[Histonet] 72644.18148.qm@web111105.mail.gq1.yahoo.com

Mon Apr 5 14:37:26 CDT 2010

Comparing the situations in different countries can be very confusing.  I 
traied in the UK (many years ago) and have lived in Canada for a long time, 
but I do have some (limited) information about the US system.

First off, Medical Laboratory Technology in the UK and Canada includes 
histotechnology as one of the integral subject areas, but the US does not. 
Histotechnology is a standalone subject there, by and large.

The ASCP is different from the Health Professional Council (used to be 
Council for professions supplementary to medicine when I lived there).  That 
is a licensing body, and its function is carried out by some state agencies 
(in the US) and some provincial agencies (in Canada).  However, not all 
states and provinces require licensing to work as a medical laboratory 
technologist/histotechnologist.  The ASCP used to run the commonest US 
qualifying exams (still do ??, I am not sure) and kept a registry of 
qualified technologists, although there are others systems.  In Canada it is 
done by the CSMLS (Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Sciences).  The 
equivalent organisation in the UK is the IBMS (Institute of Biomedical 
Sciences).

In Canada it is possible to take specialty training in a subject area at 
both initial level and post initial level.  So you can be an RT (Registered 
Technologist) in medical laboratory technology generally, or an RT in 
cytology or electron microscopy as examples.  All RTs can take advanced 
examinations as general or specialist technologists, depending on their 
initial RT status.  There used to be a third level (Fellowship in the CSMLS) 
but it was abandoned because so few technologists took it.  That was about 
the same level as the UK three part exam.  An applicable BSc is now required 
in Canada to advance post RT.

As to 16 year olds in labs.  I started work in the UK in Hackney six days 
before my 17th birthday in 1960.  A month later I was doing haemoglobins by 
finger stick with Hagedorn needles, ESRs and going around the wards.  A year 
later I was well versed in clinical chemistry (urea, glucose, bilirubin, 
alkaline phosphatases etc - all done manually with what passed for micro 
methods in those days.  Students like me did about 80% of the work in those 
days because the profession was expanding so fast due to the introduction of 
the public health care system in Britain.  Things change, and that just 
would not be allowed today.  I suspect that 16 year olds doing grossing is 
very unusal and in the US would likely be viewed as an invitation for the 
pathologists to be sued.  Remember, it was April 1st!

In the US the CAP (College of American Pathologists) is involved in an 
accreditation system with other agencies.  In Canada the CAP (Canadian 
Association of Pathologists) is a player in some accrediatation systems, but 
in Canada health care is legally a provincial responsibility, so 
accreditation is done by provincial agencies for each province.  That is 
also the reason licensing varies from province to province here.  Our 
country wide qualifying system by the CSMLS is a fortunate anomoly that 
nobody wants to change because it works so well for us.

I hope this explains a little.

Bryan Llewellyn

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Malika Benatti" <malbenatti <@t> googlemail.com>
To: "Mark Tarango" <marktarango <@t> gmail.com>
Cc: <histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu>; "Andrew Burgeson" 
<napoli <@t> siscom.net>
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 11:03 AM
Subject: Re: [Histonet] 72644.18148.qm <@t> web111105.mail.gq1.yahoo.com

>I am very confuse reading every email reply to this tread also I would be
> really grateful if someone could enlighten with regard to what is the
> comment practice in the US.
>
> Having been trained as a histotechnologist although we are call Specialist
> Biomedical Scientist in the UK, we cannot practice unless we are fully
> registered with the Health Professional Council HPC, which I believe has 
> the
> same role as the ASCP. Every 2 years we may be audited a demonstrate that 
> we
> fully comply with HPC regulation and CPD or lose or registration. All
> laboratories are accredited by the Clinical Pathology Accreditation CPA
> under the international organization for standardization legislation (ISO
> 15189).
>
> Laboratory accreditation happen every 2 years cycle for which the 
> laboratory
> has to comply with a set of standard.
> During inspection accessor review everything with a fine tooth comb, and
> score you some of the issues may just be minors but they will always get 
> you
> with a critical issue, which you will have a set amount of time to 
> correct,
> they will then return and verify that all non compliance and critical 
> issues
> have been address before giving you CPA accreditation status.
>
> Having a 16 years old out of school with little experience in histology 
> and
> no formal training grossing specimen is never heard off, only Register
> Biomedical Scientist are allowed to do small biopsies, Advance 
> Practitioner,
> Trainee Pathologist, will be involved in the grossing of lager specimens,
> and tumour specimens.
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 6:18 PM, Mark Tarango <marktarango <@t> gmail.com> 
> wrote:
>
>> When I was 16 years-old I was grossing in the lab.  We had
>> very busy pathologists (busy reading slides) who thought it was okay to
>> train their courier (me at the time) to gross.  I had already been there
>> handing them bottles and closing cassette lids for several months.
>>
>> When we had our first CLIA inspection, they had me intial and sign
>> paperwork
>> saying that I had grossed so many cases of various specimen types under
>> patholgist supervision and had been grossing so long.  The problem was 
>> that
>> I was only a high school graduate at the time.  They then changed 
>> direction
>> and told the inspectors that the pathologists did all the grossing.
>>
>> Just brings back memories.  Thought I'd share.
>>
>> Mark Tarango
>> On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 10:03 AM, Andrew Burgeson <napoli <@t> siscom.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > The point is not about gender, as I stated before...
>> >
>> > It's about a person's health risks and lack of training
>> > overlooked for the sake of labor. TYVM
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Histonet mailing list
>> > Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
>> > http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
>> >
>> _______________________________________________
>> Histonet mailing list
>> Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
>> http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
>>
>
>
>
> -- 
> " Smile .... it confuses people  "
> _______________________________________________
> Histonet mailing list
> Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
> 