There is a critical shortage of forensic pathologists in the united states

The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded Maricopa County Finance Dept $150,000 on October 1, 2025, under the Strengthening the Medical Examiner–Coroner System program (CFDA 16.037) to fund forensic pathology fellowship positions at the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner.

The award supports the training of forensic pathology fellows according to Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirements. Maricopa County is approved by the ACGME to provide up to three forensic pathology fellowship positions per academic year. Fellows will perform 200–250 autopsies, assess incident death scenes, and gain experience communicating medical findings to stakeholders. They will rotate at the City of Phoenix Police Department's crime laboratory and at NMS Labs for toxicology training. The funding subsidizes costs for at least one fellow per year to address the critical nationwide shortage of board-certified forensic pathologists.

Performance takes place in Phoenix, Arizona. The award runs through September 30, 2028, with a 36-month period of performance. The Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner conducts over 7,800 full medicolegal death investigations annually, including 5,900 postmortem examinations and 3,750 full forensic autopsies, and employs 19 full-time forensic pathologists.

According to the national association of medical examiners (name), only about 750 board-certified forensic pathologists are working full-time in the U.S.; with demands for medicolegal death investigations at record highs due to the opioid crisis, covid-19 pandemic, and increasing natural and human-caused disasters, more than twice that number is needed. To help address this need, the maricopa county office of the medical examiner (mcome), one of the five busiest medical examiners offices in the U.S., began a graduate medical education forensic pathology fellowship program to train pathologists according to the accreditation council for graduate medical education (acgme) requirements to become fully autonomous, board-eligible forensic pathologists each academic year. Maricopa county, AZ is the fourth-most-populous county in the U.S. The name-accredited mcome conducts over 7,800 full medicolegal death investigations each year including 5,900 postmortem examinations and 3,750 full forensic autopsies. Mcome employs 19 full-time forensic pathologists, a forensic odontologist, and a forensic anthropologist. The high volume guarantees fellows a diverse caseload from which to learn, while being mentored and guided by experienced, high-quality staff. Mcome is approved by the acgme to provide up to three forensic pathology fellowship positions. Fellows will perform 200-250 autopsies, learn to assess incident death scenes, and gain experience in communicating medical findings to stakeholders. They will rotate at city of phoenix police departments crime laboratory and at NMS labs for toxicology training. Maricopa county is excited to assist in mitigating the long-standing U.S. Forensic pathologist workforce shortage by adding these training positions. Funds are being requested to subsidize costs for at least one fellow per year.