[Histonet] Re: Basis for Quality Work in a Histotech

[Lynette Pavelich]

Travis,
If it were me (and I've done this), I would go back to the bench and walk in their shoes to see what is really happening. Come in at the start of their shift and work right along side them. This way, you can see who/what/when is going on:
How are the machines being maintained (how often/quality of maintenance .....is the 95% really 95%, etc.)
How is the processing schedule? Does it need "tweeking"?
How is the embedding? Quality? Go ahead and embed some.
How is the cutting? Quality/quantity? Go ahead and cut some.
How is the routine staining? Maintenance good? Times good?
How are the special stains? Are protocols being followed or does each "cook" have their own recipe they follow?
How is your procedure manual(s) Does it need cleaning up? Does the special stain manual contain pictures of what a good stain should look like?

Get my drift? Lots of things to think about. I would go on the bench for a week and see what really happens every day. It may be intimidating at first, but it will show your techs and your pathologists how much you care and this should help your approach when helping them improve their techniques. This may need to be done a few times, and each time, you will see improvements. I don't know of any techs who want to do bad work, they just may need guidance in getting there. 

Additionally, it will be helpful to track what infractions are going on and the frequency (we have a monthly tracking system and I report it at our QA meetings (mislabeled slides, mislabeled blocks, etc). Also, do you have a system in place to evaluate competency? This will be helpful when evaluation time comes around to approach them in areas of needed improvement. If you need help in developing a competency evaluation, the Michigan Society (www.mihisto.org) has a manual for supervisors that contains many different styles of evaluations that includes the different goals, measurements, assessment frequency, references and resources to help you develop an evaluation unique to your institution. Well worth the $5.00 investment.

Supervising at times, can be a tough job, but I can tell you really care about the patient. The best of luck to you!



Lynette

Lynette Pavelich, HT(ASCP)
Histology Supervisor
Hurley Medical Center
One Hurley Plaza
Flint, MI 48503

ph: 810.262.9948
mobile: 810.444.7966

________________________________________
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] on behalf of Genest, Sharon  SktnHR [Sharon.Genest <@t> saskatoonhealthregion.ca]
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2012 7:55 AM
To: 'histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu'
Subject: [Histonet] Re: Basis for Quality Work in a Histotech

My first recommendation would be to look at your process is there any way that you can error proof them? Make it more difficult to make the errors.When a lot of errors are occuring sometimes it is often due to how we do the job and not who does it.


Sharon Genest
Anatomic Pathology
Process Improvement
Saskatoon Health Region
306-655-8242
sharon.genest <@t> saskatoonhealthregion.ca
his e-mail message may contain confidential and/or privileged information. It is intended only for the
addressee. Any unauthorized disclosure is strictly prohibited. If you are not a named addressee you should not
disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received
this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E-mail transmissions cannot be guaranteed to be
secure or error free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or
contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept any liability for errors or omissions in the contents of this
message or any damages that arise as a result of e-mail transmissions.



_______________________________________________
Histonet mailing list
Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet