[Histonet] Uncertified Histotechs

[Morken, Timothy]

At UC San Francisco we don't require a HT or HTL certification except for the Lead and Supervisor level (that leaves histotech 1, 2, 3 levels), though an HT or HTL is certainly favored. In the past we have always had a mix of certified and non-certified. However, for many years now we have required a 4-year degree, along with at least one year of histology lab experience, to qualify for an entry level job. Currently all but one of our 12 techs are certified. And several have received their HTL in just the last 4 years. 

In our area is it very difficult to find certified techs because they are grabbed up by the huge biotech industry and the local service labs. Additionally, people from out of the area may apply, but once they see the cost of living, and the commute times from the more reasonably-priced areas, they usually drop out. So we are left to find the best degree-ed people we can and train them . For example we had a local woman who just graduated from college with a degree in biology come to our lab as a summer intern to do clerical work. She ended up working in the lab doing odd jobs and was so interested, and impressed us so much, that we gave her a full time lab assistant job. Now she is learning histotechnology and studying for her HTL exam. She is an excellent tech and I'm sure will do well. 

There are many small private labs that hire non-certified techs, but some of them are questionable to work for - not much support for personal advancement. 

As others have  noted, having a certification has not guaranteed any certainty of skill. Most of our very best techs, whether you measure by skill, speed or knowledge, came to us from the UCSF research labs where they picked up enough histology skills to qualify for an entry level medical lab position, but also learned very valuable skills in how to approach lab work. All these youngsters have been promoted to senior and even Lead positions over long-time histotechs who, while certificated,  just did the job and did not bother to learn how to do anything else...or even show any interest in such things. So now we have 20-year histotechs being supervised by 5-year histotechs. 

There may be some locals that restrict jobs to certified techs, but I don't think that is the case in most of the country. 

Tim Morken
UCSF Pathology

-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Jon Hannasch
Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2013 4:43 PM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Uncertified Histotechs

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.
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