The Green Paper Scrubs

Pathology: Would I Assist in an Autopsy?

The Green Paper Scrubs
Pathology: Would I Assist in an Autopsy?

Years ago, we had just moved to a new town and for a while, I worked for a temp service as a secretary. I spent a week to six months at one job and then I was sent to another temp job when that was finished.

I was on assignment at a hospital in Manchester NH typing medical reports and data entry for Pathology. The last afternoon of my assignment, I overheard a conversation between my supervisor and the pathologist. He wanted to know if she had anyone on staff who might be available to assist him in an autopsy the next day.

The supervisor told him no, but she had a few applications for the position and she would be happy to make some phone calls. She couldn’t get it done by the next day though. There would have to be interviews, background checks, hiring, etc.

He glanced over, saw me, and asked the supervisor whether I had ever assisted in an autopsy. When I heard him, I turned around. He asked me the same question. He said he was pleased with my temp work and he had a position available for me, if I was interested.

I told him I would like to try and if I got along okay, it might be something I would be interested in. Working for the temp service, the end goal was finding a good job. The pathologist and I shook on it and he told me to be there at 1:00 the next day.

When I arrived in Pathology, he handed me green paper scrubs to put on over my clothes, a hat, slip on green paper slippers … and a 2-inch smelling salts capsule for my pocket with directions to break it and sniff, if I felt faint.

Then he handed me a jar of Vicks VapoRub and told me to daub some around my nostrils. Oh boy, I thought … maybe this was a mistake.

He had me stand six feet back from the stainless steel table where a woman’s body was already positioned. She was on her back with a Y-cut done. The V of skin was peeled up and over to rest on the woman’s face. With the rest of the Y, half was pulled to each side to expose her rib cage.

I watched each step, as he cut through the breast bone, exposing the internal organs, then weighing each of them while speaking into a microphone that hung on a cord over the stainless steel table.

“Now I will proceed to open the … “

Suddenly, I realized I was belly-up to the table and handing him each of the instruments he pointed to on a small stainless steel table with wheels on my left.

I surprised myself. I think it was because of the professional manner in which he did his work. He made it highly clinical and so interesting that it didn’t bother me at all.

Afterwards, as I was taking off my paper uniform, I handed him the unused capsule of smelling salts and thanked him for trusting me to assist him. He said I was a natural and the job was mine, if I wanted it.

We talked about the position while he cleaned his work space and the stainless steel instruments. I won’t lie. The job was very interesting. He was like a professor the way he performed the autopsy, explaining everything all the way through it.

Eventually the subject of salary came up. I was totally shocked, (dumbfounded actually), when he told me the job would pay only the minimum wage.

I went back to the temp service that afternoon to learn about my new secretarial office assignment ….