Peter, Don't start with the research and blocks per hour- I had a case where I had step and serial at each step with 8 sections on the slide and had to exhaust the block, so 1 block every 20-30 minutes is not hard to come by. We also deal with clinical trials and that means sterile sectioning so cleaning time etc means maybe 30 blocks in a day (we cut a fair amount of slides for correlative studies)
Bernice Frederick HTL (ASCP) Northwestern University Pathology Core Facility ECOGPCO-RL 710 N Fairbanks Court Olson 8-421 Chicago,IL 60611 312-503-3723 -----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Peter Carroll Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 3:26 PM Cc: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: Re: [Histonet] RE: testing cutting ability--This is starting toReallyAnnoy me. > Jeez, are clinical histopath labs just sweat-shops? Pretty much. Having spent years doing path at a huge local hospital which featured a slave-driving lab director who was less qualified to run the lab than half the people working in it, I must say that I agree with this observation. At the same time, as much as I enjoy my more laid-back research path position now, I'd get fired in a heartbeat if I produced only one block every 30 minutes. Actually, I just got finished doing closer to 40 in the last hour, and today was a fairly slow day (yet not at all on par with the old clinical stats, were 8-12 techs embedded/sectioned closer to 800-1000 blocks per shift). Charles.Embrey wrote: > Jerry, you are right that clinical work is different from research. You are wrong to consider 20 blocks per hour to be a "sweat-shop" pace. I've know scores of histotechs that cut well over 20 blocks per hour and produce high quality slides. Sorry you feel offended by this discussion but there is a real world outside of your university walls. > Chuck > > -----Original Message----- > From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of JR R > Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 1:58 PM > To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu > Subject: [Histonet] RE: testing cutting ability--This is starting to ReallyAnnoy me. > > > All this talk of having people actually section as part of the interview process is offensive to me. > > I have hired and trained lots of histotechnologists. Mostly I train them myself, from scratch, but sometimes I hire them pre-trained. Then of course, I re-train them anyway so they can do the work to the specs of my lab. Any deficiencies they have will be corrected through training. By me. > > At my University there is a formal 30 day (maybe it's longer, I can't recall) probationary period for new hires. That's good enough. Why in the world would I need to have them section as part of an interview process? > > I am also offended by the "blocks per hour" language. Partly it's because in my lab we do exhaustive serial sectioning, so I consider a tech who gives me one block every half-hour to be doing a good job. > > Maybe it's different in clinical work, but...20 blocks per hour? And you expect quality work? > > Jeez, are clinical histopath labs just sweat-shops? > > It's no wonder histopathologists feel overworked and underappreciated. > > Jerry Ricks > Research Scientist > University of Washington > Department of Pathology > > > > > > >> Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:14:06 -0500 >> From: trathbo...@somerset-healthcare.com >> To: rjbu...@yahoo.com; histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu; tbr...@holyredeemer.com >> Subject: RE: [Histonet] RE: testing cutting ability during an interview >> CC: >> >> We also have the staff talk to the applicant during this process. It gives you a good idea if the person can talk and cut at the same time. The last thing anyone wants is a histotech that has to stop sectioning during a conversation! >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu >> [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu]on Behalf Of Rene J >> Buesa >> Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 10:05 AM >> To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu; Terri Braud >> Subject: Re: [Histonet] RE: testing cutting ability during an interview >> >> >> I for one always required any applicant to prepare 20 slides stained with H&E. I can assure that I selected "difficult" blocks to cut and the applicant was required to sign a disclaimer that included that s/he he knew how to section and avoid injuries. >> The whole process was timed (to get a first idea about productivity) and I evaluated and graded the slides at the end. >> The results were used as one of the elements to decide about offering the position (the fundamental) but I waited until all the applicants had completed the tests so sometimes the applicant had to be contacted a few days later to let him/her know about the results. >> René J. >> >> --- On Mon, 2/23/09, Terri Braud <tbr...@holyredeemer.com> wrote: >> >> From: Terri Braud <tbr...@holyredeemer.com> >> Subject: [Histonet] RE: testing cutting ability during an interview >> To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu >> Date: Monday, February 23, 2009, 8:57 AM >> >> >From a recent digest: >> <If you want to know if someone you are interviewing can really section or >> stain, set them down at a microtome during the interview process, and watch >> them.> >> >> I have a question about the following statement plucked from a recent digest. >> What are the legal ramifications if a person cuts themselves during an >> interview? >> We've had this discussion at my place of employment and came to the >> decision that it would leave us open to a legal liability. >> I would love to hear some discussion on this subject, as well as any >> experiences that others have had. >> Terri >> >> Terri L. 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