JBSA Fort Sam Houston, TX - Army medical cytotechnology instructor, Staff Sgt. Kevin Atiase, assigned to B Company, 264th Medical Battalion at Fort Sam Houston, was one of only of two individuals from across the entire United States to be certified by the International Academy of Cytology (IAC) in 2014.
Since it's inception in 1954, only 10,000 cytotechnologists from 67 countries have achieved this coveted certification from IAC. That is an average of 166 per year worldwide or 2.5 individuals per country per year.
By earning credentials from the IAC, laboratory professionals demonstrate their competence to carry out their responsibilities in this critical profession not just in their country of residence but also around the globe. IAC certification is long considered the "gold standard," in global certification for cytotechnologists.
Staff Sgt. Atiase was born and raised in a small town in the Volta region of Ghana. He obtained an Associate Degree in Medical Laboratory Technology from the University of Ghana in 1998 and shortly after graduation immigrated to the United States. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1999 as a 91K (Medical Laboratory Technician) but due to his medical background, was awarded the military occupational specialist (MOS) without attending initial entry training.
His family currently lives in Ghana and he is working on getting U.S. citizenship for his son and wife. Staff Sgt. Atiase is an avid mountain bike rider and spends numerous hours volunteering for various community organizations and gathering used clothing and shoes for the children of Ghana.
His future plans include bringing Pap Smear screening to his homeland in Ghana which has the potential to save millions of lives. He is dedicated to lifelong education and is currently enrolled in a Master Degree program focused on molecular diagnostics at The George Washington University.
Cytology is the medical and scientific study of cells. It refers to a branch of pathology, the medical specialty that deals with making diagnoses of diseases and conditions through the examination of tissue samples from the body. Cytologic examinations may be performed on body fluids (examples are blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid) or on material that is aspirated (drawn out via suction into a syringe) from the body. Cytology also can involve examinations of preparations that are scraped or washed (irrigated with a sterile solution) from specific areas of the body. For example, a common example of diagnostic cytology is the evaluation of cervical smears (referred to as the Papanicolaou test or Pap smear).
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