ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 2

The Multidisciplinary Approach to Dealing with Families: A Model for Medical Examiners
Knake, E
Executive director, Project HELP, Inc., FL

Borges, MC
Associate medical examiner, FL

Coburn, MU
Chief medical examiner, FL

Michael Harper, R
Chaplain, Naples, Community Hospital, FL

(Received 5 November 1999; accepted 28 January 2000)

Abstract

Medical examiners function primarily to determine cause and manner of death, and to document illness and injuries. Equally important, however, is the role of providing family members with the initial tools to work through the grief process. By initiating contact with the family, facilitating access to other appropriate services and by making provisions for adequate viewing and meeting facilities, we fulfill these ethical duties and carry out our responsibilities as physicians. We hope to fill some of the void that exists in the forensic medical literature with this presentation and generate awareness for the neglected role of grief intervention.

Keywords:
forensic science, forensic pathology, ethics, grief, viewing, family

Paper ID: JFS14879J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS14879J
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