There is a nationwide shortage of trained forensic pathologists in the united states

The $150,000 Project Grant awarded on October 1, 2023 by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance supports the expansion of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner's (DMEC) accredited forensic pathology fellowship program. This funding will allow DMEC, one of the largest medical examiner's offices in the United States, to train an additional forensic pathology fellow in the 2024-2025 academic year. DMEC's fellowship program, which has trained over 60 forensic pathologists in the past 30 years, provides fellows access to advanced facilities, a high caseload, and a team of 15 board-certified forensic pathologists and medical consultants. This federal Project Grant, awarded under the National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants program (CFDA 16.560), aims to help address the nationwide shortage of trained forensic pathologists by enhancing the capacity of DMEC's acclaimed fellowship program.

The national academy of sciences found in 2009 that only about 70% of job openings for forensic pathologists are filled annually. The shortfall in pathologists is attributed to manpower shortages and/or insufficient funding. LOS angeles county department of medical examiner-coroner (DMEC) is one of the largest medical examiners offices in the united states. Since 1965, the office has had an acgme-accredited forensic pathology fellowship program. In the past 30 years, the program has trained 60 forensic pathology fellows, most of whom are currently in practice. The office is provisionally accredited by the national association of medical examiners. Unique features of this fellowship program include a caseload of over 10,000 per year drawn from a population of over 10 million; facilities recently upgraded to include a CT scanner; access to a wide variety of board-certified consultants, including odontologists, an anthropologist, and radiologists; in-house toxicology, tool mark, and gunshot residue laboratories; and paid travel to a national forensic conference and to training in forensic anthropology. The teaching staff currently consists of 15 board-certified forensic pathologists and consultants in anesthesiology, cardiology, ophthalmologic pathology, pediatrics, psychiatry and psychology, surgery, surgical pathology, hematopathology, toxicology, and infectious disease. Current research initiatives include applications of postmortem computed tomography to advance diagnostics, the usefulness of genetic diagnosis at autopsy, and methods of improving contagious disease reporting in a medical examiners office. Local funding for this one-year program provides for one fellow per year. However, the acgme has approved the office to train up to six fellows per year. Funding has never permitted six fellows; there is thus untapped potential in this fellowship program. Funding this proposal will allow LOS angeles DMEC to train one additional forensic pathology fellow in 2024-25.