Additional Information
The educational requirements for coroners vary widely. In some places,
there is only a minimum age requirement and in other places you must have
a medical degree.
Places that use the medical examiner system employ physicians. These physicians
are usually not required to specialize in death investigation or pathology.
However, they are usually encouraged to gain some additional training in these
areas.Training is available through the National Association of Medical Examiners
and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
Coroners do not usually enter the job straight out of school. Depending
on state requirements, coroners come to the job from related work in legal
or medical fields.
Cathy Menard is a deputy chief coroner. Her background is in criminology.
She knows other coroners with backgrounds as emergency room nurses and police
officers.
Dr. Richard Keller is a coroner in Illinois. He says that most science
and medicine educational backgrounds are useful for future coroners.
"There are some good forensic science programs in various places, but there
is also some coursework that has been thrown together to catch the wave of
interest. Look for older, established programs," says Keller.
In Illinois, coroners are elected and only required to be 18 years old
and registered as a voter. Keller is the first physician the office has seen
since the 1940s. His deputies have two-year associate degrees in criminal
justice or healthcare.
"As populations grow, the numbers of deaths also grow, necessitating increasing
numbers of medico-legal death investigations and the personnel to do them.
I am sure that there will be an ongoing increase in demand for more sophistication,
training and education among this personnel," says Keller.
"Verbal and written communication is incredibly important and is one of
the most important skills high school students can work to develop when thinking
of this field," says Keller.