A diener is a

morgue A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cu ...

worker responsible for handling, moving, and cleaning the

corpse A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a li ...

. In the UK, the equivalent job title is "mortuary assistant", whilst the preparation, evisceration and reconstruction of the deceased is performed by an anatomical pathology technician. In the US, dieners are also referred to as "mortuary assistants" or "autopsy technicians". The word is derived from the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

word ''Leichendiener'', which literally means ''corpse servant'' (''diener'' means ''

servant A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...

''.). A diener performs a number of tasks in medical schools and

s. Helping a

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

with examining and reconstructing

cadaver A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a Death, dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue (biology), tissue to ...

s are main tasks performed by a diener. A diener assists a pathologist or

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

during an

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

completing tasks such as handling tools and supplies, preparation of the deceased before and after autopsy. In addition to physical work with a pathologist and

s, dieners do work such as record keeping of identification and documentation of deceased in the form of items such as

death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, a ...

s. In the American

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

(), the men and (particularly) the women who assist in church services (like the Lovefeast) are called "dieners", from the German title for their office, ''Saaldiener'' or "chapel servant".

Education

Education requirements for a diener includes a high school diploma or a

GED Ged or GED may refer to: Places * Ged, Louisiana, an unincorporated community in the United States * Ged, a village in Bichiwara Tehsil, Dungarpur District, Rajasthan, India * Delaware Coastal Airport, in Delaware, US, callsign GED People * Ged B ...

certificate. Requirements also include completion of one year of undergraduate coursework composed of at least six semester hours in courses including

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

human anatomy Human anatomy (gr. ἀνατομία, "dissection", from ἀνά, "up", and τέμνειν, "cut") is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross ...

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

, or

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

with laboratory work as well. Becoming a diener includes experience working as a laboratory assistant which involved use of surgical tools or human anatomy knowledge, instead of any undergraduate course work. Dieners can use their work experience to pursue a degree in similar fields such as

forensics Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

, clinical laboratory work, and law enforcement.

Training

In the beginning stages of working as a diener, there are training requirements. Formal training requirements for a diener includes manual handling, infection control, and safety procedures. The training has two parts: Taught Units and Workplace Competency. The first portion, Taught Units, consists of five sections. * Human Anatomy and Physiology for Anatomical Pathology Technicians * Governance and Administration of Mortuary Practices * Health and Safety in the

Mortuary A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...

* Microbiology and Infection Control for Anatomical Pathology Technicians * Principles of Effective Communication for Anatomical Pathology Technicians The second portion of formal training, Workplace Competency, consists of five sections as well. * Assist with

Post Mortem An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death; ...

Examinations * Preparation and Operation of a Mortuary * Prepare for Post Mortem Examinations * Team Working * Viewing of the Deceased In addition to formal training, dieners learn how to do basic tasks through shadowing a mentor.

Skills

Skills a diener needs includes physical strength, reasoning, problem solving, attention to detail, and stress tolerance. In addition to the above skills, integrity/honesty, visual identification, flexibility, and reading are other important skills a diener should possess. Another skill is the ability to work with human remains,

diagnostic Diagnosis (: diagnoses) is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in a lot of different academic discipline, disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " ...

tools, and surgical instruments involved in a death investigation. A diener is required to be knowledgeable of lab and safety techniques including the collection and preservation of evidence and any tasks involving any chemical, biological,

microbiological Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular (single-celled), multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virol ...

pathogen In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a Germ theory of d ...

ic and miscellaneous hazards.

Places of employment

A diener can work in areas that include hospital mortuaries

s and medical schools. When working in a medical school, a diener helps train medical students, interns, and residents on performing an autopsy. Dieners help train medical students, interns, and residents in autopsy techniques and procedures.

Duties

The multiple duties of a diener are typically the same wherever employed. One of the main duties is to assist in autopsies. One duty in assisting with autopsies includes positioning patients for them to be fingerprinted. Another task done as a part of assisting with autopsies involves the removal of

organs In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...

, tissues, and any fluids (such as blood) from the body. Fingerprinting patients, removing tissues and organs, drawing and spinning blood samples are done as a part of collecting and preserving forensic evidence, which is a portion of the responsibilities for a diener. In autopsy assisting, a diener can collect and keep record of evidence relating to a patient’s death. Examples of collectible evidence includes any body tissues, slides,

radiographs Radiography is an imaging technique using X-rays, gamma rays, or similar ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation to view the internal form of an object. Applications of radiography include medical ("diagnostic" radiography and "therapeu ...

, and any on-scene evidence. A diener also performs tasks such as

x-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

s (body and dental) and developing and evaluating films from x-rays as a part of record keeping. The record keeping of evidence examined in an autopsy by a diener is used in the determination of the

cause of death In law, medicine, and statistics, cause of death is an official determination of the conditions resulting in a human's death, which may be recorded on a death certificate. A cause of death is determined by a medical examiner. In rare cases, an ...

. In addition to evidence collection and record keeping, a diener has the task of explaining the process of an autopsy in entirety to other employees, law enforcement, and others interested, such as family members of the dead. A diener performs tasks such as checking inventory and placing orders for equipment and supplies regularly. In addition to performing inventory-related tasks, a diener will clean radiological and medical equipment, as well as inspecting equipment for any issues.

Hazards

There are hazards involved with being a diener. There are approximately six types of hazards that a diener is at risk for: mechanical, sharp force, electrical, chemical,

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...

, and infection.{{Cite journal, last=Wetli, first=Charles V., date=Aug 2001, title=Autopsy Safety, url=https://labmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/labmed/32/8/451.full.pdf, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221152455/http://labmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/labmed/32/8/451.full.pdf, url-status=dead, archive-date=2016-02-21, journal=Laboratory Medicine, volume=32, issue=8 , pages=451–453 , doi=10.1309/0D95-H3J8-KVWU-05JU , access-date=Feb 22, 2016 Mechanical hazards categorize harm such as back injury from activity such as transporting

s. Sharp force hazards categorize any bodily harm from the use of tools and equipment such as

scalpel A scalpel or bistoury is a small and extremely sharp bladed instrument used for surgery, anatomical dissection, podiatry and various handicrafts. A lancet is a double-edged scalpel. Scalpel blades are usually made of hardened and tempered ...

s and needles which resulting in cuts or punctures. Electrical hazards encompass any potential harm in the form of shock from the use of equipment like saws or defibrillators. Chemical hazards include harm from the use of a variety of chemicals used in the autopsy process such as

cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...

and

formaldehyde Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is an organic compound with the chemical formula and structure , more precisely . The compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde. It is stored as ...

. Radiation hazards are related to any exposure from performing x-rays. Infection hazards are due to the potential that a cadaver is infected with a

communicable disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

Promotion opportunities

A diener can be promoted to positions in the mortuary and forensic areas of practice. Dieners can advance to positions (such as a forensic morgue technician) and perform tasks of greater complexity and mainly works with a

forensic pathologist Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases an ...

, over a general pathologist. Dieners can be promoted to supervisory positions based upon the gaining of supervisory and administrative skills.

Salary

The salary for a diener varies based upon education, experience, employer, and employment location (i.e., city or state of employment). The salary is typically between $25,000 and $38,000 annually.

References

People involved with death and dying Traditions of the Moravian Church