Fellowship Program

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) for the State of Oklahoma offers a one-year ACGME-accredited fellowship in forensic pathology. The agency has maintained accreditation since the program was established in 1972. The program has two fellowship positions with locations in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

The OCME fellowship program is designed to prepare fellows for the practice of forensic pathology in any type of jurisdiction or academic setting. The major clinical activities are the performance of forensic post-mortem examinations and the formulation of medical opinions in regards to decedent causes and manner of death.

During the fellowship year, the fellows will perform at least 200 complete forensic autopsies, each of which includes external examinations, anatomic dissections, internal examinations, and microscopic examinations. Additional training with medicolegal death scene investigations, including accompanying investigators to death scenes, photography, radiography (LODOX and computed tomography), criminalistics (Tulsa Police Department and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation), odontology and in-house forensic anthropology, jurisprudence, forensic neuropathology, and forensic toxicology (in-house accredited toxicology laboratory) will occur over the course of the academic year. The fellows also have the opportunity for research/scholarly activities and to present at in-house, local/state, and national education conferences.

Additional features of the fellowship program include:

$120,000 Annual Salary
Wide variety of cases from a jurisdiction of 4+ million residents and including cases from neighboring counties
Biweekly case conferences
Weekly histology sessions
Monthly didactic teaching conferences
Updated/new offices at both locations (Oklahoma City, 2017; Tulsa, 2022)
Fully equipped office
Educational fund of $4500.00 (to use for purchasing books or conferences)
Full benefits including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, and retirement provided through OCME that become effective August 1st

Pathology Residents and Medical Students

Rotating pathology residents and medical students are supervised and instructed by OCME board-certified forensic pathologists. They participate in the investigation and postmortem dissection of OCME cases, then discuss the findings and conclusions with attending staff. They also attend in-house conferences where current and prior cases are discussed. During the rotation, experience is obtained in death investigations, the preparation of medicolegal autopsy reports, and the formulation of medical opinions regarding death. They are also exposed to other elements of the forensic science team, including anthropology, radiography, and toxicology.

* The fellowship program is open to M.D.s and D.O.s who have successfully completed an ACGME-certified pathology residency program in AP or AP/CP and are looking for a forensic pathology course of study. We are currently interviewing for the 2026-2027 academic year until the end of January 2025.

Please send all requests and inquiries to: Fellowship@ocme.ok.gov

Program Director - Ross Miller, M.D.

Ross Miller, M.D. has been with the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner since July 2015. He received his medical degree from the University of Nebraska in 2010. He went on complete his Anatomic and Clinical Pathology residency at the University of Nebraska. He then completed his Forensic Pathology Fellowship at the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office in Kansas City, Missouri.

Doctor Miller is board certified in Anatomic and Forensic Pathology. He is an active member of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME), American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP), and College of American Pathologists (CAP). He has several abstracts, poster presentations, and publications to his credit as well as numerous lectures and teaching experiences.

Doctor Miller was named the OCME’s Forensic Pathology Fellowship Program Director in 2018. Since becoming director, Dr. Miller has assisted with the addition of a second permanent fellowship position, with incorporation of a comprehensive online fellowship management system into the program, and he continues to explore ways to improve the program and draw interest from potential fellows around the country.

Last Modified on Apr 19, 2024