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Were in good hands: Virginias Medical Examiner sets nationwide standard
by Marge Weimer
November 19, 2009
You wont see Dr. Leah Bush doing rounds at the local hospital, but she is the kind of doctor families look to for answers and law enforcement depends on. Bush is the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia, based in Richmond, and one of many forensic pathologists who investigate thousands of deaths each year statewide. We had a chance to sit down and talk with her about her unconventional career path and the medical examiner field as a whole.
A road less traveled
Bushs career in forensics began during her pathology residency at MCV Hospital in 1986. For pathology residents (who study and diagnose disease in tissues and organs) taking on part-time medical examiner work is not uncommon.
I was looking for opportunities to moonlight to make extra cash, Bush said. I needed a car; I had just graduated medical school [and] had loans to pay off, so I started casting around for ideas for part time work.
Since then, Bush said she has performed over 5,000 autopsies.
Bushs career in the Office of the Medical Examiner began later that year as Assistant Chief in the Tidewater District. Her move to Chief came in 2008. She said forensics provides a way to maintain a comfortable lifestyle and interesting career, especially for women interested in starting a family. Unlike emergency room doctors and obstetricians, for example, forensic pathologists have fairly reliable schedules.
I didnt start off as a kid thinking this is what I want to do, Bush said. I always knew I wanted to be a doctor but I thought more along the lines of surgery or OB and ended up falling in love with [forensic pathology] as a career.
Bushs childhood was almost as unique as her current profession. Her father worked for the Department of Defense as a principal in schools set up for soldiers with families abroad. At an early age, her family moved from the U.S. to Taiwan. When Bush was in first grade, they settled in Okinawa, Japan, where she eventually graduated from Kubasaki High School.
Because I come from that background, I understand that not everyone thinks alike, Bush said. I embrace cultural differences and I know there are other ways to do things.
That cultural sensitivity is evident in her current efforts to educate her colleagues. Recently, Bush held statewide training on how to treat the Muslim dead with respect according to their religious beliefs. Soon, the same training in regards to the Orthodox Jewish faith will be implemented.
We want to follow their religious beliefs as best we can so we dont upset them anymore than they already are by the death of their loved one, Bush said.
http://rvanews.com/features/were-in...dical-examiner-sets-nationwide-standard/23281
by Marge Weimer
November 19, 2009
You wont see Dr. Leah Bush doing rounds at the local hospital, but she is the kind of doctor families look to for answers and law enforcement depends on. Bush is the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia, based in Richmond, and one of many forensic pathologists who investigate thousands of deaths each year statewide. We had a chance to sit down and talk with her about her unconventional career path and the medical examiner field as a whole.
A road less traveled
Bushs career in forensics began during her pathology residency at MCV Hospital in 1986. For pathology residents (who study and diagnose disease in tissues and organs) taking on part-time medical examiner work is not uncommon.
I was looking for opportunities to moonlight to make extra cash, Bush said. I needed a car; I had just graduated medical school [and] had loans to pay off, so I started casting around for ideas for part time work.
Since then, Bush said she has performed over 5,000 autopsies.
Bushs career in the Office of the Medical Examiner began later that year as Assistant Chief in the Tidewater District. Her move to Chief came in 2008. She said forensics provides a way to maintain a comfortable lifestyle and interesting career, especially for women interested in starting a family. Unlike emergency room doctors and obstetricians, for example, forensic pathologists have fairly reliable schedules.
I didnt start off as a kid thinking this is what I want to do, Bush said. I always knew I wanted to be a doctor but I thought more along the lines of surgery or OB and ended up falling in love with [forensic pathology] as a career.
Bushs childhood was almost as unique as her current profession. Her father worked for the Department of Defense as a principal in schools set up for soldiers with families abroad. At an early age, her family moved from the U.S. to Taiwan. When Bush was in first grade, they settled in Okinawa, Japan, where she eventually graduated from Kubasaki High School.
Because I come from that background, I understand that not everyone thinks alike, Bush said. I embrace cultural differences and I know there are other ways to do things.
That cultural sensitivity is evident in her current efforts to educate her colleagues. Recently, Bush held statewide training on how to treat the Muslim dead with respect according to their religious beliefs. Soon, the same training in regards to the Orthodox Jewish faith will be implemented.
We want to follow their religious beliefs as best we can so we dont upset them anymore than they already are by the death of their loved one, Bush said.
http://rvanews.com/features/were-in...dical-examiner-sets-nationwide-standard/23281
