Pathologists’ Assistant - Autopsy

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Overview

Under limited supervision from the directors of the Yale Legacy Tissue Donation Program, the Director of Autopsy, and in compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations, act as Assistant to Pathologist at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Will report to the directors of the Yale Legacy Tissue Donation Program, Autopsy Manager and/or Specimen Receiving, Frozen Section, Gross Room Senior Manager for all administrative aspects of the program.

This position will primarily work at Yale-New Haven Hospital and primarily in Autopsy. The primary work block will be dedicated to the Legacy Tissue Donation Program, which facilitates rapid autopsy performance and customized research tissue acquisition protocols to donate tissue for research, with other duties as assigned and as volume allows. Ideal candidate will not shy away from patient care and has experience in postmortem affairs. Employee will also interact with funeral directors, the OCME, clinical staff, researchers, biobank personnel, New England Donor Services, autopsy staff, patient transport, and any other parties concerned with the handling of the deceased. 

Schedule: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week, with standard hours of 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM. Participation in on-call coverage, including overnight hours, is required. Flexibility in scheduling is necessary to accommodate on-call responsibilities, with remaining scheduled hours worked in-office. Availability to work during recess periods is also required.

Principal Responsibilities

1. Provides on-call support for performing and managing consent verification, transportation, and tissue acquisition procedures from donors enrolled in the Yale Legacy Tissue Donation Program.

2. Responsible for interacting with patient families to discuss autopsy, tissue donation, and coordinate all postmortem affairs. Obtain consent for tissue donation and/or autopsy and ascertains legal authorization for family to give such consent. Reviews patient charts and discusses cases with clinician(s) to determine next steps needed to expedite postmortem interval.

3. Checks for and respond to new patient/family inquiries regarding tissue donation via shared email inbox. Serves as a resource to family members who call asking for clarity on next steps after death or planning autopsy or tissue donation, triage to faculty or management as needed. Receives and verifies forms and credentials for permission for autopsy and the receipt and release of all bodies.

4. Facilitates collaboration with receiving laboratories by discussing research tissue requests with labs within Yale University. Set up meetings to enhance recruitment for patients to the tissue repository. Outreach work to increase enrollment of tissue donors.

5. Manages tissue/sample distribution database. Maintains supply inventory.

6. Assist in general autopsy service as necessary: set up and perform human postmortem exams; ascertain proper legal authorization and patient’s medical charts; confer with attending pathologist to identify special procedures (cultures, smears, histochemical, immunofluorescence or other studies) to be utilized during examination. May coordinate autopsy services including supervision of laboratory personnel. Clean and maintain an orderly working area following each autopsy and full clean up at the end of each day.

7. Providing supervision and enhanced teaching of Autopsy Technicians, Pathology Residents and Pathology Assistant Students in dissecting autopsy organs and surgical pathology specimens. Monitor direct oversight of residents with documentation of activities.

8. Assist in miscellaneous teaching of ancillary staff, including but not limited to nursing students, community outreach groups, potential PA program applicants, medical students.

9. Assist in surgical pathology services as necessary: Perform gross description and dissection of tissue removed at surgery, which includes selection, preparation and submission of samples for histological, microbiological, immunological examination or frozen section analysis by a pathologist. Photograph all pertinent gross specimens and slides. Procure appropriate specimens for residents and students. Ensure large cases are accurately transcribed. Assist in frozen section examinations inclusive of preparation, staining of section, and summary of patient’s medical history.

10. Records information, completes forms, and assists with various clerical duties incidental to the service. Incidental tasks as needed by autopsy or morgue service as experience allows. Works in conjunction with autopsy and morgue service to provide cross-coverage as experience allows. Coordinates transport of patients to and from the facility for service.

11. Perform other functions as necessary, for providing anatomic pathology services.

Required Skills and Abilities

1. Excellent communication skills; ability to demonstrate empathy, tact, and compassion. Ability to function both independently and as part of a team.

2. Highly motivated and highly organized in a fast paced environment.

3. Experience handling human specimens.

4. Flexibility to move between Bridgeport Hospital and Yale New Haven Hospital as work warrants.

5. Ability to occasionally walk to areas of the hospital 10+ minutes away or more.

Preferred Education and Experience

1. Preferred experience with LIS, EMR and basic computer systems.

2. Experience performing autopsies, preferably after PA school.

3. Experience with difficult conversations with bereaved family.

4. High level of managerial/organization skill, detail-oriented.

Principal Responsibilities

 

1. Performs gross description and dissection of tissue removed at surgery. Photographs all pertinent gross specimens and slides. Procures appropriate specimens for residents and medical students history. 2. Assists with frozen section examinations including preparation and staining of section and summary of patient's medical history. 3. Assists pathologist by ascertaining proper legal authorization and patient's medical charts; conferring with attending pathologist to identify special procedures to be utilized during examination. 4. Coordinates autopsy services including supervision of laboratory personnel. Cleans and maintains an orderly working area following each autopsy. 5. Prepares and presents at weekly clinical conferences; ensures large cases are accurately transcribed. Teaches students as required. 6. Interacts with surgical staff and surgeons to ensure timely delivery of samples from operating room to surgical pathology for tissue procurement. Assists in collection of tissue from Autopsy Unit. 7. Updates and maintains database of tissues collection and usage. 8. Prepares and provides monthly reports to Department Chief or Manager. 9. Performs other functions necessary for providing pathology services. Required Education and Experience Master's Degree of Health Science in Pathology or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Required License(s) or Certification(s) Certification by the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board or Eligible to be certified within 90 days of hire.

Job Posting Date

10/28/2026

Job Category

Professional

Bargaining Unit

NON

Compensation Grade

Clinical & Research

Compensation Grade Profile

Pathology Assistant (26)

Salary Range

$92,000.00 - $146,750.00

Benefits

A general description of the benefits to be offered with this Managerial & Professional position is available at:

Yale Benefits

Time Type

Full time

Duration Type

Staff

Work Model

On-site

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.

Health Requirements

This role is a healthcare worker position. Healthcare workers (HCW) are defined as university employees working a healthcare setting who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients, human research subjects or infectious materials including body substance, contaminated medical supplies, devices and equipment, surfaces, or air.  HCW have specific health requirements that must be met prior to starting work, including MMR vaccine or immunity, varicella (chickenpox) vaccine or immunity, TB screening, COVID vaccine according to University policy, hepatitis B vaccine or immunity, and annual flu vaccination.

Posting Disclaimer

Salary offers are determined by a candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education in relation to the position requirements, along with the role’s grade profile and current internal and external market conditions.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through  their hiring department.

The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.

Inquiries concerning Yale's Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).

Note

Yale University is a tobacco-free campus.