Find out the top 10 core skills you need to master as a cytotechnologist and what hard skills you need to know to succeed in this job.

A cytotechnologist examines human cells using a microscope to detect abnormalities and diseases such as cancer, pre-cancerous cells, or infectious agents. He/she uses the findings to diagnose and treat the diseases.

Other duties include preparing slides for testing, applying staining techniques to cell samples to prepare them for testing, receiving the samples for testing, interpreting specimens, writing a report of the findings, providing patient's microscopic findings to aid in the preparing of pathology reports by the pathologist, verifying the information of the patients and specimens, ensuring that the laboratory operations are effective by observing standards in the collection and preparation of specimen as well as ensuring laboratory safety.

Core Skills Required to be a Cytotechnologist

Core skills describe a set of non-technical abilities, knowledge, and understanding that form the basis for successful participation in the workplace. Core skills enable employees to efficiently and professionally navigate the world of work and interact with others, as well as adapt and think critically to solve problems.

Core skills are often tagged onto job descriptions to find or attract employees with specific essential core values that enable the company to remain competitive, build relationships, and improve productivity.

A cytotechnologist should master the following 10 core skills to fulfill her job properly.

Knowledge of Job:

Knowledge of Job is essential to every employee who needs to have a clear understanding of how their jobs fit into the overall organization to eliminate carelessness and laxity.

A Cytotechnologist must be able to evaluate this criterion when selecting an employee and know the common descriptions of a person with either right or inadequate knowledge of the job early enough to either keep them or let them go.

Participative Management:

Participative Management is also known as employee involvement is the participation of all stakeholders at all levels of the organization in the investigation of problems, development of strategies and implementation of solutions.

A Cytotechnologist should include the participative management in the enterprise to create open and honest communication, freedom and transparency solicit survey feedback and form self-managed teams that are easy to work with.

Supervisory Skills:

Supervisory Skills is the ability to lead and manage people effectively in a difficult and challenging atmosphere in the day to day life.

A Cytotechnologist must cultivate, develop and refine management and supervisory skills to strengthen the present as well as build the future of the business by becoming competent in such roles like problem-solving, communication, managing people, time management, leadership, planning, etc.

Empathy:

Empathy is the understanding of another person's condition from their perspective by placing yourself in their shoes and feeling what they are feeling.

A Cytotechnologist ought to practice empathy with his staff by learning to be a good listener and understanding what his employees are going through and choosing to feel it with them through the use of imagination and accommodate them.

Commitment to the Job:

Commitment to the Job is the feeling of responsibility that a person has towards a mission and goals of an organization.

A Cytotechnologist should be diligent in helping the employees connect and commit to their job by creating proper communication channels that make the employees feel listened to and encouraged to provide feedback thus creating mutual trust and respect in the workplace.

Persistence:

Persistence is the refusal to give up or let go of a firm or obstinate continuous course of action despite difficulties or opposition that you may face.

A Cytotechnologist should strongly emphasize the need for persistence as the fundamental difference between a successful outcome and a failed one while developing this important quality in each creating happy employees and business.

Goal and Objective Setting:

Goal and Objective Setting is the strategic plan that is set and laid down identifying how goals should be accomplished, by who and by what time.

A Cytotechnologist must detect and schedule each employee's goals, strategy, and objectives and keep motivating them to ensure all of them are met within the set time bringing growth to both the company and the employee.

Intercultural Competence:

Intercultural Competence is the knowledge and skills to successfully interact with people from other ethnic, religious, cultural, national and geographic groups.

A Cytotechnologist should have a high degree of intercultural competence that enables him to have successful interactions with people from different groups as well as train his employees to be sensitive to the cultural differences and be willing to modify their behavior as a sign of respect for each other.

Research:

Research is the ability to stay updated on the latest trends in different fields as per your concern or the concern of your company or business.

A Cytotechnologist ought to stay up to date on the latest trends in hiring, leading, retention, technology and much more by using the newest research methods that allow him to make better decisions and improve productivity.

Analytical Skills:

Analytical Skills is the ability to collect and analyze information, solve problems and make decisions according to the policies and regulations of the business.

A Cytotechnologist should hire employees who use clear, logical steps and excellent judgment to understand an issue from all angles before executing an action depending on the objective and the methodical approaches to benefit a company's productivity.

Hard Skills Required to be a Cytotechnologist

Hard skills are job-specific skill sets, or expertise, that are teachable and whose presence can be tested through exams. While core skills are more difficult to quantify and less tangible, hard skills are quantifiable and more defined.

Hard skills are usually listed on an applicant's resume to help recruiters know the applicant's qualifications for the applied position. A recruiter, therefore, needs to review the applicant's resume and education to find out if he/she has the knowledge necessary to get the job done.

A cytotechnologist should have a good command of the following hard skills to succeed in her job.

Cytotechnologist: Hard skills list

Ancillary Testing and Related Technologies
Analytical
Analyzing cells
Anatomic Pathology
Bacteriology Theory
Biology
Biological Testing Instruments
Biotechnical Theory
Chemistry
Chemistry Theory
Clinical Data
Clinical Research
Clinical Sterilizing Techniques
Computer literacy
Computer-assisted Screening
Cytology
Cytological Procedures/Technologies
Diagnostic
Diagnostic methods, equipment, and technology
Evaluating (evaluating the growing volume of nongynecologic and fine-needle aspiration specimens)
Geometry
Health occupations/medical professions education
Healthcare
Histology
Histologic
Human Tissue
Laboratory Equipment Usage
Laboratory Management
Laboratory Medicine
Laboratory Operations
Laboratory Safety
Laboratory Techniques
Mathematics
Medical Diagnosis Machines and Instruments
Medical Laboratory Specimens (Handle and Store)
Microscopic
Microscopic Interpretation
Microbiology Procedures
Morphology
Molecular Diagnostics
Molecular Genetics
Pathology
Physics
Physical Science
Safety Inspections in Health Care Setting
Screening and Interpretation
Science
Scientific Method
Specimen Collection and Preparation
Statistics
Writing

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