What Is a Histologist and How to Become?
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A histologist also referred to as a histology technician or histotechnician, prepares tissue samples for a pathologist to study. As a histologist, you are specially trained to cut models from organs or other pieces of tissue and stain them with materials such as dyes, which can aid in microscopic tissue analysis. You place the tissue sample on a slide which a pathologist or other technician puts under a microscope to identify and test for disease or illness. Sometimes, you are asked to perform these duties very quickly, such as when a piece of tissue is removed from a patient during surgery, and immediate laboratory analysis is required.
Where Does a Histologist Work?
A histologist can work in many healthcare and clinical settings, including hospitals, universities, public health centers, pharmaceutical labs, and forensics labs. Some histologists also work in the veterinary sciences, and if they have training in animal histology, they can work at a vet’s office, zoo, or animal-related clinic. Some histologists consult with medical device manufacturers and help design new equipment for the field. Histologists mainly work in a laboratory setting, and their other responsibilities include keeping the lab and workstations clean and orderly.
How to Become a Histologist
To become a histologist, you need to complete either an associate or bachelor’s degree and be licensed to practice depending on the state in which you work. Both degrees can include practical courses in laboratory equipment and procedures, physiology, chemistry, and biology. You may also need to obtain certification through ASCP, depending on your employer’s preferred job qualifications. Typically, having two years of laboratory work in this industry is required. Essential skills you need for this career include close attention to detail, knowledge of relevant equipment, and the training to handle precious, often irreplaceable medical samples.
WHAT EDUCATION DOES A HISTOLOGIST NEED?
Education or experience in life science or medical laboratory technology can well-equip someone for a career as a histotechnician or histotechnologist. Someone with an associate degree in a science-related field might start as a histotechnician or “grossing assistant.” Grossing is a common term in pathology, meaning the description and examination of tissue.
“Something that comes from the surgery will be looked at ‘in gross,’ in a “gross examination,'” explains Cordova. “Our grossing assistants have at least an associate’s degree in a science-related field, although all of the histotechnicians at Pathology Consultants have bachelor’s degrees.”
The histotechnician is trained to process the sample for examination. The histotechnologist, who typically does the specimen examination, has advanced training and a deeper understanding of specimen collection, processing, and examination and typically has a bachelor’s degree.
In some small labs, exams are mainly the responsibility of a certified pathology assistant under the guidance of a pathologist. Pathology assistants require a master’s of health science. These examine complex surgical specimens. Tissue biopsies that are not as complex (e.g., colon, skin, needle biopsies) would be reviewed by an individual with a minimum of an associate’s degree.
Some clinics, including Pathology Consultants, have an avenue for training an employee who begins their career with an associate’s degree. Entry-level employees may advance by studying the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) certification and licensure material. Most clinics certify their employees through the ASCP, the oldest and largest certification agency for laboratory professionals. The ASCP has various routes available for certification, depending on education and experience.
ASCP CERTIFICATION ELIGIBILITY ROUTES FOR HOIST TECHNICIANS – HT (ASCP)
To be eligible for examination and licensure as a histotechnician by the ASCP, students must complete one of the following:
ASCP CERTIFICATION ELIGIBILITY ROUTES FOR HISTOTECHNOLOGISTS – HTL (ASCP)
There are three routes available for certification as a histotechnologist by the ASCP:
SALARY OF A HISTOTECHNICIAN OR HISTOTECHNOLOGIST
The salary of a histotechnician or histotechnologist depends on the hospital or the facility and the size of the city in which it is located. Usually, the more educational background, the higher the salary.
According to the 2017 ASCP Wage Survey, the average hourly wage for histotechnicians in the United States was $26.08, about $54,000 annually. Private laboratories paid the highest at $29.92 per hour. Non-academic hospitals with 100 to 299 beds settled the least, at $24.08 per hour, on average.
Lead histotechnologists are paid an average hourly rate of $28.76, while histotechnology supervisors and managers earn $31.45 to $39.29. Out of nearly 15,000 responses, 59 percent had a bachelor’s degree, 18 percent had an associate’s degree, and 12.5 percent had a master’s degree. Fifty percent of respondents indicated that they had received their clinical training from a NAACLS-accredited training program, whereas 24.17 percent received on-the-job training.
Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not maintain salary and employment data separately for histology professions, it includes them under the umbrella of “clinical laboratory technologists and technicians.” According to the BLS (May 2019), there were 326,020 of these professionals employed in the United States with an average annual salary of $54,780 and the following percentiles:
- 10th percentile: $30,920
- 25th percentile: $39,030
- 50th percentile (median): $53,120
- 75th percentile: $68,100
- 90th percentile: $81,530
Cordova says job prospects in this field remain strong. “There are not a lot of histologists out there, so it’s relatively easy to find a position,” she says.
WHAT DOES A HISTOLOGIST DO?
Again, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) classifies histology assistants as medical and laboratory technicians. These professionals are also called histologists, histology technicians, and grossing assistants.
As a histology technician, you will work under the supervision of pathologists and pathology assistants in clinics, hospitals, laboratories, and physicians’ offices. Some of your job duties may include dissecting and processing tissue specimens for microscopic exams, cleaning and maintaining equipment, tracking processed samples, organizing slides, preparing stains or dyes, placing pieces into cassettes (holders), and submitting specimens for further testing.
