Histotechnology is a continually evolving profession that provides numerous opportunities and diverse specializations. Histotechnologists apply sophisticated laboratory techniques to process body tissue for examination. Many diagnoses would not be accurately made if not for the highly skilled expertise of histotechnologists. At Tampa General Hospital these medical professionals are regarded as valuable members of the medical laboratory team.
During the 12 month training program students acquire full time acceptable experience in histopathology under the supervision of a pathologist (certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic Pathology) or an appropriately board certified medical scientist with emphasis on fixation, microtomy and processing.
During the training program, Tampa General employs students full-time as histo/cyto assistants, half of the time is spent on training to be a histotech and the remainder of the day is spent performing lab assistant duties in the Histology Department
Laboratory procedures continue to play an important role in the detection, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Tampa General Hospital’s School of Histotechnology endeavors to provide an effective clinical education in the medical laboratory.
The School of Histotechnology is dedicated to the purpose of preparing well trained professional histologists who:
are able to apply their theoretical and practical clinical education and advance to positions in administration, education, supervision and research in the medical laboratory.
as members of the healthcare team, strive to maintain and increase better patient care through maintenance of superior laboratory service in the practice of their profession.
actively engage in the advancement of their profession through continuing education.
continually play an active role in the health care needs of the community.
The curriculum consists of scheduled formal didactic lectures, rotation through assigned departments for practical training, assigned projects, informal discussions, reading assignments, reviews and criterion examinations. Final grades are calculated using both theoretical and practical grades.
Intensive personal practical and theoretical instruction by qualified histotechnologists is given as each student rotates through the various laboratory sections. Areas of study include Histology, Electron Microscopy, Immunoperoxidase, Immunofluorescence and Cytoprep.
A list of the faculty and associate faculty is included in the student handbook. All instructors are qualified by certification and/or licensure.
It is the responsibility of each student to make every effort to complete the full internship. Students must successfully complete the entire internship in order to receive a certificate from Tampa General Hospital’s School of Histotechnology.
Any student wishing to withdraw must state their intention in writing. The program director and medical director will counsel the student prior to accepting the resignation. A written summary of the reason for the withdrawal will be placed in the student’s file at Tampa General Hospital.
Upon successful completion of the clinical internship, students are granted a certificate from the hospital. They are then eligible to take a national certification exam, such as the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) Board of Registry. Awarding the certificate is not contingent upon passing external certification examinations.
Applicants to Tampa General Hospital’s School of Histotechnology must have an associate degree from a nationally accredited college/university with a combination of at least 12 semester hours (18 quarter hours) of biology and chemistry.
