Forensic Expert Meets with Kean Students

By Jalen Gaynor

El Paso County, Texas Chief Medical Examiner Mario Alberto Rascon talked to Kean students about a variety of topics including his current job, medical school, forensic pathology, and his experience in the field of forensics.

Kean’s Forensic Science Club and the Pre-Medical Pre-Dental Association hosted the meeting which promoted forensic pathology and why it is a viable career option for students.

According to nyc.gov, forensic pathology is the branch of medicine concerned with the investigation of sudden and unnatural deaths. Forensic pathologists determine the cause and manner of death to provide answers for families, protect public health, and inform the criminal justice system.

After completing a study in 2009, The National Institute of Justice found that for every autopsy to be performed by a fully trained and certified forensic pathologist there would need to be between 1,260 and 1,920 full-time pathologists. However, there are only 300 currently.

“There is a dire shortage of forensic pathologists in the country which translates into great opportunities to join the force,” Rascon said.

Forensic pathologists do a variety of different tasks which means they have many different job opportunities. Medical examiners are important to public health and deal with identifying bodies, medical malpractice, in-custody deaths, mass fatality response, and veteran benefits.

“Most people would associate the word forensic pathology with doing autopsies, but that’s actually like ten percent of the way we spend our time,” Rascon said.

Rascon explained that other than autopsies, medical examiners also provide courtroom testimony as expert witnesses in criminal cases, help license cremations, spend time on the phone with lawyers and law enforcement officials, and provide outreach by speaking at schools and partnering with hospitals among other things.

Some of the available jobs on the website for the National Association of Medical Examiners are associate medical examiner, assistant medical examiner, deputy chief medical examiner, and chief forensic autopsy technician.

Rascon expressed his disappointment for the fact that medical examiners are unable to speak with family members as often as he would like even though they complete an average of about 300 autopsies in a year. Although it is difficult, he gets satisfaction from delivering them news because it may be the first step in their healing process.

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