifying the same pay for a
>> technologist that a new PhD will also make.
>>
>> On top of that we have loads of (legal) immigrants from Asia here and
>> they are quite willing to work for lower pay to get a start. It is
>> very common to have PhD level people, and even immigrant MD's (who
>> can't get board certified here, mainly due to lanquage difficulties)
> working as lab techs.
>> Who is going to hire a AA/BS histotech when they can get a PhD who is
>> happy to do the work and able to contribute to R&D at a higher level
>> than most techs?
>>
>> There is a huge disparity between what hospitals and private
>> diagnostic labs pay. The local Kaiser labs and Univeristy hospital
>> labs pay in the $35 per hour range for basic histology. Senior IHC
>> techs are in the $45 range. Those places have unions which is why the
>> pay is so high. On the other hand, private labs will pay
>> experieinced,certified people almost that much, but new, inexperienced
>
>> people may be paid $15-20/hr and the lab is not willing to help them
>> get to their HT/HTL because they don't want to pay them more, and
>> could lose them to the hospitals once trained. This is not speculation
>
>> but things I have had told to me first hand from techs who work in
> these places.
>>
>> It is a little harder now for histotechs to be trained on the job due
>> to the AA requirement. Most OJT people I have met were working in the
>> hospital at some other job - lab assisant, dishwasher, etc before
>> getting (accidently) into histology. A person working on an AA is
>> probably not working in those jobs and probably does not even know a
> histology lab exists.
>>
>> Obviously the need is to get exposure for histotechnology. The NSH
>> makes brochures and videos available and does a career day for high
>> schools students at the national meeting every year (I've helped at
>> those). This is a good foundation. But it will really take every state
>
>> society and every interested histotech to do SOMETHING to promote the
>> field. Science teachers at high schools are very interested in having
>> working people come in to talk about a field. If someone in every city
>
>> could do that it would go a long way towards promoting the field.
>> Maybe the key is to have NSH come up with a standardised presentation
>> that anyone can give along with some props to make it a tactile
> experience.
>>
>> But, after the promotion you have to realize that it takes a huge
>> amount of initiative on the students part to follow through. They have
>
>> to start work on, or finish, an AA /BS degree, make contact with a lab
>
>> that is interested in training people, get the position, do on-the-job
>
>> (maybe at the same time as school) and THEN work on learning the
>> matieral for an HT/HTL pretty much alone. Their facing a 3 to 4 year
>> process. Longer if they get a bachelors degree. Key is finding labs to
> training that value HT/HTL certification.
>> Starting HT/HTL study groups would be a good way to get people
> motivated.
>> This is the kind of thing a state society can do. Individuals can to
>> it as well, but it helps to have a group for motivation.
>>
>> Of course, that is why it has not happened - it depends too much on a
>> few super-motivated individuals. The schools don't hear of a demand
>> and so do not have programs. No programs means students never hear
>> about it. Since students don't hear about it they can't even consider
> it. A vicious circle.
>>
>> Imagine if the schools had students asking about courses leading to
>> histotech certification or at least a chance at a job that leads to
>> certification. That gets the schools attention. Junior colleges
>> especially are very interested in providing trained people to the
>> local job market. For them jobs = program justification.
>>
>> Think about it.
>>
>> Dan in Danville (a pseudonom to allow free speech)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear Pam:
>>
>> For a long time histologists have gotten the short end of the stick. I
>
>> believe that the current situation is a symptom of the problem and is
>> due to a history of underpayment.
>>
>> We cannot solve the problem by artificial means. This country is based
>
>> on the free market system. We must work with the system not against
>> it, but first we must clearly understand the problem: Not enough
>> techs, increasing barriers to entry into the profession, lack of
>> visibility, no central planning to fix or even research the problem.
>>
>> We need to work to bring up the wages of HTs all across the country.
>> If we do this, we will bring Histology to the attention of people in
>> education at the moment.
>>
>> We can only get out of it by concentrating on increasing the number of
>
>> facilities that are prepared to take on new graduates and spend the
>> time to get their practical skills up to speed.
>>
>> I think you are doing a valuable job bringing this situation back to
>> the surface. We need to keep the momentum up and not let it die on the
>
>> vine of this valuable forum as a forgotten conversation. So, I ask my
>> peers: What can we do to address this situation in an organized,
>> effective manner? Who in our profession is responsible for being our
> cheerleader?
>>
>> Finally, Pam, I want to say for myself that I encourage all
> conversation.
