Photo By Eric Brown | Atlanta VA Medical Center Histologist Jeanesha Word examines a stained tissue sample...... read more read more
Spotlight: Histologist aims at providing best experience possible for Veterans
Atlanta VA Medical Center Histologist Jeanesha Word is only 25 years old, but she’s already made a name for herself as one who has made an enormous impact in her department to provide outstanding quality work for our Veterans at the VA.
Word, who has worked in the histology department of Atlanta VAMC’s anatomical pathology laboratory since June 2015, became interested in histology during her clinical rotation at the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“I was initially pursuing to be a funeral director or embalmer,” she acknowledged. “I was working with forensic technicians and they introduced me to histology and histotechnology,” Word said.
Word eventually pursued the career field because it combined many of the disciplines she was interested in. “As a histotechnologist, I can perform autopsies, I receive biopsies, excision specimens,” Word said. “I do patient care, although it’s not direct,” Word continued. “So I get everything encompassed in one.”
The Atlanta VAMC no longer performs autopsies, but Word is trained to do so if the need were to arise in the future. “The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has taken that over, but if someone were to pass away in the building, we may perform an autopsy,” Word said.
Word is part of the six-person team in in surgical pathology, which involves gross and microscopic examination of surgical specimens as well as biopsies submitted by surgeons and non-surgeons to help diagnose a disease which in turn helps with a patient’s treatment plan.
“I try to be the best I can be and pay attention to details,” Word said. “I take my job seriously, because these could be my mother, father, or other members of my family.”
According to Histology Supervisor Faith Gorousingh, Word steps up to the challenge of appropriately collecting and submitting specimens and patient identification, all of which support the medical center’s patient safety goals.
“She is diligent in identifying and correcting any patient identification discrepancies, resulting in marked improvement in this area,” Gorousingh said. “Great quality work in the Histology laboratory translates into great care for the Veterans.”
Word received advanced training through the National Society of Histotechnology and currently holds certification in Mohs through The American Society of Mohs Histotechnology.
Pathology, which works behind the scenes preparing, processing and analyzing specimens in a collective effort to help determine the presences or absence of a disease, is a very essential and important part of healthcare.
“We make an enormous impact on people’s lives on a daily basis,” Word said.
| Date Taken: | 08.17.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.22.2016 07:22 |
| Story ID: | 207410 |
| Location: | ATLANTA, GA, US |
| Hometown: | ATLANTA, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 408 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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