FORENSIC PATHOLOGY FELLOWSHIP

The Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner (MCOME) offers an ACGME-accredited, one-year Forensic Pathology Fellowship, sponsored by the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.  The fellowship is open to applicants who will have completed a 3 or 4 year Anatomic or Anatomic/Clinical Pathology Residency prior to matriculation. MCOME’s program currently is approved and funded for two fellows annually.

MCOME is participating in the NRMP Subspecialty Match Program and is currently recruiting for the 2025-2026 academic year (two positions available).

Our program’s core purpose is to inspire and train exemplary physician leaders in the subspecialty of Forensic Pathology so that they may serve in the critical public health and safety operations of state and local medicolegal death investigation systems; these systems serve all members of the public by investigating traumatic, non-natural, sudden/unexplained, and high-risk communicable disease deaths in their communities and by sharing information about these deaths with policy-makers, health officials, safety officials, and the public-at-large so that future deaths may be prevented and communities may thrive.

  1. Welcome Letter from Program Director
  2. Program Overview
  3. Applicants: Eligibility, Compensation, and Benefits
  4. Location and Facilities

Thank you for your interest in the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner (MCOME) Forensic Pathology Fellowship Program! Our fellowship will develop your medical death investigation skills and a forensic mindset through didactics, your own casework, and discussion of our agency’s work. 

As MCOME is one of the busiest medical examiner’s offices in the United States, you will have access to a wide breadth of cases including all forms of trauma, substance use, sudden unexpected natural diseases, and communicable diseases. Under the supervision of experienced, board-certified forensic pathologists, you will become a fully autonomous forensic pathology practitioner by year’s end and learn valuable skills outside of the examination suite including how to manage practice challenges like speaking with grieving families, building resilience to vicarious trauma, navigating the legal system, emergency responses, and media-relations. 

As a fully trained specialist physician, we respect the knowledge you bring to MCOME with you. You will operate as a junior-level Medical Examiner with casework responsibility, but under the steady guidance and supervision of a fully staffed, experienced team of practitioners. You’ll receive training from our on-site forensic anthropologist and forensic odontologist, our contracted forensic- and neuro-pathologist, and experience off-site rotations in forensic sciences at Phoenix Police Department’s Crime Laboratory and postmortem forensic toxicology at NMS Labs.

Our operation has been described as a model for large offices in urban settings. With modern facilities, technology tools, and lean workflow processes, you will also gain experience with how medical death investigation agencies run and what we can provide to communities. We are excited to have you join us in this final stage of your training and to help you establish a great foundation for your future practice!

We are currently accepting applications. If you are interested in applying please review the Applicants tab or contact our Program Coordinator, Stephanie Coombs at Stephanie.coombs@maricopa.gov or 602-372-7268.

Living in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area

CONTACT US

Program Director

Dr. Jeffrey Johnston

Email:   Jeff.johnston@maricopa.gov

Program Coordinator

Stephanie Coombs

Email: Stephanie.coombs@maricopa.gov