Forensic Pathology Fellowship

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) for Washington, DC, in conjunction with the George Washington University Office of Graduate Medical Education, offers a one-year fellowship in Forensic Pathology. The program is fully accredited by the American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The fellow will operate under the direct supervision of the OCME’s board-certified staff pathologists and will complete between 200 and 250 autopsies and postmortem examinations.

The OCME has its own dedicated transport service, ABMDI (American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators) certified investigators, an identification unit, an ABFA (American Board of Forensic Anthropology) certified forensic anthropologist and forensic photographers. The OCME conducts approximately 1000 full autopsies per year in its state-of-the-art facility. See the most recent completed annual report here. The forensic toxicology laboratory is fully accredited by the American Board of Forensic Toxicology.

Fellow responsibilities include completing rotations through the various services of the OCME and managing their own caseload. Training will also include didactics to concentrate on more common subjects, including gunshot wound injuries, fire-related deaths, blunt and sharp force injuries, infant and child deaths, and courtroom testimony. The fellow will also take calls with investigators and attend death scenes. Consultations and additional sign out in neuropathology and cardiac pathology are available, and scholarly activity with national and local conference presentations is required. The OCME also participates in various fatality review conferences, which the fellow will be able to attend.

Information for Applicants

Applicants must have completed AP or AP/CP post-graduate year three and be eligible for medical licensure in the District of Columbia.

If applicants are applying for the fellowship program beginning in July of 2022 or 2023, applicants should send a copy of their personal statement, including interest and goals, their CV, and three letters of reference to the Residency Program Coordinator with the Common Application for Pathology Fellowships on the CAP website, here. Applications should be submitted prior to December 15th of the year preceding the fellowship start date.

If applicants are applying for the fellowship program beginning in July of 2024, the OCME will be participating in the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP), and the application should be completed in the spring of 2023 through the NRMP process.

Contact Us

For more information, please contact:

Terencia E. Davenport, Program Coordinator

[email protected]