Anatomical Pathology Technician

An anatomical pathology technician (APT), also called a mortuary attendant, helps a pathologist to carry out a post-mortem examination (dissecting a body to find out the cause of death). The APT also runs the mortuary on a day-to-day basis.

The Work

You could be:

• receiving into the mortuary the bodies of people who have died suddenly and placing them into cold storage units


• standing by at the post-mortem operation, and passing instruments such as scalpels to the pathologist


• weighing each organ as the pathologist removes it, taking away samples for analysis and doing tasks such as removing the spinal cord


• afterwards, putting all the organs back inside the body and reconstructing, stitching up and cleaning the body


• embalming and dressing the body so that it is suitable for viewing


• cleaning and sterilising all instruments and washing down the floors and walls


• liaising with doctors, police, the procurator fiscal and funeral director and assisting with documents for death certificates


• taking out the bodies for relatives to view and perhaps identify and giving them information and support


• keeping accurate computer records of the identity of the body and its possessions.

Conditions

• You work 37 to 40 hours a week with some shifts and weekend work and occasional overtime.


• You have to stand a lot and bend, lift and carry.


• There are unpleasant sights and smells as some deaths will be due to fire or violence.


• You work mostly alone in a mortuary – often a windowless building in a hospital basement.


• During the post-mortem you wear protective clothing: face mask, gown, gloves and boots.


• When examining someone who died of an infectious disease you wear a sealed visor and respirator.


• There is a slight risk of infection with diseases such as hepatitis or HIV.


• You should be fit with normal colour vision.

Getting In

• Personal qualities are more important than educational qualifications but it helps to have a good range of Standard grades.


• Science-related qualifications such as Standard grade biology or chemistry can be useful.


• Knowledge of the practices of different religions is useful.


• Most jobs are with hospitals and health authorities, although some are in mortuaries attached to the procurator fiscal service.


• Vacancies are in newspapers and on the National Health Service (NHS) websites www.jobs.nhs.uk and www.infoscotland.com/nhs

What Does It Take?

You need to be:

• mature, tactful and sensitive


• respectful towards different religious beliefs


• clear and fluent in speech with a good phone manner


• interested in how the human body works


• practical with your hands


• able to cope with upsetting sights


• wanting to help grieving relatives


• able to keep accurate records


• aware of health and hygiene.

Training

• At first, training is on the job with regular practical assessments.


• After two years you attend a training course leading to exams for the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) Certificate in Anatomical Pathology Technology and eventual associate membership of the RSPH.


• The training includes anatomy, physiology, postmortem room techniques, hygiene, hazards, precautions, law and documentation.


• A year later you can apply for the Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology leading to full membership of the RSPH.


• Written and oral exams for the diploma are held in April each year.

Getting On

• You might train in a specialist field such as embalming or work with infectious diseases.


• If you get the RIPH Diploma, this may help you gain promotion to senior posts where you are training other APTs or managing a mortuary.


• You can also move into a related job such as funeral director.

Pay

Anatomical pathology technicians usually start on Band 4 of the NHS Agenda for Change. From April 2009 this ranges from £17,732 to £21,318. This can rise to Band 5 - up to £26,839 a year - for higher level posts.
Pay will be different for APTs working outside the NHS.

More Information

Addresses

The following organisation(s) may be able to provide further information.