I forgot to send this to the group.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Histonet] uncertified techs in Histology
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:07:41 -0800
From: Victor Tobias <[email protected]>
To: Podawiltz, Thomas <[email protected]>
References: <[email protected]>
<5a2bd13465e061429d6455c8d6b40e39086ead7...@ibmb7exchange.digestivespecialists.com>,
<[email protected]>
<38667e7fb77ecd4e91bfaeb8d98638631d32f1f...@lrghexvs1.practice.lrgh.org>
Thomas,
I first heard about Histology while going to school as a Nursing major.
I worked at the county hospital and did Phlebotomy and covered morgue
duties on the weekend. I would deliver stuff to Histology, but didn't
know exactly what they did. One day the Supervisor(MT) over Histology
asked me if I would be interested in learning to become a Tech. He
explained about getting certified and where it could lead.
I got my certification through OJT in 1979. While at the county hospital
I learned plastics both GMA and Epon. I would assist the EM tech and
process, embed and thick section in their absence. The opportunities
were there for the taking. Some of the senior techs just wanted to put
in their time and go home. I personally enjoyed the challenges. At the
time I had no degree, but did get my AS in 1981. I have changed jobs
over the years, but each one was a career move up. Without
certification, I don't believe I could ever have gotten into management.
Now I use my Histology background to help fine tune our LIS. It is a lot
easier for me to communicate with the staff then a computer geek.
I know the techs here got a big raise a couple of years ago after they
joined the Union. Not everyone was for it, but you go with the majority.
Victor
Victor Tobias
Clinical Applications Analyst
University of Washington Medical Center
Dept of Pathology Room BB220
1959 NE Pacific
Seattle, WA 98195
[email protected]
206-598-2792
206-598-7659 Fax
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Podawiltz, Thomas wrote:
Question for everyone. When you were in High school, college or in the military
had you ever heard of Histology? How did you find out? One of our problems is
no press coverage.
I am a Navy trained MLT, that 3 months after graduating gave up my position in
Hematology to so my wife could have it and keep her out of blood bank. I met
the Chief that ran Histology and thought I would give it a try. Everyone of us
in that lab in Portsmouth, VA fell were MLT's that fell in love with Histology
and all were OJTs, in fact the last year that I was the assistant leading
Petty Officer it was may job to train new people. What I tried to teach was how
to get your knowledge to come not from you mouth but your finger tips. I would
rather have a tech that knows how to embed properly, cut a complete section
without cutting through the block, what a good stain looks like and above all
how to trouble shoot. I never needed or wanted the know-it-all that could tell
me the molecular structure of xylene, but could not grasp the concept of
setting up a gross run.
My point? We as Supervisor's are the mentors, it is are job to teach our techs
on how we need the work performed, to me working on your certification is
showing that you are committed to your profession, not all people are good at
taking a test and passing the test just meant you were really good that day.
Would I take an un-certified tech over a certified tech? That would depend on
their attitude and how well they perform on my tests.
Linda: one day I started an argument in the clinical lab at when I said "Histology
is an art, it is only as good as the person performing, anyone can ready a manual and run
a chemistry analyzer." I'd like to say that it went over well, but I can't
Tom Podawiltz, HT (ASCP)
Histology Section Head/Laboratory Safety Officer
LRGHealthcare
603-524-3211 ext: 3220
________________________________________
From: [email protected]
[[email protected]] On Behalf Of Larry Woody
[[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 2:14 PM
To: Blazek, Linda; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Histonet] uncertified techs in Histology
Good one Linda! You won't get many MTs to agree with that.
Larry A. Woody
Seattle, Wa.
________________________________
From: "Blazek, Linda" <[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"
<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>; "[email protected]"
<[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 11:16:21 AM
Subject: RE: [Histonet] uncertified techs in Histology
If a histo tech knows how to do most everything in the clinical lab but is not
an MT, should they be allowed to work there?
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
[email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 2:03 PM
To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Histonet] uncertified techs in Histology
Well Tom they can throw me on the fire with you!!! I agree I came thru an
MT program ,OJT for Histology (some MT stuff helped) got my Bachelors later
and finally got my MBA- but I have been working a great deal with the "new
grads" from colleges and while they are very nice, I have to say some OJT would
have been a great deal more helpful, than being able to get an A on a test! I
know generations are different but what are they being told in these
colleges??? Where is work ethic, realistic work expectations? We are in
healthcare not
banking thank goodness! Take me back to the good old days when we were by
the docs side and learned everyday. Just my 2 cents. Thanks for listening.
Dana Dittus MT/HT MBA
Core Lab Administrator
UHS LLC
In a message dated 2/11/2009 1:56:37 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
I'm sure that I'm gonna get blasted but......
