This article I wrote for the newsletter of the Young Forensic Scientists Forum

During the YFSF breakfast meeting at the AAFS Annual Meeting in Orlando, Carrie Weiler asked me to write some lines for the YFSF newsletter. I thought you might be curious to know what an autopsy technician does in Switzerland.

In Switzerland the autopsy technicians are supported by the Association of Anatomy and Pathology Autopsy Technicians of Switzerland (VSAPP). The VSAPP has been in existence since 1985 and at present has approximately 50 members. The association compiled a set of examination requirements and guidelines for autopsy technicians and brought them to the BBT (Federal Office for Vocational Training and Technology). In 1994 the conditions for the exam were accepted.

Since 1995 the exam has been offered annually, however this does not mean that there exists a school for autopsy technicians. The education is expected to take place in the workplace, through advanced education provided by the VSAPP and by self-study. To date, 15 technicians have passed the exam with success. The reason for this low number is based on the fact that there are few advantages in sitting the examination. There is no large pressure from the superiors and there is no wage increase. If there were a wage increase this would be the most desirable advantage for someone to sit the exam.

Therefore, autopsy technicians that have an occupation experience of 20 years have no real motivation to sit the exam. (It is also questionable whether the exam would improve an occupation experience of 20 years.) However, recognition of this federal certification is becoming increasingly important for job applications for either technicians or chief autopsy technician posts; autopsy technicians with the certification are preferred.

Usually, here in Switzerland, the first occupation of an autopsy technician is not as an autopsy technician. The autopsy technicians come from a range of very different occupations (i.e., chef, chemistry assistant, butcher, plumber, carpenter, etc.). Each brings experiences and knowledge from their first occupations, from which specialization develops.

The work and function of an autopsy technician in Switzerland can be variable. It depends on which field (forensic pathology, pathology or anatomy), and in which institute one is working. I will take the situation of the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Bern (IRM Bern) as my example.

I am one of two autopsy technicians in Bern. We both have federal certification. My chief, Urs Koenigsdorfer, was a chef for 16 years before beginning his now 11-year career as an autopsy technician. The first eight years he spent learning the skills of the trade in another institute in Switzerland. The last three years he spent at the IRM Bern. I completed my apprenticeship as a chemistry assistant and have been working as an autopsy technician for seven years at the IRM Bern.

We are in the fortunate position to have an enormously wide field of work with great diversity that never becomes boring. Below are the main responsibilities that I have as an autopsy technician at IRM Bern:

Autopsies

Doing autopsies takes about 60% of our time. The tasks we perform during the autopsy depend on the forensic pathologist we are working with. Usually we perform the technical side of the autopsy with all the special techniques (e.g., block removal of the cervical spine or to dissect the vertebral arteries). We rarely dissect the organs since the forensic pathologist performs this.

Body Administration

We cooperate with the funeral directors and are in charge of the institute’s body administration. Currently we have facilities to refrigerate 11 bodies. Of these, two can be deep-frozen.

X- ray

Photographic documentation

Reconstruction of hurt faces for identification

Cooperation with scientific projects

We get involved in scientific projects regularly. We try to support the pathologists with they’re research, even to the extent of writing part of a paper for a journal.

Holding lectures

We sometimes have lectures for internal advanced education, for the VSAAP and other organizations.

Preparation of anatomical specimens for display

The displays we produce are always case related. Anatomical or pathology displays are no longer produced in the forensic medicine. We use these displays for forensic training and guided tours of the institute. We macerate bones, e.g., to determine the direction of an impact, or for anthropological investigation. For autopsy technicians working in the anatomy field, preparation of anatomical displays is a very important task. These displays are used mainly for training and examination of medical and dental students.

Simple histology

This is a very small part of our work. We do Oil Red stain for pulmonary fat embolism and a quick H&E stain of pulmonary tissue smear for neutrophil granulocytes. It is only necessary for us to do this work if the laboratory assistant is on holidays, during a weekend, or if it is very urgent.

Administration of the collected samples

Lecture maintenance

Statistics

Building services

We are also responsible for the building maintenance. This includes the daily troubleshooting (defective coffee machines, broken neon lamps, etc.), as well as taking care of the cleaning team, and craftsmen and architects (which work at different times at our institute). The latter can take a lot of work as our building is quite old and needs a lot of maintenance all the time. Its architecture is historic which complicates any restoration, or implementation new building features.

Logistics

This includes such tasks as gathering laundry to be cleaned (we don’t have to do our own) and ordering supplies.

As you can see, our responsibilities are varied. In writing this article I surprised myself by discovering how many different things we actually do. As I said before, this is the situation in Bern. It is more or less similar in all the institutes around Switzerland. I think this is related to the sizes of our institutes. If you compare the sizes, the American ones are much bigger than ours. We cannot afford a photographer, a radiologist or a groundskeeper. There would not be enough work for them anyway.

I hope you now have a better understanding of the role of an autopsy technician in Switzerland. However if you have questions, do not hesitate to contact me, I will be pleased to answer them. I can be contacted at:

Philipp ‘Svazi’ Feer
Institute of Legal Medicine Bern
Buehlstrasse 20
3012 Bern
Switzerland
svaziphil@svazi.com