A histologist’s role begins after a sample is taken during a biopsy, surgery, or some other procedure that results in a piece of tissue or bodily fluid that needs to be examined. As with many medical terms, the root word “hist” is a Greek word meaning “web,” from which we get the notion of “tissue” as a supporting framework for the body. While it seems related to the word “history,” the Greek root for things that happened in the past is actually from a different word.
Once the sample is taken, it must be handled and prepared in a way that preserves it and makes it easy to generate the fragile samples, called sections, that are examined microscopically.
When a histologist receives a sample, for instance, taken from a biopsy, it is usually in some preservative and must be handled with care. Labeling and numbering for tracking is the first step, followed by preparing the specimen. Fresh tissue is very delicate, and unless it is treated somehow, it would be impossible to slice it thinly enough to be examined.
The sample is added to the cassette, then put into a tissue processor, which slowly dehydrates the specimen in a process that could take two hours up to six-and-a-half hours, depending on the size of the specimen.
Many specimens must be converted into a particular solid form that will allow very thin sections to be cut from it. This is a mold-making of a sort, in which the specimen is injected with paraffin, which hardens. Then the histotechnician will use a microtome to cut extremely thin slices of material, known as sections, four microns in size, from the paraffin block. (A micron is one-millionth of a meter. The average cross-section of a human hair is 50 microns.)
“They will cut it to give it sufficient representation of the tissue but in a way that leaves enough in that paraffin block to allow for future testing if needed,” says Cordova.
The microtome turns as it cuts the sections, resulting in a ribbon that is placed in a warm water bath to gently flatten them. Then, the microscope slide is placed under this ribbon to “pick up” the sections that need to be examined.
Cells are routinely stained using dyes to reveal structural detail. A universally used stain in this setting is the hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain. This stain is often enough by itself to reveal issues. If not, other specialized staining techniques can be implemented.
The paraffin blocks are stored for a minimum of ten years. This allows the specimen to be reexamined later if treatment options change, or some other question is raised or more information is needed about the sample. Electronic records related to the interpretation of the sample are kept indefinitely.
“We need histologists and histotechnicians in laboratories because you can’t take away the human aspect of understanding the sample,” says Cordova. “People have attempted to produce machines to cut a paraffin block, but you need a person handling a tiny, one-millimeter biopsy, or a needle biopsy that’s as thin as a thread that you need to get 25 sections of so that you can diagnose a lung issue. Creating a good slide is considered almost an art.”
Before the arrival of COVID-19, which virtually shut down elective procedures in many hospitals and clinics across the country, Pathology Consultants were creating 350 to 400 paraffin blocks a day.
CAREER PATHS FOR HISTOTECHNICIANS OR HISTOTECHNOLOGISTS
Histotechnologists and histotechnicians can work in just about any setting where biological tests, diagnostics, or education is performed. Within many of these fields are specialties, such as specialized skin tissue sampling for dermatologists (Mohs histology), or immunohistotechnologists, who are often employed in cancer diagnostics and are a major part of many histology laboratories.
Histotechnologist Employers in Medicine
Histotechnologist Employers in Animal Settings
Histotechnologist Employers in Academic Settings
Histotechnologist Employers in Industry
THE FUTURE OF HISTOTECHNOLOGY
The job outlook for medical and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians is expected to grow 11 percent between 2018 to 2028, which is much faster than the average for all occupations (5 percent), according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. An increase in the aging population is expected to lead to a greater need to diagnose medical conditions through laboratory procedures, and medical laboratory staff such as histotechnicians and histotechnologists will be right there, ready to do that important work.
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## What Is a Histologist?
A **histologist** is a scientist who specializes in the study of tissues, their structure, and function. They examine tissue samples under a microscope to identify abnormalities and diagnose diseases. Histologists play a crucial role in medical research and clinical diagnosis.
## How to Become a Histologist
**Education:**
* **Bachelor’s Degree:** Obtain a bachelor’s degree in a scientific field such as biology, chemistry, or medical technology.
* **Graduate Degree:** Pursue a master’s or doctoral degree in histology or a related field.
**Training and Experience:**
* **Laboratory Internships:** Gain hands-on experience in histology laboratories through internships or research assistantships.
* **Clinical Rotations:** Complete hospital-based rotations to learn about clinical applications of histology.
* **Certifications:** Obtain certifications such as the Histotechnologist (HT) credential from the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP).
## Key Skills for Histologists
* **Microscopy Skills:** Expertise in using microscopes and preparing tissue samples for examination.
* **Tissue Staining Techniques:** Knowledge of various tissue staining methods to highlight specific cellular components.
* **Diagnostic Interpretation:** Ability to identify and interpret tissue abnormalities.
* **Molecular Biology Techniques:** Familiarity with molecular techniques used in histology, such as immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization.
* **Research Skills:** Expertise in scientific research methodologies and data analysis.
## Career Path
Histologists typically work in:
* **Hospitals and Clinics:** Provide diagnostic services for patients.
* **Research Institutions:** Conduct research on tissue structure and function.
* **Pharmaceutical Industry:** Develop and test new drugs that affect tissue health.
* **Education:** Teach histology at universities and medical schools.
## Benefits of a Career as a Histologist
* **Job Security:** Histologists are in high demand due to the increasing need for tissue diagnostics.
* **Intellectual Stimulation:** The field of histology offers continuous opportunities for learning and discovery.
* **Patient Care and Impact:** Histologists contribute directly to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
* **Research Potential:** Histology is a field with a strong foundation in research, providing opportunities for advancements in medical knowledge.
* **Career Growth:** Histologists can advance to leadership positions in laboratory management, research, or education.