I'm sorry but I stand by the statement. I have been a certified HT for 30
years now. I will take an uncertified tech who can get a quality slide to the
pathologist in a timely fashion over one who can tell me about it but can't
do it. We all know that they are out there.
Yes, perhaps the "lure" was insufficient but that is out of my control and
irrelevant. The bottom line is that none were willing to accept what I had to
offer.
Certification does not make a good histo tech. Certification is a stamp of
validation. It says that someone passed a test so they must be good. There
are many very good uncertified people in histology.
Certification lost some of its validity when they did away with the
practical part. I would prefer to have someone who can actually do the work
and not
just talk about it.
Given my choice, I would love to have all certified techs but I live in the
real world and it's not likely to happen in my remaining time. Everyone
talks of quality like it comes magically from having a piece of paper. It
don't.
Quality comes from experience and practical training. And in the long run,
that paper has very little to do with it.
Let the flamming begin!
Tom McNemar, HT(ASCP)
Histology Co-ordinator
Licking Memorial Health Systems
(740) 348-4163
(740) 348-4166
[email protected]
www.LMHealth.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Rene J Buesa [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 12:12 PM
To: Larry Woody; [email protected]; Steven Coakley; Tom
McNemar
Subject: RE: [Histonet] uncertified techs in Histology
Tom:
All you have written is understandable EXCEPT that "it doesn't take an
advanced degree to do histology", that reflects the old assumption that "if you
know how to cook or to knit you can do histology".
That is an unacceptable position now when patient care should be a major
concern. I agree that a lab assistant does not need to be certified as long as
the work is limited to "assist" or do things other than working with patient
samples.
Perhaps the "lure" you used was not "tasteful" enough (not enough money or
benefits).
HTs occupy the worst paid echelon in the medical lab and will never get of
that stratum unless all are certified and those who hire them show the proper
respect for their work.
René J.
--- On Wed, 2/11/09, Tom McNemar <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Tom McNemar <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: [Histonet] uncertified techs in Histology
To: "Larry Woody" <[email protected]>, [email protected],
[email protected], "Steven Coakley" <[email protected]>
Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 11:36 AM
Perhaps in a perfect world.... My world is less than perfect. For our last
opening, we spent 10 months trying to find and lure a certified tech to our
facility and then gave up and took an MLT. We have four techs and two of us
are
certified HTs. We recently hired a person off the street and trained them
to be
a histology assistant. It has been very beneficial for us. She files
slides,
covers the late grossing (assists the pathologist), coverslips, etc.
It doesn't take an advanced degree to do histology. You gotta do what you
gotta do to get the work out.
Tom McNemar, HT(ASCP)
Histology Co-ordinator
Licking Memorial Health Systems
(740) 348-4163
(740) 348-4166
[email protected]
www.LMHealth.org
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]]on Behalf Of Larry
Woody
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 11:10 AM
To: [email protected]; [email protected]; Steven Coakley
Subject: Re: [Histonet] uncertified techs in Histology
This has been an ongoing issue for so many years in histology, I've always
wanted to see a mandatory license in the field but that always starts a
firestorm of controversy. If you have surgery, you certainly want a board
certified surgeon to do it and same with the Pathologist that looks at the
slides so wouldn't you want a certified tech doing the lab work as well?
Larry A. Woody
Seattle, Wa.
________________________________
From: Rene J Buesa <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]; Steven Coakley
<[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 7:58:26 AM
Subject: Re: [Histonet] uncertified techs in Histology
A hospital that relies on uncertified techs to do histology work is motivated
by the pursue of costs cuts (you can call it greed!) and shows
total disregard for quality of work and patient care. They may end losing all
those savings when settling a legal case.
René J.
--- On Wed, 2/11/09, Steven Coakley <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Steven Coakley <[email protected]>
Subject: [Histonet] uncertified techs in Histology
To: [email protected]
Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 9:55 AM
Any thoughts or experiences with my fellow HT/HTL's(ASCP). What the big
advantage do all these facilities think there gaining by going with
unregistered
techs, especially when theres always ongoing quality issues when theres so
many
trained certified HT looking for work? In my area of the country I can't
believe how many Hospitals go this way.
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--
Victor Tobias
Clinical Applications Analyst
University of Washington Medical Center
Dept of Pathology Room BB220
1959 NE Pacific
Seattle, WA 98195
[email protected]
206-598-2792
206-598-7659 Fax
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Privileged, confidential or patient identifiable information may be
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transmission. Instead, please notify the sender by reply e-mail, and
then destroy all copies of the message and any attachments.
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