Pathologist and histotechnologist: a marriage in need of counseling

The general level of histotechnology in this country is alarmingly low. Surgical pathology, a difficult field, is made doubly so by poorly prepared sections. The blame for this must rest in part on the pathologist because of his ignorance of histologic procedures, his acceptance of shoddy work, and his lack of interest in seeing that bright young people are enticed into the field and that adequate training facilities and career opportunities are available to them. Today we are asked to perform increasingly complex procedures, and if we are to meet this challenge, as well as perform our duties in pathologic anatomy to the best of our ability, it is essential that we rapidly change our attitude.