You Won't Know Til You Try ...

Green Paper Scrubs

True story …

Years ago, 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 my last day of an assignment at a hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire, typing medical reports and data entry for Pathology. That afternoon, I overheard a conversation between my supervisor there and the pathologist. He asked if she had anyone on staff who might be available to assist him with an autopsy the next day.

The supervisor told him she didn’t, 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 assisting him. If I got along okay, it could be something I would be interested in, since I was only working for a temporary service. The pathologist 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 from the stainless steel table where a woman’s body was already positioned, face up with a Y-cut done, the V of skin peeled back and up over the woman’s face, and the rest of the Y pulled to each side to expose the rib cage.

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

“Now I will proceed to open the … “

Before I realized it, I was belly-up to the table and handing him instruments he pointed to on a small stainless steel table with wheels to my left. I surprised myself. I think because of the professional manner in which he did his work. He made it 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 it as he cleaned his work space and the stainless steel table. Eventually the subject of salary came up. I was shocked to hear it would pay only the minimum wage.

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

Poet/Writer/Author of 5 books.
Quora Top Writer 2018.
CJ’s World is reader supported.
If you believe in my work, please,
be a paid subscriber so I can continue. 
Thank you!