Hi Jennifer, I am HT and QIHC certified and I received both certifications without working in a clinical lab (I did work in a hospital for about 3 months very early on in my career, but it was long before I took the HT exam). I have been in the field for 22 years now, working in biotech, preclinical contract lab and big-pharma. Anyway, you should be able to qualify to take the exam if you work with a boarded DVM pathologist (DACVP), that is how I qualified to take both of them. Good luck!
Kim Merriam, MA, HT(ASCP)QIHC Cambridge, MA --- On Wed, 2/11/09, Jennifer Anderson <jander...@halozyme.com> wrote: From: Jennifer Anderson <jander...@halozyme.com> Subject: [Histonet] HT training To: Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 4:05 PM Hello. I am enjoying this discussion on the pro's and con's and plusses and minuses of certification. I did not know that clinical labs allowed uncertified techs to process human clinical samples - that seems like it would be a huge liability issue. It shouldn't be that way - isn't everyone else in a hospital setting certified somehow? (nurses, radiology...) I am not certified, and I am in a biotech setting (pre-clinical R&D). I've just started this position and I'm working with an HT certified person in the lab. We both can trim and gross and cut and process and stain, and troubleshoot. However, she's a professional HT and it shows. She has a lot of clinical background. She has an amazing wealth and breadth of knowledge and skill, and knows what to look for during quality control issues. She doesn't have to take time to peruse the internet or books to get an answer to a histology problem. However if you asked her to do an ELISA or a Western Blot she would probably need some help, unlike myself. I do hope to gain histology knowledge from her, although it's proving to be difficult. I am very interested in developing my skills and learning more about pathology and the science of staining. I would love to be HT certified, but the HT here said I would need to train in a clinical setting for a year, under an ASCP pathologist, which is not likely with the job that I have and being a mom of two. Would anyone know of a less rigorous training program? Something online? Thanks a lot. Jennifer Anderson The information transmitted in this email is confidential and is intended only for the person(s) or entity to which it is addressed. Delivery of this message to any person other than the intended recipient(s) is not intended in any way to waive confidentiality or any applicable privilege. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by individuals or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited by Halozyme and may be in violation of applicable laws. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete/destroy this email. -----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Pamela Marcum Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 10:16 AM To: 'Martin, Gary'; Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: RE: [Histonet] uncertified techs in Histology I am sorry I seemed to have expanded this discussion. I want to be clear on part of the record. I was OJT trained in the 60's. We had even fewer schools and options then. The person who trained me had been trained by the pathologist and the Ann Preece book in histology. She knew what the pathologists we worked with wanted and saw to it that was what they got everyday. When I worked in other places later and continued my education I did learn more about the chemistry and why it worked or failed. I was in research when I took my HT and was told if I used animal tissue I would fail as no one on the board back then was experienced with it. I did not know if it was true so I quickly found a hospital where I could complete everything on human tissue I processed and stained. The person running that lab required me (thank goodness) to process every piece of tissue and do every stain manually. We did not have automated stainers back then so I learned every step. So for those who think I am picking on them for OJT training it is not that I disapprove. I believe histology is too important not to be considered professional field that requires consistent training and education. Many of us old timers have fought hard for the education clause so we would have people who were licensed and fully trained. I did get my BS and more education so I did get more on my own. Pamela A Marcum University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine Comparative Orthopedic Laboratory (CORL) 382 W Street Rd Kennett Square PA 19438 610-925-6278 -----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Martin, Gary Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 12:27 PM To: Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: RE: [Histonet] uncertified techs in Histology I am one of those "unregistered" techs. I would respectfully hope that we are not considered the villains here. My situation is; we are a small lab in a rural area that has the need for 1 1/2 Histo Techs. We were having a very difficult time attracting a 1/2 time "qualified tech.", and had zero backup for our one and only full time "qualified tech." I have a good back ground in detail work in the art world and a good amount of experience as a pathology lab assistant. So it was easy for me to transition into the role of "unregistered tech", thereby providing back for our over work Histo tech. I have been trained by my Histo tech and have completed the Freida L. Carson self instruction course under her supervision. We are happy with the results and our Pathologist are pleased. At this point (7 years into teching) there are some things that I have been innovative on some things, and our tech prefers me to do other things. I would love to get certified but the changes in OTJ have made that more of a mountain than I can climb at this time. I would like to lend voice to us who are in this situation and say the we take our duties very serious and I really don't look at my job as getting over on rules or quality or providing cheap labor. In our case it has been necessity. Thank you Gary _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet