Alicia Youngstrand has been a student in the histotechnology certificate program in the College of Health Professions at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences since January.
Her bachelor’s degree is in fish, wildlife, and conservation biology, but she found jobs in the field were scarce and did not pay well. She worked briefly as a data analyst for an environmental company, until she decided to follow the career path of a cousin who works in histotechnology at a Veteran’s Administration facility in Florida.
Though Youngstrand has been a student in the 12-month program histotechnology certificate program only a few months, she says the training she is receiving is “next level.”
“It’s so interactive,” she says. “And we’re getting plenty of experience with every step of the process of histology and being a histotechnologist, from grossing (the cutting of tissues) to embedding, and staining (readying the sample for evaluation).”
The certificate program is under the of the Master of Cytopathology Practice (MCP) program in the College of Health Professions. The MCP program is the only one in the country that prepares graduates for certification in both cytology and histotechnology.
One of a Kind Program
Graduates of the program have the skills to prepare and process tissue and cellular material for microscopic analysis, as well as the ability to evaluate and interpret all types of cytologic material. (Histology involves the cutting of tissues and the prep work for evaluation by a pathologist. Cytology deals with cell specimens in liquid, such as urine.
Graduates are eligible to take both the cytologist and the histotechnologist certification examination. The program has a 100% graduation rate, as well as 100% cytology and histotechnology exam pass rates, and 100% employment within in six months of graduation.
A histotechnologist can earn from $27 an hour to $40 an hour, depending on where the job is. Salaries for cytologists can range from $30 an hour up to $40 or $45 an hour.
The program is one of 33 degree programs and 19 certificate programs offered by UT Health Sciences, as it trains the health care workforce for Tennessee and beyond.
Youngstrand, who is focusing only on histotechnology, and her fellow students in the MCP program are learning in newly renovated lab space in the Van Vleet Building on the Memphis campus.
More Space, More Opportunities
“It’s really spacious in there,” Youngstrand says. “We have equipment that is used in the field, like in the locations that we’re probably going to be working, so it’s going to be really beneficial for us to get that experience hands on.”
For Associate Professor Sheila Criswell, PhD, who teaches in the MCP program, the new lab space feels like “an ongoing gift.”
“The square footage doubled,” she says. “I had four microtome stations. Now I’ve got seven, and there is so much room to move around.” A microtome is a tissue-cutting instrument. An additional microtome is currently in storage.
“The new space that we’ve received, both through the laboratory and some other rooms down the hall, allows us to have up to 12 students each year face-to-face, and previously we could have approximately six,” Dr. Criswell says. “Of course, it’s a two-year program, so we could have 24 students all together.” Program leaders are also exploring distance learning options to increase the student body, she says.
MCP program director Keisha Burnett, EdD, said having adequate laboratory space improves organization and accessibility, encourages student collaboration, and it also boosts student confidence and engagement. “We are truly grateful to Dr. Ashley Harkrider, dean of the College of Health Professions for her support in our move to a more comfortable learning environment.”
Dean Harkrider says, “Being a cytotechnologist or histotechnologist is exciting because every slide is a new puzzle, using science, precision, and a sharp eye to spot tiny cellular changes that can lead to critical answers for doctors and their patients.“
“It’s hands-on work at the microscope where your expertise directly supports diagnosis and treatment, and you are a critical part of the medical team even when you’re working behind the scenes,” she says. “Now, with our newly renovated lab, our expert faculty can educate twice as many future cytotechnologists and histotechnologists in a state-of-the-art space, expanding access to training while elevating the learning experience.”
The Right Fit
Dr. Criswell says the program is a good fit for those seeking a job in health care that involves patient care but does not require patient contact. “It’s very hands on,” she says. “You’re not sitting in one place doing the same thing all day. You are up, you are moving, you are doing microtomy (preparation of thin sections of tissue), you’re doing embedding, maybe grossing, sometimes staining, immunohistochemistry, changing the tissue processors. There’s a lot of facets, a lot of different tasks, whereas some of the other jobs, you’re kind of doing the same thing over and over.”
Careers in the lab are critical to diagnosis, Dr. Criswell says. “Doctors get 70% of their information from the laboratory. They can’t work without all the parts of the lab. If we do poor work, and we don’t get a good tissue section, we don’t stain it well, then the pathologist can’t do his or her job well. We are critical participants in healthcare, but we are just are behind the scenes.”
That’s fine with Youngstrand.
“I’m just really enjoying the material, and I think that I’m really excited to get into the field and be able to utilize the skills that I’m learning right now,” she says. “I’m loving it.”