[Histonet] BS in Histotechnology

Wed Mar 25 10:56:33 CDT 2015

My abbreviated story: I went to college right out of high school...class of '74. During my sophomore year I spoke with my advisor and explained how much I loved biology/science....but did not want to be a nurse. She mentioned the lab sciences and had me visit a major hospital a couple hours away from where I was attending college to check things out. 

I saw chemistry, hematology, micro, blood banking, cytology and histology. I saw histology last and fell in love and knew instantly. I went back to my advisor and told her and she explained I didn't need a Bachelor's for that program so I decided to complete my sophomore and begin my year-long training. MANY years later I went back and finished my degree but I chose histology over many other options. I have not regretted it.

Jeanine Sanders
CDC Atlanta

And for the record, I worked with Tim for years and he is an amazing histotech!!!!!

-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Morken, Timothy
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2015 11:41 AM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: RE: [Histonet] BS in Histotechnology

Tom, I think every histotech does the best they can with the limited resources available. I don't blame anyone for lack of knowledge or skill  due to their OJT because  I came through the OJT route as well, after getting degrees in physiology  and a two year certification in electron microscopy. I wound my way thru EM, histology, IHC and ended up working almost exclusively in IHC for many years and only recently came back to EM.  Luckily I initially worked for a pathologist who supported the education of his techs and wanted "supertechs" who could do everything in histology. We had a group in the lab who studied together for the HT and HTL and we all learned a lot. However, what we did was still informal and certainly not comprehensive. Later on I worked in Saudi Arabia and had the chance to work with many other histotechs from other countries. Believe me, even with my degree and HTL I was outclassed by those other techs knowledge due to their formal education in the field. I was the one asking questions or being taught things I had no idea about. Things that had never come up in my necessarily limited OJT. 

But that is my point. The vast majority of histotechs fall into the field by accident, not by design, and whatever they learn is a circumstance of where they work, what that lab does and who is teaching them. I would never have thought of doing immunohistochemistry unless I had been hired to run an EM lab and, not having quite enough to keep me busy, been willing to help out in histology and learn everything there as well,  just at the time IHC was coming into the lab, and a medical director willing to both teach and bring in people from outside to teach us. Someone else working somewhere else may not have that level of support at all. Indeed, I have met histotechs who tell me their medical directors will not even sign an ASCP application form for them to sit for an exam because if they figure if the tech gets the certification they will leave for a better job somewhere else!

Compare that to a med tech who goes to college, finds out about  the field of Medical Technology and has an entire department built around educating them to that end, along with hospitals that will provide internships for further training. That is far, far beyond what 99% of histotechs in the US ever get, if they get any formal training at all. 

Therefore, it is not reasonable to assume that just because someone learns a skill on the job and passes a basic test that they are equal in every way to someone with formal education, internships and good support throughout their education and training. It is only the very rare histotech who goes above and beyond the normal requirements of the job that achieves anything close to what med techs get as a normal course of events. So, I really appreciate what all good histotechs achieve with the near total lack of support, doing everything on their own, mostly due to their own desire to do well in a profession they love. 

Tim

-----Original Message-----
From: Podawiltz, Thomas [mailto:tpodawiltz <@t> lrgh.org] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2015 3:19 AM
To: Morken, Timothy; Jennifer MacDonald; histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: RE: [Histonet] BS in Histotechnology

Tim for a Pathology Manager you seem to have a low opinion of the education and training of the Histo Techs that work for you. Is your training program accredited with one of the Histology schools or is your staff left to rend for themselves? 

By the way, the lab that I work at basis the starting salaries on your degree first, then specialty so MT, HT/HTL with BS degrees earn the same.  

Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: Morken, Timothy [mailto:Timothy.Morken <@t> ucsf.edu] 
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 12:42 PM
To: Podawiltz, Thomas; Jennifer MacDonald; histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: RE: [Histonet] BS in Histotechnology

Tom, no, Histo does start lower than med techs, but consider that a med tech has specialty training from the time they decide to go that route while most histotechs have general biology degrees and nothing but on the job training. Even with a certification a Histotech is not at the same level as a med  tech simply due to the unstructured nature of their self-education and training.  In 30+ years I have met only a handful of people who got any sort of degrees in Histotechnology, so waiting for those people to come along is not going to  work for hiring. Most of our staff got their certification while working here and did it on their own. Only one has a degree in Histotechnology, and a BS at that!.

 A starting salary here is $36/hr and it is a $3 to $4 increase per level. The lab staff is unionized, and we compete with many large service labs (ie Kaiser) and many, many large biotech companies for the same pool of techs. Plus, it is expensive to live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

We only recently (a few years ago) started this requirement in order to get our staff to a higher level. We still have staff without BA/BS degrees. The degree just needs to meet the requirements for certification so does not need to be a specialty degree.

Tim

-----Original Message-----
From: Podawiltz, Thomas [mailto:tpodawiltz <@t> lrgh.org] 
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 9:06 AM
To: Morken, Timothy; Jennifer MacDonald; histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: RE: [Histonet] BS in Histotechnology

So just out of curiosity is the pay on the same level as that of a Med Tech with a BS? 
Does the BA/BS have to be in Histotechnology or is the BA/BS followed by one of the on-line certificate programs?  

Tom 

Tom Podawiltz HT (ASCP)
AP  Section Head 
LRGHealthcare

-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Morken, Timothy
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 11:47 AM
To: Jennifer MacDonald; histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: RE: [Histonet] BS in Histotechnology

Jennifer, we require a BA/BS degree for all Histotechnologist positions. However, in our 4 step categories Level 1 does not require certification, just the degree and the requirement that they get the certification within a year. Advancement to level 2 to 4 requires an HT or HTL certification (Level 1 = entry level bench tech, Level 2 is bench tech, level 3 is senior tech, level 4 is Lead tech). Supervisor requires and HTL.

Considering that we already require a BA/BS degree for all levels, the fact a person has a HT or HTL is not going to matter much for levels 1 thru 4, only for supervisor level.

Tim Morken
Pathology Site Manager, Parnassus
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 Jennifer MacDonald
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2015 7:52 PM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] BS in Histotechnology

In what areas would a facility hire an HTL over an HT?  Is there a need for more HTL programs?  4 Thank you, _______________________________________________
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