I know this is a sensitive topic, but in day to day life I get so many questions surrounding what it is like and how I deal with certain situations.
I will answer as honestly, tactfully and sensitively as i can.
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AMA
I work in a Mortuary - AMA
94 replies
MortuaryAMA · 15/07/2018 19:33
OP posts:
MortuaryAMA ·
15/07/2018 21:36
What do you actually do?
There is a lot to the role but I will try and outline a typical day in our Mortuary for you. I start the day at around 7 when we start the first post postmortems of the day. In a straightforward PM, it's my job to measure and weigh the patient, remove and weigh their organs and take samples for histology, toxicology and any others as required by the pathologist or coroner.
After that we clean down the PM room, followed by a quick break. After that we get stuck in with the assistants admitting and releasing patients, cleaning other equipment, hosting viewings for families. It really does vary day to day what we do but those are general duties off the top of my head!
In the afternoon we carry out more post mortems, usually fewer cases or forensic and special cases which require more time and precision. When we are done I will host a few more viewings or perhaps get some paperwork done (there is a LOT of paperwork, moreso than when I started).
At the end of the day we do a few checks to make sure everything is secure. We have someone on call to receive patients out of hours so we are always "manned" in some capacity.
Did you like six feet under?
I never watched it 
I used to love silent witness though, until I started working in this industry. Now I just shout at the TV about it all being portrayed the wrong way 
Can I just say a heartfelt thank you to you and your fellow APT. My DSF died recently in hospital so went to the hospital mortuary and then the funeral home. The care both he and I were shown made a difficult situation much easier.
Thank you so much for your kind remarks. I always feel we are the forgotten, as people usually head straight to the ward with their cards and chocolates 
- I am so pleased you had a positive experience at what is such a difficult time. We always try our hardest to make such a harrowing experience all the more bearable for the relatives. 
Did you have to any qualifications?
It all depends on the hospital to be honest. Our trust expects a trainee to have GCSE grades in the core subjects. Other trusts don't, but most mortuaries nowadays favour someone with relevant experience, such as in funeral homes or anywhere where you would come across the bereaved (on wards, coroners offices, police force etc).
Do you get scared/spooked?
Honestly, yes. Far less now than I used to, but occasionally I will get a shiver up my spine. I think the scariest thing for me though is recognising my own mortality, which happens when I receive a patient who is of a similar age to me, my husband or my children.
Do you believe in an afterlife?
Yes and no. My beliefs are very fluid, in that some weeks I believe when we are gone we are gone, and others where I genuinely can't grasp the concept that we just vanish into nothing. I am not religious by any means, but I don't discount the ideology of religion. I guess ultimately I believe any of the above and much more cold meet us in the afterlife.
Any weird/spooky happenings?
The thing I have found the strangest so far is when we take in a patient quite soon after they have died, there is still a possibility that their limbs will contract. We have had incidences of placing people in one of our fridges with their legs flat and then when we bring them out later their knees are up or an arm has raised!
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