Cytotechnologist to covid tester
A cytotechnologist already meets 38% of what the covid tester role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.
66.1/ 100
1 How much of what a covid tester is expected to do is already part of a cytotechnologist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the covid tester role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A covid tester role treats 10 of its required skills as things a cytotechnologist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
- follow clinical guidelines
- health care legislation
- hygiene in a health care setting
- infection control
What stands in the way is 15 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A covid tester role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a cytotechnologist background worth leading with.
- already held infection control health and welfare
- already held sterilization techniques health and welfare
- already held medical informatics health and welfare
- already held hygiene in a health care setting services
- already held medical terminology health and welfare
- already held health care legislation business, administration and law
All 10 carried skills, including the 10 the covid tester role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn ensure safety regulations in dealing with infectious diseases required
- still to learn ensure safety of healthcare users required
- still to learn maintain healthcare user data confidentiality required
- still to learn empathise with the healthcare user required
- still to learn wear appropriate protective gear required
- still to learn collect biological samples from patients required
- still to learn label samples required
- still to learn preserve samples required
- still to learn prevent communicable diseases' outbreaks required
- still to learn interview people required
- optional, not held advise patients on infectious diseases when travelling optional
- still to learn use electronic health records management system required
- still to learn implement data quality processes required
- still to learn communicable diseases required
- optional, not held nursing principles optional
- still to learn perform PCR covid test required
- optional, not held drive vehicles optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a covid tester role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 ensure safety regulations in dealing with infectious diseases practise this
- 02 perform PCR covid test practise this
- 03 prevent communicable diseases' outbreaks practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held health care legislation knowledge
- already held hygiene in a health care setting knowledge
- already held infection control knowledge
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held medical informatics knowledge
- already held medical terminology knowledge
- already held sterilization techniques knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- still to learn health records management required
3 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise patients on infectious diseases when travelling optional
- optional, not held drive vehicles optional
- optional, not held nursing principles optional
45 held skills the covid tester role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accept own accountability skill
- not needed by the target role address side effects of menopause skill
- not needed by the target role apply context specific clinical competences skill
- not needed by the target role apply good clinical practices skill
- not needed by the target role apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- not needed by the target role assist in the production of laboratory documentation skill
- not needed by the target role biosafety in biomedical laboratory knowledge
- not needed by the target role biostatistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out flow cytometry skill
- not needed by the target role cervical screening knowledge
- not needed by the target role check the received biological samples skill
- not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role clinical cytology knowledge
- not needed by the target role comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- not needed by the target role conduct cancer screening tests skill
- not needed by the target role conduct health related research skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate the procurement of organs for transplantation skill
- not needed by the target role cytopathology knowledge
- not needed by the target role deal with emergency care situations skill
- not needed by the target role ensure public safety and security skill
- not needed by the target role examine cell specimens microscopically skill
- not needed by the target role fine-needle aspiration knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health skill
- not needed by the target role genomics knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret urology diagnostic tests skill
- not needed by the target role label medical laboratory samples skill
- not needed by the target role maintain medical laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage infection control in the facility skill
- not needed by the target role medical genetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role microscopic techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role operate microscope skill
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform gynecological examination skill
- not needed by the target role perform virological test skill
- not needed by the target role professional documentation in health care knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide test results to medical staff skill
- not needed by the target role recognize cytologic abnormalities skill
- not needed by the target role tissue cytogenetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role transplantation knowledge
5 further entries not listed here
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn health records management required
- still to learn communicable diseases required
- optional, not held nursing principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can a cytotechnologist become a covid tester?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A cytotechnologist already covers 38% of what a covid tester is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 10 of which the covid tester role treats as required.
What skills does a cytotechnologist need to become a covid tester?
15 required skills are missing, plus 3 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is ensure safety regulations in dealing with infectious diseases.
How hard is the move from cytotechnologist to covid tester?
Its learning distance is 66.1 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.