Steve,

The best part of Histotechnology is that this is one area of the lab that
gets involved in every aspect of medical science (as well as other areas of
biology - agriculture, wildlife etc). We work with the patient/animal, do
dissections, process the samples, manually cut sections. We do stains that
range from hundred-year-old procedures to 1-day old technology. We are
expected to know about how to stain collagen as well as how to detect
specific enzymes, tumor markers or DNA in cells. We see results that are not
abstract numbers on a computer screen - but slides that are real tissues
that can be photographed and displayed. We get to work with interesting
equipment, like scalpels, microtomes, automatic stainers, digital cameras,
computer databases, electron microscopes, confocal microscopes, and on and
on. We work with a wide variety of people in many fields ranging from
infectious disease to cancer research. I can't think of another field of the
medical lab that covers such a broad reach.

the only reason there is a shortage in this field is because no one in
colleges knows about it. that is our great failing as a profession, as far
as I can see!

Tim Morken, BA, EMT(MSA), HTL(ASCP)
Infectious Disease Pathology Activity
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Ms-G32
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30333
USA

PH: 404-639-3964
FAX: 404-639-3043

email: tim9@cdc.gov






-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Machin UK [mailto:stevemachinuk@yahoo.co.uk]
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2001 3:49 PM
To: Histonet Histonet Histonet
Subject: Why do I enjoy being an Histopathology Biomedical Scentist?


I hope a few of you who read this are sufficiently enthusiastic about
your job to reply.
I have been asked to write a paragraph in promotional material
selling a degree in Biomedical Sciences to prospective
undergraduates.
In the UK, a degree in this subject is the preferred entry point to
our profession.
The trouble is, graduates can find better paid jobs in other
professions and so we find it difficult to attract new entrants.

Could I ask you to submit brief quotes, that I could use, describing
the source of our job satisfaction?

For my part, I enjoy seeing the slides I have made knowing that I
have done an exacting job well; I enjoy the craft skill aspect of the
work. I also get satisfaction from knowing that the work I do counts
for something; it really matters.

Best Wishes
Steve Machin UK Children's Hospital Lab.

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