[Histonet] Uncertified Histotechs

[Morken, Timothy]

" Once I applied for jobs I got hired relatively quick and I could barely make a decent slide."

Don't feel bad about that. That is what entry level is all about. It reminds me of my first week as an electron microscopy technologist (which is what I did before learning histotechnology). I went to school for EM (Delta College, Stockton, CA) and there I did maybe 5 specimens total for biological TEM. I got hired as an EM tech at a hospital and in the first week did 12 cases. It did not take long at all to become expert at cutting. That was the easy part. The harder part was learning the pathology so I could independently review cases and take meaningful photos. With my degree in cell biology I at least knew what normal cells looked like! Then it was just learning what the abnormal ones looked like. The school taught me the theoretical aspects of EM and biology. The skill was acquired on the job. That is pretty much how it has to happen. You simply can't do enough hands-on work in school to become truly skillful at manual work. But once you acquire the skill, what will carry you forward is your theoretical background and ability to do work beyond the routine. 


Tim Morken
Supervisor, Electron Microscopy/Neuromuscular Special Studies
Department of Pathology
UC San Francisco Medical Center


-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Jon Hannasch
Sent: Friday, August 23, 2013 1:54 PM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: RE: [Histonet] Uncertified Histotechs

Thank you everyone for your interest in this subject. I get an overwhelming feeling that being certified is practically necessary to apply for histotech jobs. It seems like if you lack certification then you will be lucky to find a place interested in you. Even if you have all the experience. It's too bad because I recently went through school for histology and got my HT certification. Once I applied for jobs I got hired relatively quick and I could barely make a decent slide. My friend who is uncertified with all the experience just can't seem to find. I guess certification is everything now. It doesn't make much sense but that's just the way it is.
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