Histotechnology Technicians - All You Need To Know

Television shows and movies about medical topics are always pushing the same narrative. The surgeons are constantly under extreme pressure, and the ER doctors must find out what's wrong before the patient dies! Although fiction is always dressed up for more effect, there is a lot of truth to these stressful notions. Doctors and surgeons are always under stress. They're the first line of contact (other than nurses) and if anything were to go the wrong they'd be in the limelight. This is unfortunate because a lot of people who want to go into medicine aren't built to handle such massive amounts of stress.

Thankfully Histotechnology Technician jobs along with other similar jobs exist. Something television doesn't commonly show are the medical professionals behind the scenes. The laboratory staff and technicians are all just as important as the front line, but they rarely get a front seat to the action (or in most cases, stress). This can be appealing to a lot of people who want to study medicine and help others, but simply cannot take the overwhelming stress. Those behind the scenes will undoubtedly face pressure like any other job, but nowhere near what the front line feels (doctors, nurses, surgeons).

What is histologic technology, and what is it used for?

Histologic technology is an umbrella term for technology that has been designed to study and analyze things at a microscopic structure. Most commonly, this technology is used to study tissue and its microscopic structure. The people that do this work often specialize in the field and are called histotechnological technicians. You may think these workers are just background employees and are simply there for support. You couldn't be more wrong. The thing about our bodies is that abnormal changes (in other words, problems) occur at the cellular level first. This happens well before the patient you're treating shows any symptoms at all. These abnormalities are vital tools when it comes to diagnosis and treatment, and without them, the decisions a doctor or surgeon would have to make would be full of uncertainty.

How are samples prepared for this histological approach?

A patient's tissue samples are incredibly important and can reveal a wide variety of things about a person's potential illnesses. As mentioned, abnormalities form at a cellular level first, so analyzing a patient's tissue is a top priority. But how do they actually go about doing so? Do they simply cut a piece of flesh off the patient and slam it under a microscope? Definitely not. The process is careful and meticulous and often varies depending on what the histological technicians think they may find.

Generally, the route that is taken by these medical staff is to collect the tissue sample. This sample is cut into a much smaller, more suitable piece. This piece is then dehydrated, preserved, and finally sliced thin enough to analyze under a microscope (it needs to be thin because microscopes use incredibly thin glass slides to analyze their patients' tissue samples). Typically these technicians will use some sort of stain to enhance what they're looking at. They'd essentially be adding a level of contrast that would be needed in order to observe any abnormalities.

What else does a histological technician do?

Besides analyzing tissue samples from patients, histological technicians are responsible for completing a variety of routine tasks. Typically one of their most important secondary responsibilities is to traverse the hospital in which they work and gather the various specimens and samples from each department. They are then expected to have these specimens prepared should an in-depth analysis be required. These technicians are also responsible for maintaining their labs and other work environments, proper record keeping, equipment sterilization, and more.

Is this particular job career-oriented?

In order to become a histological technician, you'll need to obtain either an associate degree (2 years) in laboratory science or a certificate (one year) in a major directly related to histologic technology. These technicians are also able to certify in other areas of expertise (within the field) and expand their area of work. Technicians will also need to be certified.

When it comes to actual job advancement, there are typically two levels in which you could rise. First being that of a supervisor. A supervisor would essentially oversee the daily operations of histologic technicians, and perform several of the duties of a histologic technician himself/herself. The people who are promoted to this role are typically those with the most certifications, as well as people who prove they can manage and lead other people effectively.

The second level in which you could achieve is not above or below the supervisor and is an entitled technologist. In order to become a technologist, you'll need a bachelor's degree (most technicians go back to school in order to get this degree), for without it the job is unattainable (excluding extraordinary circumstances). A technologist's job is very similar to that of a technician, however, they exercise a lot more responsibility, and are more likely to be promoted into other areas of expertise.