What are the Different Types of Medical Examiner Jobs?

Those who work with the living may find their jobs difficult and tiring at the end of the day, and it's no different for those who work with the dead. A medical examiner is someone who conducts tests and procedures on the dead, often at the request of legal officials. Medical examiner jobs may be available in hospitals, individual offices, labs or other settings.

A medical examiner, sometimes mistakenly called a coroner, is an appointed individual who performs after-death services such as autopsies and the investigation of bodily tissue, blood, teeth or other materials to determine the cause of death and, if it was a natural death, the extent of the damage caused by disease. Medical examiner jobs require a master's degree, usually with additional training in pathology as well as law. Most medical examiner jobs require eight years of schooling at minimum, although the overall requirements to hold a medical examiner job vary by location.

Medical examiner jobs may be available with the federal government, the state or local jurisdictions such as the city or county. County medical examiner jobs involve working on cases within the county where the medical examiner has been appointed. City medical examiner jobs may function similarly. A state medical examiner may work on any case within his or her state, and is often called to jurisdictions that do not have their own appointed medical examiners. Medical examiners working for the federal government may work more on high profile cases or other sensitive material.

While most medical examiners perform their duties in a hospital or private practice office, some individuals with medical examiner degrees may not choose to be active within the field. There are a variety of medical examiner office jobs available for those who cannot or do not wish to perform the duties of their profession. Medical examiner office jobs are primarily comprised of clerical work, or the investigation of less monumental problems. Similarly, medical examiner assistant jobs are also available, especially in locations where there is a chief medical examiner with many others working medical examiner jobs beneath him or her. Assistant medical examiners work in the same capacity as a regular medical examiner, or may in some cases be called upon to assist the chief medical examiner with his or her investigation.