King County 2023-24 Forensic Pathology Fellowship Training Program
Applications are now open for the King County 2023-24 Forensic Pathology Fellowship Training Program. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office (KCMEO) offers a one-year fellowship in Forensic Pathology. The program is fully accredited by the ACGME and affiliated with the University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Pathology. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is located on the Harborview Medical Center campus, a major training facility for the University of Washington.
KCMEO’s fellowship program is designed to prepare trainees for the practice of forensic pathology in any type of jurisdiction or academic setting. The major clinical activity is the performance of forensic autopsies and medicolegal examinations. The fellow is expected to accompany medicolegal death investigators in scene investigations involving suspicious deaths and homicides. During the fellowship year, the fellows performs at least 200 complete forensic autopsies, which include external examination, photography, radiography, anatomic dissection, microscopic examination, and interpretation of toxicology analysis. The fellow also has the opportunity to present at in-house education conferences, national conferences, attend courtroom trials, conduct literature research and a research project. The program also provides hands on education in forensic anthropology with the state’s Board Certified Forensic Anthropologist.
The Fellowship program include:
- Wide variety of cases from a jurisdiction of 2+ million residents and including cases from neighboring counties and region via a Level 1 Trauma Center.
- Jurisdictional environments including urban, rural, remote, wilderness, marine, mountainous; resident population supplemented by high presence of national and international visitors.
- Generous book fund: Each fellow will be supplied with new and current editions of Spitz and Fisher’s Medicolegal Investigation of Death, DiMaio’s Gunshot Wounds, and Baselt’s Disposition of Toxic Drugs and Chemicals in Man, as well as $1,000 of discretional funds.
- Funding to attend a national meeting.
- Opportunities to participate in scholarly activity and research.
- Weekly didactic teaching conferences at an academic standard to award Category I CME.
Daily case reviews attended by all staff pathologists, fellows, rotating students and residents. - Opportunities to do away rotations in nearby smaller ME jurisdictions.
- Opportunity to participate in an innovative Real-Time Drug Overdose Surveillance project using the latest technology for in-house bench-top toxicology and drug analyses.
- Rotation with The Washington State Patrol Forensic Laboratory Services Bureau.
- Neuropathology conferences with on-site forensically trained neuropathologist.
- Training in forensic anthropology and odontology.
- Training in homicide scene response and other types of scene investigation.
- Interactions with over 30 local law enforcement agencies, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and Public Health — Seattle & King County.
- A fellow office with a window!
The fellow also receives full benefits including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, and retirement provided through King County, effective July 1st. The fellow is also provided with an ORCA pass which can be used on all forms of public transportation within the region.
National Institute of Justice Grant
In 2018 and 2019, KCMEO was awarded a federal grant from the National Institute of Justice intended to support an additional fellowship position under the Strengthening the Medical Examiner-Coroner System Program. In the first year of this grant award, KCMEO was able to recruit and hire a second forensic pathology fellow.
How to Apply
Interested applicants should submit the following to the program director:
- A letter indicating your interest in our fellowship program
- A personal statement explaining why you are interested in forensic pathology, including a description of your training specifying your projected experience up to the point of the fellowship, including autopsy experience
- Curriculum Vitae
Additional application materials will be requested upon review of the above documents. Application materials can be sent electronically to Richard Harruff, Chief Medical Examiner, at [email protected]
