Timothy Johnson
Lantern Staff
Butler Community College has many teachers who have work experience pertaining to what they are now teaching at Butler. This knowledge of how certain careers work enables teachers to give their students that insight into the real world that many university professors are not able to give them.
Jeffrey Meyer, a professor of biology, has worked as a forensic pathologist, which is a medical doctor who has completed training in anatomical pathology and then afterwards specialized in forensic pathology. Forensic pathologists perform autopsies/postmortem examinations to discern the cause of death.
Meyer performed 600 autopsies during his time as a forensic pathologist, which gives him the experience to teach the cadaver class at Butler Community College.
“As a forensic pathologist, I did over 600 autopsies, while that is not an academic dissection, it is usually a dissection to discover cause of death,” Meyer said, explaining how his past experience as a forensic pathologist has helped him with teaching. “I’ve been up to my elbows in cadavers in my past work so that makes me uniquely qualified to do the cadaver class.”
Prior to teaching at Butler, Meyer had a lot of experience with simplifying complex aspects of his work involving subjects such as anatomy and physiology. He had to make these things understandable for people who did not have that same knowledge.
“As a teacher, you got to be in control of everything, and you got to run the discussion,” Meyer said. “And as a forensic pathologist, when I arrived to the scene, I was typically in charge, granted law enforcement had their rules too, but in teaching that or describing why I need this done, trying to relay events to a jury or to a grand jury or to a deposition room full of attorneys. In my old job, I constantly had to explain complex terms to people who didn’t have degrees in science. And because of that, I had to simplify it. I think that is probably the most effective tool that I have as a teacher because these students haven’t taken this class before, so you got to be able to simplify the really tough details.”
His students certainly appreciate his experience as well and have found taking classes with him to be very helpful.
“He explains things in a way that anyone can understand,” sophomore nursing major Casey Jewell said, explaining the advantage of someone like Meyer as a teacher as opposed to someone who does not have that experience working a job that is related to what they are professor. “He understands the material inside and out. He has the hands on, first-hand experience with him being a doctor in general.”
Meyer enjoys his job as a teacher and is happy with being able to teach students anatomy and physiology among other classes to prepare them for their future.
“I think I am one of those people who was born to be a teacher,” Meyer said.
