ABMDI Registry study guide
ABMDI Registry · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI) is a voluntary, national, not-for-profit, independent professional certification board established to promote the highest standards of practice for medicolegal death investigators. It certifies individuals who have the proven knowledge and skills necessary to perform medicolegal death investigations as set forth in the National Institute of Justice's 1999 publication Death Investigation: A Guide for the Scene Investigator, with a 2011 updated version available. The ABMDI Registry study guide has 8 sections and about 2,417 words.
01Medicolegal Death Investigation Principles, Jurisdiction, and the Role of the Investigator
Two systems dominate U.S. A coroner is typically an elected county official - sometimes a physician, often not, and in some jurisdictions the sheriff or a layperson holds the office.
352 words, about 2 min02Initial Response, Notification, and Scene Assessment
Notification arrives from law enforcement, EMS, hospitals, hospice, nursing homes, funeral homes, or family members. Screening is the first skill: is this a reportable death, and is it ours?
306 words, about 2 min03Scene Investigation, Evidence Recognition, and Documentation
Every scene image should answer "where," "what," and "how big." Begin with establishing/overall photographs that place the decedent in the environment, move to mid-range views of the body and surrounding objects, then close-ups with and without a scale. Photograph before and after any movement.
292 words, about 1 min04Examination of the Decedent and Postmortem Findings
The investigator's documented observations form the foundation of the autopsy record. Describe clothing, general appearance, height and weight, identifying features, and medical intervention such as intubation, IV lines, or defibrillator pads.
287 words, about 1 min05Identification of the Decedent and Next-of-Kin Notification
Identification is either presumptive (visual recognition, personal effects, tattoos, scars, witness statements) or positive/scientific (fingerprints, dental comparison, DNA, antemortem radiographs, serial-numbered implants). Visual identification is the weakest method and becomes unreliable with trauma, fire, or decomposition.
278 words, about 1 min06Death Classification and Special Circumstance Investigations
Cause of death is the disease or injury that initiated the fatal sequence (gunshot wound of the chest). Mechanism is the physiologic derangement (exsanguination, arrhythmia).
293 words, about 1 min07Report Writing, Records, and Interagency Communication
Reports are read years later by attorneys, juries, and regulators. Write in the first person, in chronological order, in plain language.
303 words, about 2 min08Legal, Ethical, and Professional Practice Standards
Your authority is statutory and limited. In reportable deaths the office generally has legal custody of the body and statutory authority to perform an autopsy even over family objection; knowing your state's rule matters, because families frequently ask.
306 words, about 2 min