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Histotechnician

General

Program Title

Histotechnician

Degree Designation

CERT

Award Type

Certificates

Program Level

Undergraduate

Instruction Mode

On Campus

Program Description

The Histotechnician Program provides both academic and hospital laboratory training. Graduates work in a vital medical field preparing specimens for medical diagnosis. This certificate program teaches students the technique and art of how to embed, cut, stain and prepare a tissue sample for examination under a microscope. This blended program combines online and face-to-face training in lectures, lab sessions, and clinical rotations.

Department/Unit(s)

College/School

College of Science and Engineering

Status

Active

Requirements

Free Form Requisites

Program Requirements (18 credits)

18 credits: course, course, 12 credits total of course.

Admissions Requirements

  • Permission of certificate advisor. Admission takes place at the time of placement for clinical experience.

  • Placement for clinical rotation requires completion or near completion of an associate's or bachelor's degree, including college level coursework in general biology (BIOL 151), anatomy and physiology, math, and chemistry.

Notes

Current undergraduate students should contact the certificate advisor at least two semesters prior to graduation to assess preparedness for clinical rotation experience. Prospective students who have already completed a degree should contact the certificate advisor as soon as is possible.

This certificate is not restricted to specific majors; however, current SCSU students working on this certificate are most often majors in Biomedical Science, Medical Laboratory Science, or Life Sciences. The certificate is open to graduates of other colleges and universities assuming appropriate science background.

course is the clinical rotation experience for the certificate. Students must be individually placed for clinical rotation experience by permission of the certificate advisor. Students will be awarded the Histotechnician certificate upon completion of course (the clinical rotation).

Students are eligible to sit for the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Registry national certification examination. Passing this exam is not a requirement for obtaining the Histotechnician certificate; however, passing the certification exam is generally necessary to maintain employment in the field.

See program website for additional information.

Program Learning Outcomes

Outcome

Receiving and accessioning tissue specimens.

Outcome

Preparing tissue specimens for microscopic examinations, including all routine procedures.

Outcome

Assisting with gross examination and frozen section procedures in histopathology.

Outcome

Identifying tissue structures and their staining characteristics.

Outcome

Performing preventive and corrective maintenance of equipment and instruments or referring to appropriate sources for repairs.

Outcome

Recognizing factors that affect procedures and results, and taking appropriate action within predetermined limits when corrections are indicated.

Outcome

Performing and monitoring quality control within predetermined limits.

Outcome

Applying principles of laboratory safety.

Outcome

Demonstrating professional conduct and interpersonal communication skills with patients, laboratory personnel, other health care professionals, and with the public.

Outcome

Recognizing the responsibilities of other laboratory and healthcare professionals and interacting with them with respect for their jobs and patient care.

Outcome

Recognizing and acting upon individual needs for continuing education as a function of growth and maintenance of professional competence.

Outcome

Exercising principles of management, safety, and supervision, as the primary analyst making specimen-oriented decisions on predetermined criteria, including a working knowledge of criteria values. Communications skills will extend to frequent interactions with members of the healthcare team, external relations, customer service, and patient education. The levels of analysis range from routine tissue processing to complex histopathology laboratory procedures in the various major areas of anatomic pathology. The histotechnician will have diverse functions in areas of pre-analytic, analytic, and post-analytic processes. The histotechnician will have responsibilities for information processing, training, and quality control monitoring wherever histologic procedures are performed.

Degree Maps

Major Code

8239

Program Code

340052020