To the "Educatedhisto", your address alone says just how pompous you are, you have obviously not allowed yourself the opportunity to see what kind of continuing education tools are out there. I have seen postings for endless amounts of workshops, classes and seminars. While employers can not send everybody to everything, in my experience you will get to go to something. Self initiative goes a long way both in and out of the classroom.  Are you jealous of someone without student loans just because they choose they're career path differently from yours? There are different routes through education and many ways to stay sharp in your specialty. Look beyond your apparent limited experience and see what the world of histology is really all about. The improvements we have to make in our field have to do with recognition. Bashing others in the field will only make our attempts for respect a lost cause. I sure I'm wasting my time responding to you, but nonetheless here's a plea for you to leave our profession. You didn't "make the grade" in my book. I have my doubts that you're even really in the field. You sound more like a troublemaker than a concerned histotech. You're definitely someone histology can do without.

In college you are taught theory.  Its in the work place that this doesn't 
happen.  You know why?  Because the person training them doesn't know, they 
had on the job training too.  So, they are taught to do specific functions 
that are pertainent to that lab only and have no other idea why.  All you 
histos out there come up with a theory question and ask you trainer what the 
answer is.  They won't know.  The entire field needs to be restructured.  If 
you can't make the grade your gone.  There are no standards.  When there are 
no standards there is no quality.  Labs can be ISO 9002 and should be.  

J. F. 
SoCal


I do not think that a degree is as necessary as appropriate training.  Some
college courses are extremely helpful but a good, accredited 2 year program
at a School for Histotechnology would make for a better tech. More so than
that French or English Lit. class.  I know of college graduates who wa
lk
into a lab with no lab experience and are trained on the job just like that
"corner wino".  They start off at a high salary and have absolutely no
knowledge of the job they are to perform.  Even with their degree they are
simply shown how to cut and how to put slides on a machine but are not
necessarily taught any theory.  Which would you really rather have working
in your lab?

Just my opinion.

-----Original Message-----
From: Educatedhisto@cs.com [mailto:Educatedhisto@cs.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2002 4:16 PM
To: Charles.Embrey@carle.com; CrochiereSteve@aol.com
Cc: histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
Subject: Re: resignation notice get a clue


yeah but if the profession paid it wouldn't be hard to fill.  Because they 
can take any old vagrant off the street and give them $2.00 hr to do histo 
work after giving them on the job train, the position she is leaving will 
soon be filled.  He is probably pissed because three weeks isn't long enough

to train the wino on the corner to do her job.  That is why it should be 
required to have a degree before becoming a histotech.  If a degree was 
required pay would be increased and in the process generate more interest in

the job.


.