>>
>> I will never be offended by a question, and I will always try to
>> answer questions in a way that remembers there is a person behind it.
>> No flame retardant needed here.
>>
>> I make my money from placing people on a temporary and permanent
> basis.
>>
>> I am also a Histologist first and foremost and believe that patient
>> safety is number one and understaffed laboratories experience more
> mistakes.
>>
>> Keep up the good work, Pam.
>>
>> All my best,
>>
>> Anthony Williams BSc. HT
>>
>> Histotech Exchange LLC
>>
>> 19 Whitmore St.
>>
>> Lexington, VA 24450
>>
>> T 1 (302) 383 9780
>>
>> F 1 (540) 463 3583
>>
>> anthony <@t> histotechexchange.com
>>
>>> I know this is a problem that has plagued facilities for years and I
>>
>>> too have noticed a change in the past 2 years. Yes, the histology
>>
>>> programs nationwide produce a great albeit small group of talented
>>
>>> people every year but the pool of available histo techs for permanent
>>
>>> positions has shrunk even more in recent years. At the risk of being
>>
>>> "flamed" by travel companies I have to say that you are losing alot
>>> of
>>
>>> techs to travel positions. In the past 2 years of all of the histo
>>
>>> techs I have had contact with over half only want to work in
>>> permanent
>>
>>> positions the rest either want to continue as travelers or become
>>
>>> travelers. Think about it... they get a higher rate of pay, benefits
>>
>>> and living expenses paid for. For these people it is a "better deal"
>>
>>> than committing to one facility. As a matter of fact it is a "better
>>
>>> deal" than a temp/travel position in any other field outside of
>>
>>> healthcare. Facilities who take the "quick solution" of hiring travel
>>
>>> techs are contributing to the shortage. May I offer some solutions?
>>> Some
>> creative hiring strategies?
>>
>>>
>>
>>> Here are some ideas I would like to share:
>>
>>> 1. If you are using travel techs do it with a temp to perm clause -
>>
>>> but be firm. If a tech works for you as a temp make sure they are at
>>
>>> least considering converting to a permanent employee at the end of
>>> the
>>
>>> contract. If not don't extend, have your travel company send someone
>>
>>> else who would consider converting to a permanent position. And make
>>
>>> questions about their intentions part of your interview process the
>>
>>> same as you would if you were interviewing a candidate from out of
>>
>>> state for a permanent position.
>>
>>>
>>
>>> 2. Human Resources - Many of your allied health recruiters don't seem
>>
>>> to realize that histo techs don't grow on trees. So many times I see
>>
>>> facilities lose great techs because the hiring process has dragged
>>> out
>>
>>> and the candidate ends up taking a position with a facility that can
>>
>>> move faster. Stay on top of your hr people especially once you know
>>
>>> they have a histology candidate.
>>
>>>
>>
>>> 3. How about techs from Canada? There are alot of talented techs in
>>
>>> Canada that are interested in moving to the states and the process is
>>
>>> relatively easy due to NAFTA and the F1 visa.
>>
>>>
>>
>>> 4. How about techs that need sponsorship on an H-1 visa? I know alot
>>
>>> of companies shy away from this alternative because of the length of
>>
>>> time it can take to process a visa application but I think that if
>>> you
>>
>>> take a look at the time it takes to find a tech at all against the
>>
>>> time it would take to process an H-1 visa it is quickly becoming 6 of
>
>>> one
>> vs.
>>
>>> half dozen of another. I mean what difference does it make if it
>>
>>> takes up to 8 weeks to process an H-1 visa vs. 2-3 months to identify
>>
>>> a histology candidate?
>>
>>>
>>
>>> Your best bet is to get with your Human Resources department and
>>
>>> strategize, educate them on the challenges and shortages you are
> facing.
>>
>>> Discuss some of these options or others you might come up with.
>>
>>> I hope this helps!!
>>
>>>
>>
>>> Thank You!
>>
>>>
>>
>>>
>>
>>> Pam Barker
>>
>>> President
>>
>>> RELIA
>>
>>> Specialists in Allied Healthcare Recruiting
>>
>>> 5703 Red Bug Lake Road #330
>>
>>> Winter Springs, FL 32708-4969
>>
>>> Phone: (407)657-2027
>>
>>> Cell: (407)353-5070
>>
>>> FAX: (407)678-2788
>>
>>> E-mail: relia1 <@t> earthlink.net
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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Judith Williams, PhD, HT(ASCP)
Research Scientist
Department of Comparative Medicine
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195