Health Science Internship

1. Health Science
Internship
Greenville Health System
Greenville Memorial Hospital
Forensic Pathology Department
Josh deGuzman

2. Introduction
• I interned with Greenville Health System at the
Greenville Memorial Hospital
• I worked in the forensic pathology department
• My internship preceptor was Dr. James Fulcher
• My internship was from May 2016 to July 2016
• I logged over 180 hours of work during the internship

3. Greenville Health System
• Our Mission: Heal compassionately. Teach innovatively.
Improve constantly.
• Our Vision: Transform health care for the benefit of the
people and communities we serve.
• Our Values: Together we serve with integrity, respect,
trust and openness.

4. Greenville Memorial
Hospital
• My internship site was at the morgue at Greenville
Memorial Hospital
• I interned with the department of forensic pathology
• 701 Grove Road, Greenville, SC 29605-5601
• (864) 455-7000

5. Forensic Pathologists
• James W. Fulcher, M.D.
o Graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University School of
Medicine in Richmond, VA.
o His pathology residency was completed at VCU Health
Systems.
o He completed a fellowship in Forensic Pathology at the office
of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, VA.
o Dr. Fulcher is board certified in Anatomic, Clinical and Forensic
Pathology.
• Michael Ward, M.D.
o attended the University of Alabama School Medicine in Mobile.
o He completed his Anatomic Pathology residency at the Medical
University of South Carolina in Charleston and the
o Fellowship in Forensic pathology at the University of New
Mexico in Albuquerque.
o He is board certified in Anatomic and Forensic Pathology.

6. Other Staff
• Autopsy assistants: Sharon and Heather
• Morgue technician: Josh
• Greenville County coroners: Jeff, Kent, Terri, Gary,
Michael
• Pickens County coroner: Kandi
• Laurens County coroner: Nick

7. Autopsy Rooms
This is a picture of the main
autopsy room.
This picture shows the second
autopsy room.

8. Tools
This is a picture of the medical
examiner’s station and tools.
This picture shows the tools that I
use to remove the brain.

9. X-rays
This is a picture of the x-ray
machine.
This picture shows the board that
x-rays are examined on.

10. Cooler and Scale
This picture shows the entrance
to the cooler room.
This is a picture of the scale used
to weigh bodies.

11. Roles and Duties
• Performing the brain removal procedure in autopsies
• Assisting in autopsies by taking vitreous humor and blood
• Obtaining bodies from cooler room, weighing them, and
measuring the height
• Removing clothing and medical devices from bodies
• Taking photographs of the bodies
• Preparing autopsy room before autopsy and deep cleaning
after
• Assisting in taking x-rays and bringing cassettes to radiology
to get printed
• Helping give tours for MedX Academy

12. Brain Removal
These pictures show me with the two main tools that I use
to remove the brain (scalpel and electric saw).

13. Assisting in Autopsies
The small table on the right contains the syringes and
containers that we put vitreous humor and blood in.

14. Obtaining and Weighing
Body
This picture shows me taking a
body out of the cooler room
In this picture, I am weighing a
body on the scale.

15. Taking Photographs
This is a picture of the camera and case number that we use
for photographs.

16. Prepping Room for Autopsy
In this picture, I am laying out the cassettes and stock jars for
the autopsy.

17. Cleaning Room after Autopsy
This is a picture of me mopping the floor after an autopsy.

18. Assisting in X-rays
I am setting up the cassette for an
x-ray in this picture.
In this picture, I am placing the x-
ray up for examination.

19. Helping MedX Academy Tour
This is a picture of me setting up the organs and organizing them
for the MedX Academy tour presentation.

20. Project 1
• My first project was about postmortem insulin overdose
• This project related to a case involving man who was
already autopsied
• The insurance company wanted know whether the man
could have died by overdosing on insulin
• I conducted research and created a full postmortem
analysis
• I presented my findings to my preceptor

21. Project 2
• My second project involved fire extinguishers
• This project was about a case of a man who died of
pneumonia
• After the autopsy, the insurance company wanted to
know if exposure to fire extinguisher chemicals 4 months
prior to his death was relevant to his passing
• I researched types of fire extinguishers, classes of fires,
chemicals in each extinguisher, and health risks
associated
• I presented my project to Dr. Fulcher and provided him
with a case study for him to use in his analysis

22. Project 3
• My last project was on female reproductive tract
infections, specifically viral infections
• I focused on 3 main reproductive tract infections (RTI)
o Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
o Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)
o Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV)
• My research consisted of occurrence, transmission,
symptoms, treatment, and prevention

23. Conclusion
I truly enjoyed my entire internship experience with GHS in the forensic
pathology department. I could not have asked for a better internship
preceptor in Dr. Fulcher. It was such a pleasure working with him, his
partner, Dr. Ward, and the rest of the staff. Throughout my internship I was
able to accomplish my learning goals and objectives. I was able to develop
my dexterity with medical tools from the hands on experience. I also
enhanced my knowledge of the human anatomy and disease through the
teaching during each autopsy.