Bryan, Thanks for your details explanation on what look to be a very different system. Though something I am confused with an maybe you or someone else can clarify this for me.
In the UK to be allow to practice as a Biomedical Scientist in any laboratory discipline, you need of have a Accredited Hons Degree, and undergo your HPC registration, Specialist status is only acquire after passing the part 2 of the HPC registration (this is pretty new ). Most of fully qualify Specialist Biomedical Scientist have also Post Graduate qualifications. Now I am reading right that not all the histotechnologist in the US are ASCP registered ? Is the ASCP registration not a Mendatory requirement to practice as a histotechnologist ? Does the registration rules vary from states to states? Cheers Malika On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 8:37 PM, Bryan Llewellyn <llewl...@shaw.ca> wrote: > Comparing the situations in different countries can be very confusing. I > traied in the UK (many years ago) and have lived in Canada for a long time, > but I do have some (limited) information about the US system. > > First off, Medical Laboratory Technology in the UK and Canada includes > histotechnology as one of the integral subject areas, but the US does not. > Histotechnology is a standalone subject there, by and large. > > The ASCP is different from the Health Professional Council (used to be > Council for professions supplementary to medicine when I lived there). That > is a licensing body, and its function is carried out by some state agencies > (in the US) and some provincial agencies (in Canada). However, not all > states and provinces require licensing to work as a medical laboratory > technologist/histotechnologist. The ASCP used to run the commonest US > qualifying exams (still do ??, I am not sure) and kept a registry of > qualified technologists, although there are others systems. In Canada it is > done by the CSMLS (Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Sciences). The > equivalent organisation in the UK is the IBMS (Institute of Biomedical > Sciences). > > In Canada it is possible to take specialty training in a subject area at > both initial level and post initial level. So you can be an RT (Registered > Technologist) in medical laboratory technology generally, or an RT in > cytology or electron microscopy as examples. All RTs can take advanced > examinations as general or specialist technologists, depending on their > initial RT status. There used to be a third level (Fellowship in the CSMLS) > but it was abandoned because so few technologists took it. That was about > the same level as the UK three part exam. An applicable BSc is now required > in Canada to advance post RT. > > As to 16 year olds in labs. I started work in the UK in Hackney six days > before my 17th birthday in 1960. A month later I was doing haemoglobins by > finger stick with Hagedorn needles, ESRs and going around the wards. A year > later I was well versed in clinical chemistry (urea, glucose, bilirubin, > alkaline phosphatases etc - all done manually with what passed for micro > methods in those days. Students like me did about 80% of the work in those > days because the profession was expanding so fast due to the introduction of > the public health care system in Britain. Things change, and that just > would not be allowed today. I suspect that 16 year olds doing grossing is > very unusal and in the US would likely be viewed as an invitation for the > pathologists to be sued. Remember, it was April 1st! > > In the US the CAP (College of American Pathologists) is involved in an > accreditation system with other agencies. In Canada the CAP (Canadian > Association of Pathologists) is a player in some accrediatation systems, but > in Canada health care is legally a provincial responsibility, so > accreditation is done by provincial agencies for each province. That is > also the reason licensing varies from province to province here. Our > country wide qualifying system by the CSMLS is a fortunate anomoly that > nobody wants to change because it works so well for us. > > I hope this explains a little. > > Bryan Llewellyn > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Malika Benatti" < > malbena...@googlemail.com> > To: "Mark Tarango" <marktara...@gmail.com> > Cc: <histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu>; "Andrew Burgeson" < > nap...@siscom.net> > Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 11:03 AM > Subject: Re: [Histonet] 72644.18148...@web111105.mail.gq1.yahoo.com > > > I am very confuse reading every email reply to this tread also I would be >> really grateful if someone could enlighten with regard to what is the >> comment practice in the US. >> >> Having been trained as a histotechnologist although we are call Specialist >> Biomedical Scientist in the UK, we cannot practice unless we are fully >> registered with the Health Professional Council HPC, which I believe has >> the >> same role as the ASCP. Every 2 years we may be audited a demonstrate that >> we >> fully comply with HPC regulation and CPD or lose or registration. All >> laboratories are accredited by the Clinical Pathology Accreditation CPA >> under the international organization for standardization legislation (ISO >> 15189). >> >> Laboratory accreditation happen every 2 years cycle for which the >> laboratory >> has to comply with a set of standard. >> During inspection accessor review everything with a fine tooth comb, and >> score you some of the issues may just be minors but they will always get >> you >> with a critical issue, which you will have a set amount of time to >> correct, >> they will then return and verify that all non compliance and critical >> issues >> have been address before giving you CPA accreditation status. >> >> Having a 16 years old out of school with little experience in histology >> and >> no formal training grossing specimen is never heard off, only Register >> Biomedical Scientist are allowed to do small biopsies, Advance >> Practitioner, >> Trainee Pathologist, will be involved in the grossing of lager specimens, >> and tumour specimens. >> >> >> >> >> On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 6:18 PM, Mark Tarango <marktara...@gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >> When I was 16 years-old I was grossing in the lab. We had >>> very busy pathologists (busy reading slides) who thought it was okay to >>> train their courier (me at the time) to gross. I had already been there >>> handing them bottles and closing cassette lids for several months. >>> >>> When we had our first CLIA inspection, they had me intial and sign >>> paperwork >>> saying that I had grossed so many cases of various specimen types under >>> patholgist supervision and had been grossing so long. The problem was >>> that >>> I was only a high school graduate at the time. They then changed >>> direction >>> and told the inspectors that the pathologists did all the grossing. >>> >>> Just brings back memories. Thought I'd share. >>> >>> Mark Tarango >>> On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 10:03 AM, Andrew Burgeson <nap...@siscom.net> >>> wrote: >>> >>> > The point is not about gender, as I stated before... >>> > >>> > It's about a person's health risks and lack of training >>> > overlooked for the sake of labor. TYVM >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > _______________________________________________ >>> > 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 >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> " Smile .... it confuses people " >> _______________________________________________ >> Histonet mailing list >> Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu >> http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet >> >> > -- " Smile .... it confuses people " _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet