[Histonet] Histology Stories
To all of you who sent me your how did I get started in histology stories, I have not forgotten you! I am making all your contributions into one document and although I have about a dozen left to transcribe, if you will contact me DIRECTLY at nmhi...@comcast.net, I will send you the entire document when I finish it. Taken as a whole, it's pretty amazing/interesting/involved/riveting! Please do NOT contact me via Histonet - use my home email as above. My plan is to submit the stories to NSH to use as a tool for recruiting (it seems that most of us got our start through karma!). Sally Breeden, HT(ASCP) NM Dept. of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Services PO Box 4700 Albuquerque, NM 87106 505-841-2576 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Histology Stories
I am really enjoying reading these start-up stories. :o) If you don't mind indulging me, I'll share mine too! I had just graduated from college with a BS in Biology when I landed a job as a cancer research assistant. Well, it turns out that portion of lab just wasn't for me! I left that department and worked in another area of the lab. Then the histotech quit. They looked at me, said you have a degree, you can do this. I had no idea what histology was other than looking at the cells under the microscope! They had no problem with that and they set about teaching me how to use the equipment. I had no theory, no understanding of *why* I was doing any of what I was doing, I just learned the practical side histology: process, embed, cut, stain. I learned how to cut with my knees in a cupboard (they didn't have a proper desk for me) and not with forceps or brushes, but with chop sticks! You see, the first person to introduce me to Histology was a graduate student, from Japan, who was doing an internship at our facility. :o) I stayed at that position for about 1.5 years, but absolutely had to leave it because I developed a very severe allergy and asthma to the rats we were doing our research on. I was offered a position in (what was then) the largest private lab in MI. My true mentor, Glenda, taught me anything and everything I know about Histology. She helped me study for the HT exam, spending countless hours of her own time helping me learn. Thanks to her, I passed the HT the first time around! Later, she assisted me in studying for the HTL exam which I also passed! Had it not been for her kindness and guidance, I'm not so sure I would have succeeded. :o) THANKS GLENDA!! Glenda had no formal education after high school - everything she learned was via on the job training. I will say, she learned very, very well! :o) So much so that she now has a QIHC after her name. And now where are we? I am trying to figure out just how to have our very own Histotech school here at my hospital. We are affiliated with another school (with me as the mentor), but I am thinking it would be nice to run our own. See? What goes around, comes around! It's amazing just how far we have come! From stropping our own knifes, to disposible ones; from maintaining our (and in some cases, making new parts!) microtomes to having maintenance free ones; from all the manual staining to the automated; and now microwave technology for the processing. Yes, indeedy, we sure have evolved! Gone are the days of grabbing someone from the lab and saying you can be a histotech!! We have to be formally educated now! :o) I love my job! Michelle _ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469226/direct/01/___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
RE: [Histonet] Histology Stories
Makes my story kind of dull! I was in college in nursing then went to Allied Health (MT, more or less) but had no idea histo existed until I got to this point. I thought it was more interesting than running blood and urine samples and went for it. Histo school and then the HTL. That was 26 years ago (eek). I worked most of my years in a hospital setting, now I work in a core lab and we do animal translational studies for researchers here at NU as well as being the reference lab for ECOG, who are one of the biggest cooperative groups in the country running cancer clinical trials. We get all the blocks and or slides for these trials here at NU from the US as well as other countries. Makes for a varied and interesting job. And yes, I do remember the days of regular knives and making up my own Schiff's! Bernice 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 Green JumpyOne Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 9:37 AM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] Histology Stories I am really enjoying reading these start-up stories. :o) If you don't mind indulging me, I'll share mine too! I had just graduated from college with a BS in Biology when I landed a job as a cancer research assistant. Well, it turns out that portion of lab just wasn't for me! I left that department and worked in another area of the lab. Then the histotech quit. They looked at me, said you have a degree, you can do this. I had no idea what histology was other than looking at the cells under the microscope! They had no problem with that and they set about teaching me how to use the equipment. I had no theory, no understanding