[Histonet] uncertified techs in Histology

[Sorenson, Jon (Nampa)]

In response to what Tom McNemar wrote:
 
I too, am a certified HT,HTL for 25 plus years and strongly agree with Tom.  I followed a B.S. in Biology/Chemistry with training in a 2 year A.S. program that included a 6 month stint as an unpaid intern at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.  I guess I wish the practical test was still part of the certification process and that there were more schools available.  I have to assume that economics dictated the demise of most, including the program I attended.
 
I am proud to be certified, proud to have helped several very good OJT techs attain their certification, and very willing to admit paper does not a good tech make.  We as Histotechs have benefited financially from our relative scarcity and suffered from lack of respect because of the loose standards.
Having said all that, Histology has been a rewarding career and I hope we continue to produce high quality techs in the future.
 
Jon Sorenson
Histology Coordinator
Mercy Medical Center
 
JonSorenson <@t> chiwest.com
208-463-5267
 
RE:
Tom McNemar TMcNemar <@t> lmhealth.org


I'm sure that I'm gonna get blasted but......
 
I'm sorry but I stand by the statement.  I have been a certified HT for 30 years now.  I will take an uncertified tech who can get a quality slide to the pathologist in a timely fashion over one who can tell me about it but can't do it.  We all know that they are out there.
 
Yes, perhaps the "lure" was insufficient but that is out of my control and irrelevant.  The bottom line is that none were willing to accept what I had to offer.
 
Certification does not make a good histo tech.  Certification is a stamp of validation.  It says that someone passed a test so they must be good.  There are many very good uncertified people in histology. 
 
Certification lost some of its validity when they did away with the practical part.  I would prefer to have someone who can actually do the work and not just talk about it.
 
Given my choice, I would love to have all certified techs but I live in the real world and it's not likely to happen in my remaining time.  Everyone talks of quality like it comes magically from having a piece of paper.  It don't.  Quality comes from experience and practical training.  And in the long run, that paper has very little to do with it.
 
Let the flamming begin!

 
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