[Histonet] HT Certification

[Vickroy, James]

I just got through meeting with HR regarding a salary incentive for employees that successfully pass their HT certification.   All of us are aware that many histology labs have employees that are not certified.   We are a small clinic lab that was set up about a year and a half ago.  When we first set up the lab we were able to bring three qualified HT's from another lab locally.   The lab has continued to grow since then and now we have 4 other staff members that are performing HT tasks including microtomy, H&E staining, and  grossing (they all have BS degrees).  They were hired believing that once they were eligible to take the HT certification that they would take the test and if they passed they would get a 5% salary adjustment.  However the incentive or 5% increase was not written into the job description.

Currently the clinic purchases the study materials (self-instruction program) for the staff but we use very little work time for instructional purposes.  The staff are expected to study on their own, pay for the exam, and take the test.
If they do not pass the test in the period of one year after completing the  on-the-job training then technically we could tell them they are no longer employed.  However where would that leave us given we couldn't find any additional certified HT's to hire in the first place.  We would have to start over again with another untrained BS graduate.

One of the question I was asked in the HR meeting was, "What duties can a certified HT do that a non-certified technician cannot?".    Since all of our staff have BS degrees in biology and have all received gross training (90 days) I wasn't sure there was anything else that they couldn't do in the lab that only a certified HT could do.   I wish there were many duties.   I am afraid that if we don't have some certification requirements then in a few years we will have very few HT's except those wanting to be supervisory.    We are CAP certified.    Is anybody aware of certain HT duties that can and should only be done by a certified HT or HTL?  I know the high complexity requirement in grossing but this is based upon 90 days of training and a set number of science courses (biology and chemistry), and not certification.

I know that some institutions have handled the incentive to take the HT certification by hiring new staff as HT trainees  and then if they passed the HT certification they move into another job class which has a higher salary range.  This is an option that may be done in the future here but unfortunately that was not set up initially here at the clinic.   I also know of institutions that have discouraged BS degree staff from taking the HT certification exam  thinking that if they become certified they will find a job elsewhere.

So I am trying to list the advantages of staff becoming certified.  The clinic in particular wants to know what they get for the 5% increase if someone passes the certification.   Any ideas how to respond?

Jim

Jim Vickroy
Histology Manager
Springfield Clinic, Main Campus, East Building
1025 South 6th Street
Springfield, Illinois  62703
Office:  217-528-7541, Ext. 15121
Email:  jvickroy at SpringfieldClinic.com<mailto:jvickroy at SpringfieldClinic.com>



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