let's be clear about what the future ht minimum requirement will be.....you will NOT be required to have an associated degree......

"Associate degree or at least 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of academic credit from a regionally accredited college/university with a combination of 12 semester hours (18 quarter hours) of biology and chemistry, AND one year full time acceptable experience in histopathology within the last ten years under the supervision of a pathologist (certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic Pathology, or eligible), or an appropriately certified medical scientist."

note that you can test if you only have 60 semester hours with the necessary time in biology and chemistry.....this does not necessarily means the you have an associates degree.

i graduated with a bachelors in health science-clinical laboratory sciences-histology from the univ. of missouri-columbia.  however, during my junior year the dean of the med school saw fit to close all the clin. lab. sci. programs and i was forced to complete my clinical training at a junior college in oklahoma and then transfer that back to the univ. for my degree (for which i have the rather dubious honor of being the last student graduated from that program).  funny thing was with all the hours i had (more than enough for a bachelors degree), the junior college wouldn't grant me an associates degree simply because i had not completed a history class on their campus!

so, the upshot of the long-winded comment is that "permanent" students who never focus enough to get a degree could potentially be eligible to sit for the exam after 2005.  and i know a couple of techs who would fit into this catagory.....

carrie kyle-byrne
cahfs-ucdavis