SUNY Cobleskills Histotechnician Program Signs Affiliation Agreement with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

SUNY Cobleskill’s Histotechnician Program Signs Affiliation Agreement with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

COBLESKILL, N.Y. -- SUNY Cobleskill is excited to announce a newly established affiliation agreement between its Histotechnician Associate’s program and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York City. The agreement will give students the opportunity to complete their clinical training at MSK’s Mohs laboratory, surgical pathology laboratory, and cytopathology laboratory.

Histotechnology is a unique, specialized, and highly important area within the medical laboratory sciences. Its focus is on the preservation of tissue and the preparation of microscopic slides for use by pathologists in patient diagnosis and treatment. These tissues may be obtained from an operating room, clinic, doctor's office, emergency room, or postmortem examination. Histotechnicians may also prepare frozen tissue sections that enable rapid diagnosis while a patient is actively undergoing surgery.

Through this agreement, which is effective in June 2022, candidate students will learn on-site at the Mohs laboratory, surgical pathology, and cytopathology laboratory, working alongside histology technicians, Mohs technicians, Mohs surgeons, and pathologists in the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

“This opportunity to partner with one of the world's best cancer treatment facilities is a privilege for our program and our students, and a valued addition to our ever-growing list of affiliate hospitals whose names, just like MSK, are synonymous with the highest quality of patient care and medical research," said SUNY Cobleskill Histotechnician Program Director Adam Tegnander. "In our mission to certify students to work cooperatively and ethically as an essential member of a healthcare team, working alongside professionals at the forefront of our field is our greatest advantage.”

“This is an exciting opportunity for MSK  to partner with SUNY Cobleskill’s Histotechnician Program. We are excited to welcome the SUNY Cobleskill’s students to our institution to help train and mentor the next generation of cancer experts,” said MSK Regional Pathology Manager Camille McKay.

SUNY Cobleskill's Histotechnician Associate in Applied Science program is a two-year curriculum that provides students with the academic and technical skills necessary for entry-level employment in the field of Histotechnology. The College’s program is the only accredited degree-granting Histotechnician program in New York State, and the first of its kind in the entire United States.

Employment of clinical laboratory technologists and technicians is projected to grow 11 percent from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. An increase in the aging population is expected to lead to a greater need to diagnose medical conditions, such as cancer or type 2 diabetes, through laboratory procedures. Prenatal testing for various types of genetic conditions also is increasingly common, and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians will be in demand to assist in diagnosis and treatment (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).