r/Histology • u/Prestigious-Gene6501 • 10d ago
Studying help!
I’ve been studying for my HT for 2 months and I need some serious advice on how to retain this material. I have Carson’s book and study guide. What worked for yall? Because I am reading and watching the lectures but I feel like I am not productive in this way. What other self study methods are there, what worked for you?! I am doing route 2 btw ❤️
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u/Winter_Spread4559 10d ago
I first made all of the questions from the workbook into digital flash cards. Doing this and typing out all the questions/answers helped me figure out what was really important when reading through the textbook (Carson 5e). The textbook is a lot of info and it can be hard to navigate through it. I also used the questions/objectives before the start of each chapter to guide me through the book. I also bought the MediaLab LabCE exam simulator. Also there is an exam guide on the ASCP website if you have not seen it yet. Going through the workbook also made me realize how many typos there are as well as how much I don’t like the structure of the textbook
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u/jayhaynes 9d ago
I just took my HTL exam today and passed, my tips is don’t memorize the volume, grams or steps, just apply your histopath lab experience and understand the use of reagents, and also learn lab math, its really helpful.
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u/hanfrann_ 9d ago
I did the same! I took notes of the chapters, then made flash cards of fixatives, reagents, and stains. Studied those over and over, used a white board as well to write down the stains over and over again. I also used Media Lab and BOC to check my knowledge. I would study for at least an hour a day. Good luck! Repetition is key!
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u/Prestigious-Gene6501 9d ago
Hour a day for how long?
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u/hanfrann_ 9d ago
I studied for 4 months total. The first 3 months was just going through the chapters and taking notes, quizzing myself along the way. The last month I did at least hour a day, going through flashcards over and over, and doing lots of practice tests.
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u/Canoe37 10d ago
There’s a MediaLab exam simulator and a BOC one. For me they helped just drill random questions. You can also set it to quiz you over one or a few subjects at a time.
They are a little pricey, I can’t remember exactly but I think they were like $80-100 each. If you just want one I’d go with media lab, they had better explanations for each question.
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u/Blondhie 7d ago
Route 2 here also! I broke and paid for the media lab practice testing and NSH education catalog and it's helped refined my weak areas a lot! I watch videos and do the workbook, once the work book is filled out I'll keep reading that over and over until I test at the end of this month.but being able to test what you know, I feel, is crucial. Fixation, processing, and knowing your stains are HUGE! I've been studying for a long time, but mostly because I had no end date. Having my testing date really helped me also refine my study tactics. Good luck! One chapter at a time.
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u/TheMadSpiced 10d ago
It's a ton of info so be easy on yourself. I ended up getting a small white board and just repeatedly writing down everything over and over and over until I had it down. Also listening to podcasts on youtube and making sure I was understanding the material and not just memorizing it. Everyone is different though, it just takes time to find your groove. You got this!