All Branch Topic (ABT) Armed Forces Medical Examiner System-is HPSP a valid pathway?

[wannabeME29]

I'm a medical student and I want to pursue forensic pathology and become a medical examiner. I've also always felt strongly about serving in the military through the AFMES system. Can anyone shed light on whether I can apply for HPSP and do a civilian residency and fellowship, what the AFMES daily job might be like, or if the military has any pathology residencies?

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[Ziehl-Neelsen]

All three services have military pathology residencies open to HPSP recipients and USUHS grads as well as (varying numbers of) civilian deferral slots to train at civilian pathology programs.

Forensic pathology fellowships are offered frequently by all 3 services. OAFME/AFMES runs its own fellowship in conjunction with the Maryland OCME. Occasionally sponsored civilian fellowships are offered as well.

It is possible that you could do HPSP followed by civilian residency and civilian fellowship, though not probable. Your best shot for such a path would be through the USAF.

The DOD stations some forensic pathologists at the DOD morgue at Dover Air Base. These pathologists perform posts on all Service Members KIA when they are transported back to the states and are on call to travel to any destination (world-wide) as part of a death/accident investigation team should the DOD determine that there is a compelling interest in performing a death/accident investigation. Other forensic pathologists are stationed around the world at various DOD hospitals as regional medical examiners. These individuals work as members of the hospital's pathology department performing normal service work and also perform forensic autopsies under the auspices of OAFME/AFMES within that region for deaths that require a death investigation.

 

[Lauren6661]

Hi, I've been researching this topic for quite a while now. I want to follow this exact career path as it has been a strong interest of mine to both become a medical examiner and serve this country. I was wondering if this is the path you followed and if so, how did it go for you and how did you go about joining your civilian studies with a military job?