Sentara RMH School of Histotechnology - Courses

The following are courses, sequence, and brief description of content for the Sentara RMH HTL School. The numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) indicate the sequence of courses are listed.

Mode of instruction will include lecture, discussion, student lab and twenty four weeks of rotation at one of four Sentara hospital histology labs. The suggested credits and clock hours are listed.

Additional information may be found in the school’s curriculum/student catalog guide.

1. HTL 511 Orientation
   Suggested Credit = 1 CR
   Didactic Classes = 4
   + Student Lab classes = 2
   
   Didactic – Lecture includes a review of ethics and professionalism, statistics, quality assurance in the clinical laboratory and statistical approaches to data evaluation. Safety in the hospital/laboratory is also included.
2. HTL 502 Fixation
   Suggested Credit = 2 CR
   Didactic # Classes = 19
   + Student Lab
   
   Didactic – Lecture includes fixation of tissues, anatomy, types of fixation, action of major single and combination fixatives, special fixatives, factors affecting the quality of fixation, fixation for selected individual tissues, incompatible stains and fixatives, useful formulas for fixatives, and dehydrant cross-linking fixatives.
3. HTL 503 HTL Processing/Embedding
   Suggested Credit = 2 CR
   Didactic # Classes = 13
   + Student Lab
   
   Didactic – Lecture includes gross room/surgical cut-up, specimen dissection plans,various types of tissues, tissue processing and microarray, dehydration, clearing,infiltrating and embedding reagents, automated tissue processing, manual tissue processing, tissue microarray including purpose, advantages, types, grid design, donor block, needles, arrayers, smoothing, sectioning, troubleshooting and maintenance.
4. HTL 504 Microtomy
   Suggested Credit = 2 CR
   Didactic # Class = 13
   + Student Lab
   
   Didactic – Lecture includes basic principles of microtomy applicable to both paraffin and frozen sections and techniques necessary to provide quality microscopic slides for clinical and research histology. Topics include types of microtome, paraffin section cutting, frozen and related sections, uses of frozen sections, cryostat sectioning, freeze drying and freeze substitution, frozen section substitution and plastic embedding for light microscopy.
5. HTL 505 Staining
   Suggested Credit = 6 CR
   Didactic # Classes = 55
   + Student Lab
   
   Didactic – Lecture includes theory of staining, properties of dyes, problems/
   troubleshooting, hematoxylins and eosin, alum hematoxylin, routine staining, iron hematoxylin, tungsten hematoxylin, molybdenum hematoxylin, lead hematoxylin, QC in routine H & E Staining. Additional topics include stains for connective and mesenchymal tissues, carbohydrates, pigments and minerals (indogenous and exogenous). Amyloid techniques, microorganisms detection and identification, bone (normal cells, processing decalcified bone, staining etc.), and techniques are covered in neuropathology (normal nervous system, staining neurons, immunohistochemistry of neurons, the neuroglia, clinical correlation). Additional topics include immunofluorescent techniques, immunochemistry, QC, molecular pathology, transmission electron microscopy and quantitative date from microscopic specimens.
6. MT 408 Clinical Laboratory Supervision and Management
   Suggested Credit = 1 CR
   Didactic # Classes = 6
   
   Didactic – Lecture instruction on performance improvement, critical pathways,
   human resource management, financial management, management styles, team building skills, dynamics of health care and laboratory, communications, ethics, selection of lab computer systems and government regulations and standards.
7. MT 409 Education and Research
   Suggested Credit = 1 CR
   Didactic # Classes = 4
   
   Didactic – Lecture instruction on writing behavioral objectives; teach methods; forms of evaluation and motivation of student; research design; and basic principles of evaluating a research paper.
8. HTL 507 Fixation Practicum
   Suggested Credit = 1 CR
   Rotation = hands-on rotation for four weeks in each of six hospital histology
   labs. Students will receive laboratory instruction in all current histologic fixation
   techniques with clinical correlation, QC and computer operation.
9. HTL 508 Processing/Embedding Practicum
   Suggested Credit = 3 CR
   Rotation = hands-on rotation for four weeks in each of six hospital histology
   labs. Students will receive laboratory instruction on specimen dissection,
   different tissues, microarray, automated tissue processing, troubleshooting and maintenance to include all techniques utilized in processing and embedding.
10. HTL 509 Microtomy Practicum
    Suggested Credit = 6 CR
    There will be rotation for four weeks in each of six hospital histology labs. Laboratory instruction on principles of microtomy applicable to both paraffin and frozen sections and techniques necessary to provide quality microscope slides for clinical and research histology.
11. HTL 510 Staining Practicum
    Suggested Credit = 5 CR
    There will be rotation for four weeks in each of six hospital histology labs.
    Laboratory instruction on staining, properties of dyes, troubleshooting staining,
    H & E plus special stains, clinical correlation, techniques in immunofluorescence, immunochemistry, QC, electron microscopy, and quantitative data from microscopic specimens. Solving problems with staining will be addressed with both identification and potential resolution.

Student Lab Description

The Student Lab at the Sentara RMH School of Histotechnology will be an on-site student lab, where daily, the students will practice histology skills. The student lab will correlate with and reinforce didactic lectures. Microtomy will be primary to all labs. Once proficiency in microtomy is demonstrated, students will use their ability to produce their own slides for H&E, special stains, troubleshooting and problem-solving. They will understand on a practical level the theory of fixation, embedding procedures and the importance of proper processing. Not only will they learn and reproduce proper techniques and procedures, but they will be exposed to predetermined errors and failures to follow procedure, or unpredicted events, and thus learn to troubleshoot and problem-solve. Areas of hands-on instruction and practicum include, but are not limited to, paraffin microtomy, frozen sections, embedding, processing, H&E staining, special stains, immunohistochemistry, maintenance, use and care of all equipment related to the above, and the quality control procedures for each. Case studies will be utilized to demonstrate the clinical correlation between histology results and diagnosis/pathology/disease.

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