Histotechnician and How to Get Histotechnicians Job

Before getting into who a histotechnician is and what it is they do

, it is important to make an important clarification regarding histotechnicians and histotechnologists. In many occasions, the terms histotechnicians and histotechnologists have been used interchangeably. And to a certain extent this is understandable considering that the two roles perform very similar duties. But there is a difference between the two - whereas both roles require rigorous class training before one can join the job market, histotechnologists often undergo significantly more advanced studies that delve deeper into the reasons for slicing up and testing tissue.

Histotech's on the other hand are primarily trained to dissect and test tissues on the premise that they will be doing it on behalf of pathologists and other health care professionals who are the ones responsible for checking the test results to identify the presence of diseases or conduct or call for further research. Looked at from the job hierarchy in a medical institution, histologic technicians are answerable to pathologists but are often supervised by histotechnologists.

Histologic technicians are clinical laboratory specialists that prepare plant and animal (including human) tissue for testing and disease diagnosis. The histotech will also preserve such test tissue with wax for future reference if need be.

The preparation of the tissue will usually entail slicing up the sample into a number of sections, extract excess water and fluid from each piece, placing the piece on a slide mounted on a microscope. Given the size of the test tissue sample, the slicing process is a very delicate one and is done by use of a microtome. The sliced sections are tiny and microscopically thin.

The cut sections are then stained to ease the visibility of tissue variation. There are special dyes that are used to for this staining. It is the histotechnician's responsibility to ensure the sample meets all testing requirements by analyzing and removing any samples that have either been contaminated or have undergone changes that may affect the integrity of the final results.

Tissue testing is an integral part of healthcare and research institutions. Histotechnician can therefore be employed in a number of organizations including clinical laboratories, educational centers, research laboratories, hospitals, veterinary clinics, pharmaceutical companies and law enforcement medical forensics units.

Anyone aspiring to be one must be prepared to work long and odd hours especially if they are employed in a healthcare facility. The compensation of the position is one of the highest among clinical laboratory specialists in the US.

If you would like to be considered for a histotechnician job, you must have attended a 12 month classroom and laboratory training. This training encompasses immunology, chemistry, laboratory mathematics, medical ethics, instrumentation, anatomy, computer technology, administration procedures and histology. It is recommended that one take up this training as part of an associates degree. However, a four year bachelors degree in histology or in histotechnology presents much better prospects for one's career.

You can do more research to learn more about this career. You need to do so by visiting websites that more information on becoming one.

Note: You are free to reprint or republish this article. The only condition is that the links should be clickable.

Histotechnician and How to Get Histotechnicians Job

By: Kenneth Echie

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