The Original Medicolegal Death Investigator Training Course March 2025

Monday, March 10, 2025, 7:00 AM - Thursday, March 13, 2025, 5:15 PM, Saint Louis University, Busch Student Center, St. Louis, MO

The purpose of this course is to train anyone who plays a role in the investigation of medicolegal deaths. This includes coroners as well as MD and DOs that act as Medical Examiners and are responsible for documentation of cause and manner of death. This course will teach the participants to take a closer look at the scene, at the evidence, and at the decedent to better prepare complete and thorough documentation of medicolegal death investigations.

Conference Location:
Saint Louis University
Busch Student Center
20 N. Grand Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63103

We will have a room block for out-of-town participants at Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark. Please review the Hotel tab for costs and the link to make a reservation.

If you are local, we will provide free parking at the conference location. If you are staying at Hilton St. Louis, we will provide shuttles to and from the hotel to the conference location.

1. Utilize the expertise of other types of practitioners or other resources/databases that are readily available to enhance their current death investigation practice.
2. Modify office protocol and SOPs to reflect national standards in investigation for various types of death scene cases.
3. Use nationally recognized best practice techniques to investigate medicolegal deaths in their region.

Registration:

 This course is designed to provide basic medicolegal death investigation information to medicolegal death investigators, coroners, law enforcement officers, physicians, nurses, emergency medical personnel, attorneys, forensic scientists, and others who are involved in the investigation of violent, suspicious, and unexpected deaths.

 

Each individual registering for the course must be registered with a unique email address and registration fees must be paid in full by March 1, 2025. The registration fee is $875.00. If the registration fee is to be paid by an organization, municipality, or county check, we must receive a purchase order or other documentation verifying that payment will be made, to hold your registration; please contact us at [email protected] with this information.

 

Monday night there will be a dinner after the conclusion of the afternoon sessions. The dinner is free to attend, included in the cost of the registration fee. If you would like to bring a guest, there will be a $60 dinner guest ticket. You may purchase at the time of registration or you may purchase at the course.

 

All course syllabus material will be shared with paid-in-full participants a few days prior to the start of the activity to download or print.  

 

 Registration Fee includes:

• One Continuing Education Certificate. Accreditation information is listed below in the Accreditation section. Participants will be required to complete a credit request form indicating the type of continuing education desired. It is the responsibility of the participants to understand their board's requirements for continuing education credits. 
• Certificate of attendance.
• Free parking at the venue for local participants.
• Free shuttle service from the hotel to the venue for out-of-town participants.
• Breakfast and lunch during the course with coffee and beverages.
• One ticket to Monday night dinner with (2) drink tickets.

 

Additional CE credit/certificate:

If more than one type of Continuing Education credit is desired, an additional $50 fee will be collected. (It is rare that a participant needs more than one official certificate). Please contact the CME office to discuss.

 

Cancellations:

Cancellations received before March 1, 2025, will be issued a refund minus a $100.00 administrative fee. After March 1st, no refunds will be issued. If you notify us by March 1st that you are unable to attend, your payment can be transferred to a future course one time only. If you choose to transfer more than one time, you will be charged an additional Administrative Fee of $100.00 per transfer.

If you fail to notify us that you cannot attend the course, your registration fee will be forfeited and will not be transferable to a future course.

 

Eligibility:

Participants need to be currently employed in a position such as funeral director, coroner, death investigator, law enforcement, or another medicolegal field to register for this course. 

Participants who complete this Basic Course are eligible to take the Masters Course held every other year. This is a case-based course which covers new techniques and high-profile cases. These lectures provide training on what to do in unique situations and how new techniques can assist with obtaining evidence and/or identification.

These courses are training courses, not certification courses or degree courses. We offer continuing education certificates to those wanting to turn in the credits to their professional board to maintain certification. Please refer to the accreditation information below for a list of approved types of CE. More will be added as they are approved. We will also provide a certificate of attendance at the completion of the course to all that attend that can be used for your employee portfolio. Please note POST and PA Coroner require full attendance at all sessions. If you miss a session you will need to make it up before we can provide you with a completion certificate for continuing education. All other continuing education types that we seek accreditation for allow you to claim credits for the sessions you attend.

 

ABMDI:

Please note, we are not affiliated with the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators. Saint Louis University staff will not answer questions on their behalf. Please contact the ABMDI regarding requirements, exam, and fees. We are not providing testing at the end of the course. Please refer to the ABMDI site for a practice test and for more information. ABMDI Registry Exam

 

The scope of knowledge for the Registry exam is defined in the National Institutes of Justice publication Death Investigation: A Guide for the Scene Investigator.

 

The 240 multiple choice examination covers factual knowledge, technical information, understanding the principles and problem-solving abilities related to the profession. The examination is divided into 7 sections as outlined in the Fundamental Tasks of Medicolegal Death Investigation. You have up to 4 hours to complete all 7 sections, which are:

1.      Interagency Communication

2.      Communication with Families

3.      Scene Response and Documentation

4.      Body Assessment and Documentation

5.      Completing the Investigation

6.      Additional Medicolegal Death Investigator Duties

7.      Forensic Medical Knowledge

 

The American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants with documented disabilities. 

Continuing Education Information             

It is the responsibility of the participant to understand their board's requirements for continuing education credits. 

Daily sign-in is required each morning and afternoon of the activity.  Please look for additional documentation required by your accrediting body. If you do not fall into one of the approved categories below, you will only receive the Certificate of Attendance. No refunds will be issued for additional certificate fees paid. It is your responsibility to understand your CME/CE requirements for tracking and proof of credit/hours.

Approval of Continuing Education information will be added as approvals are granted.

Accreditation

Saint Louis University School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

Credit Designation
Saint Louis University School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 29.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Saint Louis University School of Medicine will provide Other learner certificates (APPs, nurses, and other types of learners).  The certificate will state that the activity was designated for 29.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.  Follow your board's requirements for reciprocal CE credits.

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Missouri Bar Continuing Legal Education Approval
The "Original Medicolegal Death Investigator Training Course" scheduled for 03/10/2025 to 03/13/2025 is approved for 34.5 total hours, including zero ethics hours and zero elimination of bias hours.

The course ID for this program is 760640.

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American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI)
The ABMDI has approved this continuing education activity for 31.25 ABMDI Credit Hours. Attendees should claim only those hours of continuing education that they spent in the educational activity. Course approval #24-056.

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Pennsylvania State Coroners' Education Board
The approval number for this activity is CEB Number 2025-5. This activity has been approved for 8 credits.

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Check back often for new approvals.

If you are traveling to St. Louis for the course, we have a room block:

Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark
1 S. Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63103

King Room - $179/night
2 Queen Bed - $179/night

Please follow the reservation link to book your hotel room. It is your responsibility to manage your reservation and cancel if you are no longer able to attend.

Reservation Link

The cut-off date for reservations is Friday, February 28, 2025 5:00 p.m. CST

Parking at the hotel:

Self-parking $40/day
Valet parking $50/day

Course Director:

Lindsay Trammell, PhD, D-ABFA, D-ABMDI

Forensic Anthropologist

Adjunct Associate Professor 

Co-Chair Forensic Education

Department of Pathology

SLUSOM