of *why* I was doing any of what I was doing, I just learned the practical side histology: process, embed, cut, stain. I learned how to cut with my knees in a cupboard (they didn't have a proper desk for me) and not with forceps or brushes, but with chop sticks! You see, the first person to introduce me to Histology was a graduate student, from Japan, who was doing an internship at our facility. :o) I stayed at that position for about 1.5 years, but absolutely had to leave it because I developed a very severe allergy and asthma to the rats we were doing our research on. I was offered a position in (what was then) the largest private lab in MI. My true mentor, Glenda, taught me anything and everything I know about Histology. She helped me study for the HT exam, spending countless hours of her own time helping me learn. Thanks to her, I passed the HT the first time around! Later, she assisted me in studying for the HTL exam which I also passed! Had it not been for her kindness and guidance, I'm not so sure I would have succeeded. :o) THANKS GLENDA!! Glenda had no formal education after high school - everything she learned was via on the job training. I will say, she learned very, very well! :o) So much so that she now has a QIHC after her name. And now where are we? I am trying to figure out just how to have our very own Histotech school here at my hospital. We are affiliated with another school (with me as the mentor), but I am thinking it would be nice to run our own. See? What goes around, comes around! It's amazing just how far we have come! From stropping our own knifes, to disposible ones; from maintaining our (and in some cases, making new parts!) microtomes to having maintenance free ones; from all the manual staining to the automated; and now microwave technology for the processing. Yes, indeedy, we sure have evolved! Gone are the days of grabbing someone from the lab and saying you can be a histotech!! We have to be formally educated now! :o) I love my job! Michelle _ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft's powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469226/direct/01/ ___ 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
[Histonet] Histology Stories
I was introduced the color world of Histology, when I was about 7 or 8. I saw my first leg being grossed. I was the cool kid in elementary school that during show and tell, would bring in a section of brain or perhaps an embryo floating in formalin. I worked my summers filing blocks and slides (Not to worry I understood the importance of numerical order!), and as I got older would work my summers as a lab aide. After high school, and very undecided in which direction my life should go, the Histology Supervisor had encouraged as she did all her lab aides and others she felt needed to add their mark in this profession into this career. She had a histology program (at the time when it was OJT) and she would have 3 students at a time. We would work nights assisting with gross, and mornings in class. She would give us weekly exams and instill in us the importance of the profession. The majority of her students that she had taught have moved on to become supervisors and charge techs. I have to say that I come from a family of histologists. I was very fortunate that this woman who had an interest in my future not just in me as a person but as her daughter. You see, this supervisor was my mother, and I will forever be grateful to her for introducing me to this field. Her name is Sofia Roberts and I'm sure that there are many members that know her. So to her I say Happy Histologist Professional Day! Jessica Vacca Histology Supervisor Brandon Regional Hospital 119 Oakfield Dr Brandon Fl 33511 (813) 571-6410 or ext 2454 (813) 571-5169 FAX ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] histology stories
Another funny story: When my son was in kindergarten, the teacher went around the class asking the kids what their parents did. When she got to Michael he stood up and announced quite boldly she cuts up brains!!. The teacher asked me at the next conference what I really did and after explaining histology to her, she told me the story and said that she was afraid to ask him for more details on that day! I got a chuckle out of that and so did she! LuAnn ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Histology Stories, Part 3
I am stunned and amazed at the amount of response this little query has gotten! I have forwarded those that were posted here to my home email (and I've gotten many there, too) and expect that I'll get many, many more. I know not everyone has time to respond to email every single day, so I'm giving it more time. Unless you specifically request to remain anonymous, I'm going to give each contributor credit for their story. And because we have so many members from around the world, I would very much like to know how our fellow techs got started in histology in their countries. But this whole endeavor has been very interesting and I thank each of you for sharing your story. Sally Breeden, HT(ASCP) NM Dept. of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Services PO Box 4700 Albuquerque, NM 87106 505-841-2576 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
