In response to several postings regarding pay and respect- I have been feeling somewhat better to read that others are disheartened by the lack of respect for the effort and time that it can take to become a certified, experienced histotech. The pay doesn't really bother me as much as the attitude that I encounter on a daily basis that "anyone" can do histology and that it is to quote "no big deal" to get certified. I have to concur that in my experience, histology managers do not seem to value or even recognize the skills and time it takes to perfect this trade.I know for me, getting an HTL was quite a burden at times. I had extra studies for sure. And, back in that day, the ASCP slide practical was no picnic. At my own hospital, this attitude is epitomized by the fact that routinely non-certifed, non-histology people are both hired and promoted. I have never seen anyone with a histology background given any sort of professional respect like that given freely to the MT personnel that work there. They do not even recgonize an HTL as a certification. They only give you a small increase for being certified at all (HT). At particularly bad moments, this had made me want to leave the field as well. So, I can relate very easily to everyone else's sentiments. This hospital has been an especially bad example of the "warm body" syndrome. It is almost crippling in terms of the quality of the work and TAT. The inferior service and poor quality produced only serves to reinforce the negative concept- it is indeed a vicious cycle!
At least (all of us) are not alone!
Joelle
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