Histotech "hands on" interview? - anyone given/taken a "slide test"? (Nov/12/2008 )
I am very nervous about an interview for histotech next week. They said to bring my scrubs since I will be doing a "slide test" but they won't give me any details other than I will be cutting. I may have exaggerated my experience a bit and any pointers you could give me will help greatly, thanks!
Have you done any histology before? Do you know how to set up a microtome? How about H & E staining?
I've studied histology in school, I've worked in a lab with microtomes (never used it) and I've watched several videos, read up on microtomy a bit. I understand what H & E staining is but never done it myself.
Sectioning is a bit of an art form to do it right, the only way to get any good at it is to practice and it isn't something that comes naturally (at least to me). I suggest going back to your lab and asking if you can have a go.
Moral of the story is... Don't exaggerate in an interview or on your CV, you will get found out.
What would be great is if I found a local lab/school to give me a brief crash course in cutting for an hour or so on Monday. I know to become good at it, it takes much more practice but it sounds like its just a "cutting test" so they can see how well I cut paraffin on the microtome. I'm a VERY fast learner and have superb hand/eye coordination from years of video games, so I'd give myself a 50/50 or better chance if I could just get someone to show me briefly but I doubt I'm going to be able to pull that off on a days notice. 