Overview
The National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence has partnered with the International Association of Coroners & Medical Examiners (IACME) to bring the community free, continuing education modules recorded at the 2021 IACME annual symposium held in-person on July 17-23 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The IACME has over 85 years of experience in the presentation of educational seminars for the purpose of assisting coroners, medical examiners, and other forensic specialists in the performance of their duties. With over 1,000 members, 45 memberships, 8 state members, and 25 accredited agencies, IACME is proud of the recognition acquired at the state and federal level in regards to medicolegal matters. These modules are meant to make continuing education more accessible to the MDI community.
WARNING: THIS SERIES CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT
What:
Education Modules from the 2021 IACME Annual Symposium
When:
This event originally occurred on July 17-23, 2021.
Where:
Access archived educational modules here!
Education Modules
What’s the Manner? Determination of Intent: Accident, Suicide or Homicide? – The Utilization of the Psychological Autopsy within the Death Investigation Process
Presenter: Brett E. Harding, MBA, F-ABMDI
The presenter discusses the importance of social behavioral science and psychological autopsies to aid in the manner of death determination (e.g. natural, accidental, homicide, suicide, or undetermined) during the investigation of equivocal deaths. The audience learns about the improved methodology for psychological autopsies involving an in-depth questionnaire and is guided through a series of case examples to demonstrate the thought processes and benefits of psychological autopsies in death investigations.
Everyday Overdoses... and What We Miss
Presenter: Dr. Annette Cannon, PHD, MA, RN, MSN, D-AMBDI
The presenter discusses an interesting overdose case that highlights the importance of investigative clues on scene and through interviews that can prevent the misclassification of the cause and manner of death. The audience learns what to look for in suspected overdoses such as drug paraphernalia, presence of a white substance and excessive quantities of baking soda (used as a cutting agent), increased rectal temperature, and other physical clues on the decedent that could be indicative of past drug use.
How Does a Mass Casualty Event Impact Staff of the Coroner's Office and is Mindfulness Meditation an Effective Tool for Mediating those Impacts?
Presenters: Dr. Anne Weisman & Dr. Prandecki
The audience learns healthy ways to cope with mass casualty events and everyday life in medical examiner and coroner’s offices through mindfulness meditation and breathing. The presenter discusses the results of a pilot study that looked at both the qualitative and quantitative effects of meditation in a population of staff at coroner’s offices following a mass casualty event in Las Vegas.
Medicolegal Death Investigation: Overview and Historical Perspective
Presenter: Dr. P Michael Murphy DBA, F-ABMDI
The presenter discusses the history of coroner and medical examiner systems, the objectives and educational requirements for each system, and the importance of accreditation and certification by professional organizations such as ABMDI, IACME, and NAME. The audience learns the importance of medicolegal death investigators in the determination of the cause and manner of death as well as the ways they are expected to serve their community and represent the deceased and their families.
ABMDI Credit
The Forensic Technology Center of Excellence is proud to offer ABMDI Continuing Education Credits for these modules.
ABMDI credits will be calculated by total time spent watching. For the best viewing experience, each individual session is designed to be watched in its entirety in one sitting.
Each session results in a certificate of completion and can only be completed one time for credit. If you experience any difficulty accessing your certificates, please contact forensicCOE@rti.org.
We are unable to administer CE credit to users watching in groups. In order to receive your CE credits, you must be logged in to our learning ecosystem under your own name. If you are not logged in under your own name, you will not receive CE credits.
Learn more about ABMDI credits here. To check out what other Continuing Education opportunities are available with the FTCOE, click here!
Related Resources
Funding for this collaborative International Association of Coroners & Medical Examiners and Forensic Technology Center of Excellence event was provided by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this event are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Justice or the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators.
Contact us at ForensicCOE@rti.org with any questions and subscribe to our newsletter for notifications.
