Please don't be offended, sometimes we sound worse than we are. 

NSH has some guidelines that were done in 1995- please go to the website - I
think its   nsh.org  Its been posted here, but I can't stop to look! I have
it on paper if you want a fax - just send me your number.

Let me know how your process works because I'm looking into it also...
thanks, j:>)

Joyce Weems
Pathology Manager
Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta
404-851-7376
404-851-7831 - fax

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Mary Reeves [mailto:REEVEML@shands.ufl.edu] 
Sent:	Wednesday, July 03, 2002 9:06 AM
To:	amosbrooks@comcast.net
Cc:	histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
Subject:	RE: RE: Standards and Averages

Let  me say once again.  I am not using this information to hammer the
techs.  There is no "why did it take you 2 hours to embed 60 blocks?"  I
know we deal with many different types of tissue  that require different
techniques.  I am not an idiot.  I plan to use this info to improve our work
flow and show management where it is and isn't realistic to place microwave
processing.  No one will be held to # standards.  Our techs are held to
quality standards not quantity.  However, I can not put quality on paper and
I must be able to justify to management why I think certain processes will
or will not work in our lab.  Now that I have received so many negative
responses, I am sorry I asked.  I thought I could receive some help from the
technical community.  I will do my own time studies and use my information
wisely to benefit the lab.

>>> "amosbrooks@comcast.net"  07/03/02 08:34AM >>>
Hi,
   You must understand that techs HATE to have time expectations placed on
them while doing such a finniky process. Each block is different
necessitating different strategies. One could liken it to how many oil
changes can you do per minute on 100 random cars. It depends on how big the
(engine)block is, how large the plug is, how tight the last jerk tightened
it. Time for cutting can vary. If the processing is PERFECT and the
embedding is PERFECT and ALL the tissues are identical shapes sixes and
types then you can make a proper assesment. But this never happens so it is
virtually impossible to have a proper guesstimate (guess / estimate). Are
you cutting breast specimens, uteri, bones, biopsies or a mix of them? How
are the techs going to react to the tissue being processed differently?
These are important questions to ask before assuming the techs should be
done with one load and ready for another. Flow charts are great for people
who are behind a desk not for the people doing the real work.
Amos Brooks

Original Message:
-----------------
From: Mary Reeves REEVEML@shands.ufl.edu 
Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 07:39:58 -0400
To: Mike_LaFriniere@memorial.org, histonet@pathology.swmed.edu 
Subject: RE: Standards and Averages


Maybe I should clarify why I want the info.  My department is currently
creating a flow chart so we can look at how we can better staff to meet our
turn around times.  Also we are going to demo a microwave processor.
Knowing that this will change our jobs tremendously, we would like to know
where it will fit into our lab's work flow.

>>> "LaFriniere, Mike"  07/01/02 07:44PM >>>
Mary,

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