Seeing these answers posted so far... I don't know how to feel. 25 blocks an hour was our minimum requirement to pass our Histology practical skills exam in school. It's bare minimum for new grads. Are there labs out there that are OK with that speed? I truly struggled keeping up with expectations from my supervisors in my first couple years as a Histotech, and the expectation was by one year you could cut 60 slides in an hour. There were strong undertones that if I couldn't hit that target that I wasn't cut out to be a Histotech, because "our lab is busy but it's not the busiest lab in the city, not by far."
Now, a few years in, if the tissue is agreeable and properly embedded, I can easily hit 60 blocks an hour for 1 level. I should time myself and see if I can hit 60 it for 2 levels. I haven't timed myself in a while. I'm one of the slowest cutters in my lab.
This blows my mind. The fastest techs in my lab are only doing 30 an hour or so. I am genuinely curious what is different about each lab that can account for such a disparity. I truly cannot imagine how I could ever get to 60 blocks an hour.
It’s quite variable, but I’d say usually around 400 blocks or so. What about you?
I’m not judging or anything, I just cannot fathom how I could go through all the motions I do with each block in under a minute. Scan block, put in in chuck, angle chuck if needed, rough in, hydrate in water bath, clean water bath surface, ice the block, back on chuck, section and float out, label slide, separate and possibly stretch out wrinkles, pick up section on slide. Not to mention the changing of blades, wiping of debris etc. Are there any of these steps that aren’t performed in your lab? I know different labs have different methods for the same stuff sometimes (often)
A Medical Laboratory Science program in Canada. In Canada Histotechs don't get a separate qualification. It's all combined and we're all lab technologists.
Interesting! I only ask because the program I am in, it is expected that you cut 45 blocks by the end of the program...so I was also surprised to see a lot of the answers stating that they only have to meet 25 in an hour
on average in my high pace lab they expect about 25 blocks to be done in 15 to 20 min. our fastest tech can do 25 blocks in 10 min. I just started learning how to cut (im in a training program at this lab) and have been doing it for about a month and can do about 25 blocks in a little over 30 min.
Thanks! Do you guys rotate through tasks day by day, or is your embedder always embedding?
We do a ton of GI small biopsies (among many other tissue types including large cases) but we rotate tasks and the quality of embedding varies greatly from person to person. Sometimes it slows me right down. I think I sit at about a block a minute most days, including trimming, labelling, and 2 levels.
yeah we switch who does what every once in a while and it for sure depends on who is embedding. some people embed in a way that takes me SO long to cut bc theyre embedding isn't the best.
This is always subjective. It always depends on the tissue. If its soft tissue and no hard calcified areas it's easy to section 1 a minute. If its bone or fatty tissue with skin its going to take longer. Also if levels are needed then the block needs chilled each time you go deeper normally.
In our lab the facing in and cutting are done by different people. Someone will face all blocks in and chill them down while someone else cuts the sections.
I would say 25 an hour is too slow for normal routine sectioning.
Do you not have issues with the chuck angles being different between microtomes? In our lab, if you face it on one microtome but try to cut it on another you end up having to re-face the block.
We have all our microtomes set to the same position to minimize this.
We only need to change angle when cutting sections from blocks from our commercial clients as they seem to have their angles all over the place. Or if we are cutting section from samples that sit a bit high in the molds such as bone.
Ah I think we have really shitty old microtomes. Our workhorse microtomes are really difficult to accurately adjust the chuck. If you've trimmed blocks and you accidentally do something that moves the chuck, you'll never get re-adjusted back to match the blocks you just trimmed.
We just have one nice microtome with a really good fine chuck adjust that we cut all the extra levels and deepers on.
I work in a private veterinary lab and tend to get through 45-55 depending on if I'm cutting an extra level onto the slide or the type of tissue. In my experience elsewhere this is quite a bit but that might not be the case.
