Mike,
I couldn't agree with you more. I'm in the same position as you. In the Boston, Mass. area people are taken right off the street and work for a year as a lab assistant then promoted to a tech in training. Most have a hs diploma, no ambition and expect good pay for bad work and poor work ethic. I have been in the histology field for 20 years and don't consider it a profession or a career, just a job. Ron Martin, BS, HTL (ASCP) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Bradley" <[email protected]> To: "Joyce Weems" <[email protected]> Cc: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 4:50:27 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [Histonet] What percent of HTL's do not have a BS degree? HI all I am a rarity. I am an HTL with a Bachelors Degree. I got my HTL in the early 90s and I guess I was misguided because I thought it would open more doors for me than just an HT. I was sadly mistaken. After I passed my test I waited 9 months for a raise and promotion (which was just a greater title) and when I got my raise so did 2 other employees that didn't even have or try for their certification. I spent many nights and weekends studying and doing my stains for the test. I am proud of my accomplishments. It is a shame that our industry does not reconize the difference between HT and HTL. A few years back I was working as a traveling histotech and when I tried to get a permanent position no one wanted to hire me because I was over qualified by having over 15 years experience and a HTL certification. I worked hard to no avail. The histology world doesn't look for well qualified workers they look for cheap labor. I have heard more than one pathologist state that "a monkey can do our job." I have also worked in a lab where they would hire someone with a GED to cut slides. A career in histology is for the most part a dead end and there is no future. As long as our industry doesn't respect education and experience there will be less and less histotechs and the quality of the slides will suffer which in turn will bring down patient care. Just my 2 cents. MB proud HTL On Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 3:37 PM, Weems, Joyce <[email protected]> wrote: > > Honey... You are a mere child! There are some of us that have been in > the business for 40+ years. I missed the grandfather approach by 7 mo - > time that I didn't work moving from place to place with my military > ex-husband. > > But I did finally get the degree and do the exam. But we're still > around. And I'll probably be working till I'm 100!!! J:>) > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Thomas > Jasper > Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 15:16 > To: Feher, Stephen > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: RE: [Histonet] What percent of HTL's do not have a BS degree? > > Hi Steve, > > I've got no statistics to offer you...just an observation. I would say > that finding an HTL, without a Bachelor's degree is akin to the > proverbial needle in a haystack. Anyone that obtained their HTL, > if/when they could be grandfathered in, is likely to be retired or close > to it. First of all, most folks that went the OJT route for > certification were eligible to sit for the HT only (to my knowledge). > I've never met anyone with an HTL that did not have a Bachelor's as a > pre-requisite. I've been doing histology for ~25 years. I've met > people from all over the country and various parts of the world. Truth > is there isn't an abundance of HTLs out there. Unlike the Medical Lab > world, with the basic differences between MTs and MLTs, anatomic path > does not exactly mirror that with the HTL and HT. It's true the MT and > HTL both require a Bachelor's, but responsibilities in most labs, etc., > generally do not hinge on someone being an HT vs. an HTL. > > A person like myself is probably more common (Bachelor's and an HT). > Unless you know of someone in particular; that you want to hire, with an > HTL without a Bachelor's, I wouldn't waste time trying to justify it. I > guess the bottom line is if you want an HTL, that person will almost > assuredly have a Bachelor's. If you want to hire someone without a > Bachelor's that is certified (HT) you'll have better luck. I think > having an HTL is a great thing. I honestly have never pursued it > (though eligible) as the circumstances of my career would not have > rewarded me for doing so. As a matter of fact some employers may look > at it as an over-qualification, or at least no justification for better > pay, perks or responsibility. Again, no slam to HTLs just the way > things are, at least in my experience. > > If you want to hire people without a Bachelor's I would definitely > pursue HTs. HTs have been doing a great deal of very good work for > years in this field. And it sounds like you're viewing the Bachelor's > thing as limiting factor more than the HTL itself. > > Good luck, > Tom Jasper > > Thomas Jasper HT (ASCP) BAS > Histology Supervisor > Central Oregon Regional Pathology Services Bend, Oregon 97701 > 541/693-2677 > [email protected] > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Feher, > Stephen > Sent: Monday, July 13, 2009 9:12 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Histonet] What percent of HTL's do not have a BS degree? > > I'm trying to find some solid statistics to justify being able to hire > HTL (ASCP) candidates who do not have a Bachelor's degree. I am > contending that requiring the candidate to have a Bachelor's degree will > eliminate a substantial number of very qualified people. Does anyone > have any solid references to support my position. > > Thanks, > > Steve > > > Stephen A. Feher, MS, SCT (ASCP) > > Pathology Supervisor > > Catholic Medical Center > > 100 McGregor Street > > Manchester, NH 03102 > > 603-663-6707 > > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > > _______________________________________________ > Histonet mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet > > > > _______________________________________________ > Histonet mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet > Confidentiality Notice: > This email, including any attachments is the > property of Catholic Health East and is intended > for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). > It may contain information that is privileged and > confidential. Any unauthorized review, use, > disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you are > not the intended recipient, please reply to the > sender that you have received the message in > error, then delete this message. > > > _______________________________________________ > Histonet mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet > _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
