How to Become a Medical Examiner

If you want to become a medical examiner, you need to be aware that it will take several years for you to achieve your dream career. You have to finish your undergrad course and proceed to a medical degree.

Follow the steps here and in no time, you can become medical examiner.

You can find employment opportunities as a medical examiner in local, state, and federal governments. You can become a forensic pathologist, or otherwise known as medical examiner. This kind of job entails major responsibilities. Your primary goal is to determine the cause of a violent or unexpected death. There are training and education requirements that you must comply with if you want to succeed in this kind of profession.

You should be aware that a coroner is different from that of a medical examiner. The former is usually elected and if there is no medical training, the coroner can use this knowledge in forensic pathology to identify the cause and reveal it in the death certificate.

Steps to Follow

Here are the steps that you can follow if you want to become a medical examiner:

  • Finish your undergraduate degree
  • Proceed with your medical degree
  • Enroll in a local residency program
  • Complete your internship
  • Acquire certification and licensure

In the law enforcement and medicine fields, the presence and expertise of medical examiners are very important. The doctors are licensed and they are experts in forensic pathology. It is the job of the medical examiner to examine the tissues, organs, body fluids, and cells of a dead person. There are even times when these professionals help with rape cases.

Some Facts on the Profession

Medical examiners are considered as no-nonsense professionals. If you want to succeed in this kind of career, you should finish higher education, get the proper training, and get the certification or license. Medical schools can give you the head start to achieve your dream profession.

Some of the options for an undergraduate degree are microbiology, biology, and physics. Others opt for forensic science but this isn’t required in most states. A medical degree should be your next target. You can choose a major in family practice, pathology, or simply general practice.

Finding a residency program in your area is vital since this is a requisite. You can only take the residency program once you’ve finished the medical degree. At this point, you can already receive salary in exchange for your services. Hands-on training will last for about 5 to 7 years. In the first two years, you will conduct diagnostic testing and autopsies.

When you are nearly finished with the residency program, you will not have to undergo a full internship. This will allow you to take part in laboratory testing, investigations at the crime scene, prepare court testimonies, and reports. A state license is required to practice a profession as a medical examiner. After this, you will have to take the national exam for your certification.

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