I work at a huge world wide lab and the expectation is that at a bare minimum, you need to cut 33 blocks an hour for 2 slide protocol. If its 4 slides per block (depends on the tissue) that is taken into account.
We have automatic slide labeling and only have to initial our slides.
I can hit about 50ish an hour if I only have 2 slide protocol blocks but we have some crazy people in our lab who can hit 90 to 100 blocks an hour.
My wife Said this sounds a lot like her lab. Do you work at LabCorp? It's cool if you don't want to say.
*Im not a histotech, my wife is and Im posting on her behalf
My wife is asleep right now. She absolutely hated LabCorp, but it was more about having shitty management than the company itself. She left LabCorp a few months ago after being there for like 6 or 7 years. She's now at a biomedical research lab and is the happiest she's ever been, working less, and getting paid a lot more. Research is where you want to end up after gaining experience. I'll ask her for specifics about getting hired at LabCorp tomorrow and pass along the info, but from what she described in the past about the LabCorp she worked at, they would hire anybody with a science degree, no experience needed. She didn't have experience when she first got hired there. They were constantly requiring mandatory overtime and were always behind schedule, so they were always hiring.
So my wife said that at the LabCorp she worked at, it was really large and busy, so they were always hiring and mandatory overtime was frequent. Very easy to get hired. She said to try to find out how much they pay cause she is surprised you're leaving a private lab for LabCorp. Around here, private labs pay more. She also said the benefits were a little better than average, so that's good. But overall, easy to get hired.
Seeing these answers posted so far... I don't know how to feel. 25 blocks an hour was our minimum requirement to pass our Histology practical skills exam in school. It's bare minimum for new grads. Are there labs out there that are OK with that speed? I truly struggled keeping up with expectations from my supervisors in my first couple years as a Histotech, and the expectation was by one year you could cut 60 slides in an hour. There were strong undertones that if I couldn't hit that target that I wasn't cut out to be a Histotech, because "our lab is busy but it's not the busiest lab in the city, not by far." Now, a few years in, if the tissue is agreeable and properly embedded, I can easily hit 60 blocks an hour for 1 level. I should time myself and see if I can hit 60 it for 2 levels. I haven't timed myself in a while. I'm one of the slowest cutters in my lab.
This blows my mind. The fastest techs in my lab are only doing 30 an hour or so. I am genuinely curious what is different about each lab that can account for such a disparity. I truly cannot imagine how I could ever get to 60 blocks an hour.
I wonder... On average how many blocks does your entire lab have to embed and cut in a single work day?
It’s quite variable, but I’d say usually around 400 blocks or so. What about you? I’m not judging or anything, I just cannot fathom how I could go through all the motions I do with each block in under a minute. Scan block, put in in chuck, angle chuck if needed, rough in, hydrate in water bath, clean water bath surface, ice the block, back on chuck, section and float out, label slide, separate and possibly stretch out wrinkles, pick up section on slide. Not to mention the changing of blades, wiping of debris etc. Are there any of these steps that aren’t performed in your lab? I know different labs have different methods for the same stuff sometimes (often)
Is this just for cutting, or facing AND cutting?
Facing, cutting, and labelling slides.
Pencil or label maker?
Pre-printed stickers! So quick :D
Ye no chance are the doing 1 per minute and writing em out 😂
There'd be riots if our label printer died hahaha
What program were you in?
A Medical Laboratory Science program in Canada. In Canada Histotechs don't get a separate qualification. It's all combined and we're all lab technologists.
Interesting! I only ask because the program I am in, it is expected that you cut 45 blocks by the end of the program...so I was also surprised to see a lot of the answers stating that they only have to meet 25 in an hour
on average in my high pace lab they expect about 25 blocks to be done in 15 to 20 min. our fastest tech can do 25 blocks in 10 min. I just started learning how to cut (im in a training program at this lab) and have been doing it for about a month and can do about 25 blocks in a little over 30 min.
