Histology Technician

Texas Children's Hospital; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Texas Children's Hospital is seeking a Histology Technician who thrives in a fast-paced laboratory. You will perform routine, stat and complex histology and cytology preparations for use by Pathologists in diagnosis and treatment.

The role requires embedding, sectioning, special stains, quality control, and timely reporting within established turnaround times, supporting a busy surgical and clinical pathology service.

Qualifications

• Associate degree in science of Histology is required.
• HT-ASCP or HTL-ASCP certification from ASCP is required.
• 3 years’ experience in Histology Laboratory preferred.
• Paraffin block processing, embedding, and sectioning experience preferred.
• Special stains using automated stainer and by-hand methods preferred.
• Anatomic Pathology, Histology or tissue lab experience preferred.
• Electron Microscopy experience in a clinical setting preferred.

Responsibilities

• Validates specimen identification and suitability, prioritizes workload within turnaround times.
• Embeds tissues and sections with correct thickness and slide counts.
• Assists with biopsies and retrieves fresh specimens across multiple lab areas.
• Performs routine staining procedures and special stains as per procedures.
• Performs frozen section and other special stain procedures.
• Maintains quality control and documentation in logs and manuals.
• Enters patient and specimen information in CoPath and manual logs.
• Performs regular maintenance and calibration of instruments.
• Studies procedure manuals and signs off updates as required.

Skills

Education

Associate’s degree in science of Histology required

HT-ASCP certification from the American Society for Clinical Pathology required

HTL-ASCP certification from the American Society for Clinical Pathology required

Tools

CoPath Anatomic Pathology Information System

Paraffin embedding

Frozen tissue processing

Automated stainer

Job description

We are searching for a Histology Technician -- someone who works well in a fast-paced setting. In this position, you will perform routine, stat and complex histology and cytology procedures and work ups for use by Pathologists in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Think you’ve got what it takes?

Qualifications:

• Associate’s degree in science of Histology required
• HT-ASCP certification from the American Society for Clinical Pathology required OR
• HTL-ASCP certification from the American Society for Clinical Pathology required
• 3 years’ experience in a Histology Laboratory preferred
• Processing, embedding, and sectioning paraffin blocks and frozen tissue experience preferred
• Performing Special Stains using an automated stainer and by hand experience preferred
• Anatomic Pathology, Histology, other tissue lab experience preferred
• Electron Microscopy experience om a clinical setting preferred

Responsibilities:

• Validates specimen identification and appropriateness of sample type and size and prioritizes workload according to handling protocols defined in section manuals within the established turnaround times
• Embeds tissues and sections at least 30 blocks/hour on the microtome to the correct thickness and makes the correct number of sections and slides for each specimen or block type
• Assists with liver biopsies, fine needle aspirations, and retrieves fresh specimens in the main lab, cryostat lab, NGI suite, CT suite, and Electron Microscopy
• Performs routine staining procedures, AFB, MSN, Gram, and Oro, on mounted tissue sections or body fluid preparations for the demonstration of specific tissue elements or microorganisms according to section procedures
• Performs frozen section and special stain procedures
• Performs trichrome, Steiners and immunofluorescence, and other special stains, producing high quality slides with minimal repeats in a timely manner
• Performs required quality control procedures according to the written guidelines in the section procedure manuals as documented on QC log sheets
• Enters information regarding patient records and accurately orders all specimens in the CoPath Anatomic Pathology Information System and in manual logs required by regulatory agencies
• Performs the daily, weekly, and monthly, maintenance and calibration procedures to ensure proper functioning of instruments
• Performs mandated reading assignments and reviews and signs off on procedure manuals, communication logs, and memorandum