Heathcote Sixth Formers Attend the Living Autopsy!

In November a group of our Year 12 and 13 Biology and Chemistry students attended an event at Forest School, called The Living Autopsy, lead by Matthew Clifford, a retired pathologist. Isabella Newhouse (Year 12) tells us more about the event:

Dr Clifford started by explaining his background in pathology and then explained step by step how to perform an autopsy by showing pictures and real life examples of organs, such as lungs. 

His explanation of his day-to-day life gave us a true insight into what a job in the sciences could lead to.

One of his own medical students in the audience helped us to truly grasp the commitment and years of hard work it takes to get into a job similar to his own. Dr Clifford said it took him 15 years of training to get a career in pathology which included 5 years of med school, 3 years of university, 2 years working in NHS hospitals, then passing F1 and F2 - and then finally choosing your specialism and doing either 2 or 5 years in it (depending on what the specific area is).

He finished by opening questions up to the audience- this is where we found out more interesting stories about his strangest post-mortems and the ethical factors that may impact doing a post-mortem. It was also remarkable how the body (by the end) would look like no one has laid a finger on it, due to the skills displayed by the medical team at the mortuary.

Isabella Newhouse

Year 12