Histology Technicians
Preparing, processing, embedding, and mounting surgical and necropsy tissue for a pathologist directly overlaps with civilian histology specimen preparation.
How to prepare: Ask a target histology laboratory to assess your existing education, credentials, and documented tissue-processing experience against its hiring criteria. Some states require laboratory personnel to be licensed or registered, so check the intended state's requirements for this specialty.
What the civilian work involves
- Embed tissue specimens into paraffin wax blocks, or infiltrate tissue specimens with wax.
- Mount tissue specimens on glass slides.
- Stain tissue specimens with dyes or other chemicals to make cell details visible under microscopes.
Civilian tools and software (examples)
- Brady Specimen Labeling System
- MEDITECH software