Re: BOR exam

From:Cynthia Tily

DITTO and BRAVO!! You have nicely put into words what I have been thinking
for years!
Cindy Tily, HTL
AU-Coll of Vet Med
----- Original Message -----
From: Morken, Tim 
To: 'Histonet' 
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2001 3:41 PM
Subject: RE: BOR exam


> M. Sayeed wrote:
> < >>
>
> There is no requirement from ASCP (the US certification agency)that a
> histotech has to graduate from a specialized histotechnology program.
> Instead it will simply requires some college (for HT) or a degree (for
> HTL)with a certain number of hours of certain subjects (ie, biology, chem,
> etc). In fact, two techs I worked with (who did pass the HTL) had degrees
in
> Environmental Science, and had very little, if any, coursework in
> medical-related subjects. On the job (OJT) training is the way people 99
> percent of histotechs learn histotechnology in the US and that won't
change
> at all.
>
> The BOR exam is not all that difficult from a "college education"
standpoint
> (and is certainly not anywhere near a "PhD" level exam). What makes it
> difficult is that you have to know your methods and terminology inside
out.
> It can be very confusing to someone who doesn't take the time to dissect
the
> minutia of the field. For instance, I still have the charts I made to
> compare and contrast all the different silver stains, connective tissue
> stains, micro-organism stains, etc. Many of those stains are not used by
all
> techs, but they are considered the basics you need to know to present
> yourself as qualified to function in ANY histotechnology situation.
Anyone
> can learn the methods you do in your own lab just through sheer
repetition.
> What sets a certification-qualified tech apart from the others is the
> knowledge of what is done OUTSIDE your institution. That knowledge leads
to
> better service within your institution. A "good" tech can be someone who
> cuts well, or someone who researches and develops new procedures well, or
> someone who simlply won't give up until something works right. I don't
> discount one over the other but each has an opportunity to apply their
best
> skill in the appropriate circumstances. I have met only two techs who I
> considered excellent at all the skills used in histotechnology.
>
> People can still be hired at an entry level (no experience and no
eduction)
> and work without being certified, so that is no obstacle. If they want to
be
> certified, however, they will have to learn their craft, something I don't
> think is too much to ask.
>
> Tim Morken
> Atlanta
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mohammed, Sayeed [mailto:Sayeed@www.urol.bcm.tmc.edu]
> Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2001 2:02 PM
> To: 'histonet@pathology.swmed.edu'
> Subject: BOR exam
>
>
> This is in regards to some one's concern about shortage of histotechs and
> Ascp BOR exam being very difficult. Well, there is one histotech I know in
> Houston Medical Center, who is cosidered to be one of the best techs. She
is
> an excellent cutter, Special stains, and Immunohistochemistry etct.
> But, she has failed the BOR exam twice. There are other techs that have
> passed the exam with flying colors and are not any where near as good
techs
> as this person is. In my openion, The Ascp histo tech registry exam should
> be desinged to evaluate histology skills of the person not test them at a
> Phd level or try to test their IQ. College education requirement is fine,
> but, taking out OJT is a bad idea. There are not enough histo tech schools
> to keep up with the market demand. We have been trying to find a histotech
> for at least two months without luck. Any opinions on this. Thanks.
>
> M. Sayeed
> ChiefTechnician
> Dept. of  Spore Pathology
> Baylor college of Medicine
> Houston TX. 77030
>
>
>





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