I completely agree with Phyllis...

"we can at least try and do something that will prohibit just "any lab"
to
be able to train ht's on the job. There should be adequate "higher
educated"
and experienced techs to do the training as well as monitoring of the
training
and require that the volume of the lab is manageable so that training
could actually  take place."

    WHO is teaching these people, and WHAT exactly is being taught. The
ASCP test, as we all know, tests a wide spectrum of histology knowledge,
but no test can prepare you for the full range of problems you encounter
in a lab. What if the lab aid, newly certified, changes jobs? Was there
something missed in training? Who will vouch for these people after they
leave?
    A more disturbing note... An employer can pick up a lab aide much
cheaper than a tech. Then after the promotion (if it really comes) they
are still paying them less than a tech. So here is the question ...
    "Why hire an expensive tech when you can save a buck and train a lab
aid?"
    This defeats the purpose of all our hard work in school, doesnt it?
Think about this when your lab manager tells you he is hiring 5 new lab
aids... How many techs could he have passed up to make a budget quota?
    If we must train on the job we should at least have a non-partisan
organization look into our training programs like our schools did.
Amos Brooks
HT(ASCP)