[Histonet] RE: Uncertified histotechs

Fri Aug 23 15:07:27 CDT 2013

Your explanation of how we became Histologist Soup is very enlightening while being somewhat frightening. I have experienced this category confusion myself.  I am an HT who did the OJT route and then took the written/practical exam in 1968.  I chose not to do the HTL because I was (and was until I retired) quite happy being a Bench Tech.  It's my thing.  However, when I began working for New Mexico State University's New Mexico Department of Agriculture's Veterinary Diagnostic Services (try fitting all THAT on a return address label!) they had advertised for a Histotechnologist simply because they are a University and professional positions are to be filled with degreed personnel.  Because I do not have a Bachelor's degree but I had more than 35 years of experience at that time, they exchanged my nonexistent degree for years of experience.  Basically, I told the interviewer that if I didn't know what I was doing by now, a degree was not going to help me one bit!  And they hired me.  However, until I retired, I was still classified as Histotechnologist.  Nice compliment, but undeserved.  I had a long conversation with Human Resources when my position was to be posted as I prepared to retire and explained that their chances of finding an "ologist" in this market that would work for what a State agency would pay was (shall we say) zit-point-****-over-infinity.  My replacement is a highly skilled  HT(ASCP) who is close to finishing off her Bachelor's and that satisfied the requirements.  Everybody's happy - especially me.  But the position is not being filled by a Histotech nologist and never was. 

If we as a group, and NSH as a professional organization - along with the total support of CAP and anyone else who has ties to this little-known profession do not begin to shout loudly and long the benefits of this career field, one of the vendors will design a HistoRoboTechnician who can do it all.   It's up to us to do all those things that NSH suggests (speeches at schools, newspaper articles, etc.) and see if you can't get a light to go on in someone's eyes.  You'll know that spark  when you see it.  And we need to generate some sparks. 

----- Original Message -----

From: "Pamela A Marcum" <PAMarcum <@t> uams.edu> 
To: "Toysha N' 'Mayer" <TNMayer <@t> mdanderson.org>, "histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu" <histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu> 
Sent: Friday, August 23, 2013 1:16:44 PM 
Subject: [Histonet] RE: Uncertified histotechs 

The interesting thing is the history of Histotechnican and Histotechnologist.  We have probably all been called both if we have been in this field very long.  Recently, I had a reason to find out how it actually came about and where the two titles came from originally and got so confused.  Prior to early 1980 we were all called by these two names and Histologist.  In the early 80s the ASCP developed a new "management category" for the registry.  The new category was Histotechnologist or HTL, with the idea that some of us could grandfather in over several years (if we had the experience) and then the category would require a four year or BS degree in order to sit for the test.  Now you are supposed to have a BS to take the HTL and be called a Histotechnologist.  HTs are called Histotechnicians according to ASCP.   

The problem is now we are so confused in many of the job categories and we are all still called by any of the three titles that getting paid more is hard or knowing what you are in the market.  HR departments and some managers are not sure what to call us or list jobs as in descriptions overall.  Recently here in Arkansas a market survey was done.  These issues really showed the differences.  No one really understood how to correct the titles as some of the employers only hired you if you had one of the titles and made no exception for which one and others just did not care as long as you were registered with ASCP.  The University made some slight difference due to education.  Due to the market confusion and ours as to what to call ourselves at times this was no help.  Now it is just "you need an HT or HTL to apply".  We are not offering OJT due to some issues with several people we trained for a year or more, not following through with the registry.  It cost too much money and time with no return from trainees in these cases. 

I am an OJT from back in the 60s when it was the only route to get into Histology as we had even fewer schools and options.  Some of the best Histology people I know were OJT trained and some with MTs who never sat for the Histology registry are excellent.  We all know people who are trained now and even years ago that are not at the top of the field and are only interested in coming in, getting by and going home.  Just like every other field we have the full range of above average to "no you can't ever do my tissue".  As long as we are fragmented this way it makes equitable pay and being recognized as a professional category by CAP a problem.  We do not do complex testing.  Really, have these people ever done IHC from titer to completion.  We can't give it to a pathologist unless we know it worked or why it did not and that is not complex.   

Pam Marcum 
UAMS 
-----Original Message----- 
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Mayer,Toysha N 
Sent: Friday, August 23, 2013 1:45 PM 
To: 'histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu' 
Subject: [Histonet] RE: Uncertified histotechs 

It can be difficult to find employment without certification, however I have seen techs with certification who cannot perform.  It does depend on the facility and the environment.  Some say it is for liability purposes (in case there is a case that was mishandled) and some say for the regulations for health care law.  Either way it can be an asset, and I'm not just saying that because it's what I do.   
I did OJT, and then took the test because my supervisor said I had to.  The benefit was it has not been very difficult meeting the basic qualifications for jobs.  The only drawback is there is no standard amongst employers on position names (histotechnician for less than 5 yrs experience and histotechnologist for more than 5 yrs).  Certification and education can open doors for more complex testing in the future, especially if we (histotechs) want to remain in charge of our destiny's.   
So yes, the positions for non-certified histotechs are diminishing, depending on the location of the facility and the availability of techs in the area.  It also depends on whether or not there is a program in the area, if there is, the competition may be higher.  They can pay a new graduate less, even if they are certified, than a very experienced non-certified tech.   

I do agree that requesting a cutting test is a decent measure of baseline ability.  I did run into quite a few techs that were certified and cut the plastic on the cassette.   

Toysha N. Mayer, MBA, HT(ASCP) 
Instructor/Education Coordinator 
Program in Histotechnology 
School of Health Professions 
MD Anderson Cancer Center 
713-563.3481 

------------------------------ 

Message: 5 
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 16:43:10 -0700 
From: Jon Hannasch <jon2038433 <@t> maricopa.edu> 
Subject: [Histonet] Uncertified Histotechs 
To: "histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu" 
        <histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu> 
Message-ID: <04D5279B-C201-4F0A-97C3-6D322A9FD1F2 <@t> maricopa.edu> 
Content-Type: text/plain;        charset=us-ascii 

Is getting a job as an uncertified histotech a thing of the past? I have a friend who has been a very skilled histotech for many years and they have been looking for a job for about a year now. Is this due to bad interviewing or a lack of certification? I'm curious to see if this has happened to other people. They have applied at hospitals and bigger labs such as Caris. Im not asking for a job lead for them I'm just more curious if certification has become a prerequisite now. 

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

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. 

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