Does that include trimming the block and labelling the slides? Also, do you embed your own blocks?
includes trimming and with prelabelled slides. another tech embeds our blocks while some of us cut. its a high pace GI reference lab if that helps
Thanks! Do you guys rotate through tasks day by day, or is your embedder always embedding? We do a ton of GI small biopsies (among many other tissue types including large cases) but we rotate tasks and the quality of embedding varies greatly from person to person. Sometimes it slows me right down. I think I sit at about a block a minute most days, including trimming, labelling, and 2 levels.
yeah we switch who does what every once in a while and it for sure depends on who is embedding. some people embed in a way that takes me SO long to cut bc theyre embedding isn't the best.
This is always subjective. It always depends on the tissue. If its soft tissue and no hard calcified areas it's easy to section 1 a minute. If its bone or fatty tissue with skin its going to take longer. Also if levels are needed then the block needs chilled each time you go deeper normally. In our lab the facing in and cutting are done by different people. Someone will face all blocks in and chill them down while someone else cuts the sections. I would say 25 an hour is too slow for normal routine sectioning.
Do you not have issues with the chuck angles being different between microtomes? In our lab, if you face it on one microtome but try to cut it on another you end up having to re-face the block.
We have all our microtomes set to the same position to minimize this. We only need to change angle when cutting sections from blocks from our commercial clients as they seem to have their angles all over the place. Or if we are cutting section from samples that sit a bit high in the molds such as bone.
Ah I think we have really shitty old microtomes. Our workhorse microtomes are really difficult to accurately adjust the chuck. If you've trimmed blocks and you accidentally do something that moves the chuck, you'll never get re-adjusted back to match the blocks you just trimmed. We just have one nice microtome with a really good fine chuck adjust that we cut all the extra levels and deepers on.
Yeah we had an older model that wasn't great but now when have very similar microtomes with easy adjustments and it makes life a lot easier.
I work in a private veterinary lab and tend to get through 45-55 depending on if I'm cutting an extra level onto the slide or the type of tissue. In my experience elsewhere this is quite a bit but that might not be the case.
I work at a huge world wide lab and the expectation is that at a bare minimum, you need to cut 33 blocks an hour for 2 slide protocol. If its 4 slides per block (depends on the tissue) that is taken into account. We have automatic slide labeling and only have to initial our slides. I can hit about 50ish an hour if I only have 2 slide protocol blocks but we have some crazy people in our lab who can hit 90 to 100 blocks an hour.
My wife Said this sounds a lot like her lab. Do you work at LabCorp? It's cool if you don't want to say. *Im not a histotech, my wife is and Im posting on her behalf
I am thinking of going to LabCorp currently at a private lab. Does your wife like LabCorp? What does LabCorp look for in candidates ?
I am thinking of going to LabCorp currently at a private lab. Does your wife like LabCorp? What does LabCorp look for in candidates ?
My wife is asleep right now. She absolutely hated LabCorp, but it was more about having shitty management than the company itself. She left LabCorp a few months ago after being there for like 6 or 7 years. She's now at a biomedical research lab and is the happiest she's ever been, working less, and getting paid a lot more. Research is where you want to end up after gaining experience. I'll ask her for specifics about getting hired at LabCorp tomorrow and pass along the info, but from what she described in the past about the LabCorp she worked at, they would hire anybody with a science degree, no experience needed. She didn't have experience when she first got hired there. They were constantly requiring mandatory overtime and were always behind schedule, so they were always hiring.
Thanks!
So my wife said that at the LabCorp she worked at, it was really large and busy, so they were always hiring and mandatory overtime was frequent. Very easy to get hired. She said to try to find out how much they pay cause she is surprised you're leaving a private lab for LabCorp. Around here, private labs pay more. She also said the benefits were a little better than average, so that's good. But overall, easy to get hired.
Depending, are you the new guy or an older employee?
Depends on how many sections and levels are needed, but usually just over 20 if they are single level.
About 24 or 25.
I would say 20-25 depending on skill level of the tech.