“This is an odd niche, and the coping skills that are necessary sometimes may be different,” said Andrew. The Legislature has approved a third medical examiner, but for the time being stand-ins will be hired. This article ran in the Monitor a few weeks ago, and for some reason I forgot to put it in the newsletter – so here it is: In his 20 years as New Hampshire’s medical examiner, Dr. Thomas Andrew has consulted with medical specialists, weapons specialists, crime-scene specialists, specialists about which bugs get attracted to corpses – and, once, a plant specialist. They can work in a laboratory setting conducting research or may also be called to work in the field. “Yet study after study after study shows that the autopsy serves a valuable quality assurance and quality control function,” he said. What Are the Largest Pennsylvania Medical Schools?
VT They study the deceased in order to determine cause of death or study a particular disease or condition. “The year I got there was the first year that they topped 2,000 homicides in a year.” In contrast, all of New Hampshire recorded 16 homicides last year. NJ IN In fact, he said, on the day he retired he was deposed – questioned as part of a lawsuit – about findings from an autopsy he performed clear back in 1993.
“We are basing our assessments of normal heart weight on charts that were generated in the 1920s and ’30s. TX
“Even Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, an academic teaching hospital, is having trouble getting their pathology residents enough autopsies to sit for the boards,” Andrew said. This is true even though forensic medicine has become “sexy” due to its depiction on police and medical shows. CT