Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Second course of two-term sequence. Introduces histologic knowledge and skills including instrumentation, staining techniques, frozen sections and immunohistochemical techniques. Stresses professionalism and safety in medical settings. Audit available.

To be eligible to apply for Route 2 of the ASCP Board of Registry examination for Histotechnician certification, students must have an associate degree or at least 90 credit hours of academic credit from a regionally accredited college/university with a combination of 18 quarter hours of biology and chemistry, AND one year full time acceptable experience in histopathology within the last ten years under the supervision of a pathologist or an appropriately board certified medical scientist. 

Perform routine histologic tasks and those relating to frozen sections, and immunohistochemical techniques in a professional, accurate and timely manner. Tasks may include, but are not limited to appropriate collection, identification and processing of specimens; preparation of chemical reagents; use of appropriate laboratory techniques, methodologies, instruments and equipment; and accurate calculation, recording and tabulation of data. 

The material in this course will be presented using lectures and labs. Lecture material may consist of discussions, slides, diagrams, laser disk images, multimedia and other educationally sound practices. A laboratory manual will be provided. Following each lecture will be a laboratory exercise pertaining to the material presented. The laboratory exercises provide an opportunity for students to use the testing principles and methodologies discussed and allow for discussion, application and correlation the concepts presented. The student is expected to perform all laboratory procedures according to the criteria established by the instructor and department. 

The instructor will outline the specific methods used to evaluate student progress and the criteria for assigning grades during the first week of class. Assessment methods will include written examinations and functional evaluation. Evaluation of problem solving skills, teamwork, attendance, communication skills and other professional attributes may be included. All laboratory exercises must be completed satisfactorily to achieve a passing grade.