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t m c » p u l s e | o c t o b e r 2 0 1 7 7 with others. Medical examiners, she said, interact with the families of the deceased, not to mention police, crime scene investigators and attorneys. They're generally a friendly group. And crime shows have created unrealistic expectations from every- one—law enforcement, juries, and the public—about what, exactly, an autopsy can reveal, she said. For example, those mysterious fibers that TV medical examiners inevitably seem to find, that so often crack the case? Barnhart's never seen them. The other misconception is that a medical examiner's work is very depressing. "Nobody here is in pain," Barnhart says of the deceased who are brought to her office. "Nobody here is suffering. The family members here aren't facing complicated end-of-life medical decisions. It's a rather peace- ful place." Though family members are often grieving when they visit the medical examiner's office, Barnhart and her staff are experienced at interacting with them and showing compassion, given their familiarity with tragedy and death. Still, the nature of the job forces Barnhart to compartmentalize her work in order to remain emotionally healthy. She doesn't have an office at home. She avoids bringing photographs home to work on cases. "When you see so many sad cases, you have to have a sense of humor about it—and I don't mean we're standing around laughing," she explained. "But you can't stand around crying all day at work." There's been one exception: In 2013, while working in Mississippi, Barnhart performed an autopsy on a detective she knew. The detective had been questioning a homicide suspect, but the suspect overpowered him and fatally shot the detective with his own gun. (continued) Just the way human bodies go together, they come apart in much the same way. They go together like puzzle pieces and come apart like puzzle pieces. You look at each of the pieces, and see which ones are dysfunctional or injured, and there's a nice symmetry and organization to it. — ERIN BARNHART, M.D. Galveston County Chief Medical Examiner Our Team Stands Out # 3 national Best Hospital in psychiatry Top-ranked 28 consecutive years Our outcomes data demonstrate that our team-based treatment works and lasts. Get the help you need. 713-275-5000 MenningerClinic.com The Menninger Clinic is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine; both institutions are Texas Medical Center members. Menninger Best Hospital ad for TMC Pulse v1 8-10-2017.indd 1 8/11/2017 2:40:46 PM