In this Bell Work Talks, Coroner O’Neal will discuss the role of nurses in the medicolegal death investigation professions.  Coroner O’Neal will discuss her background and training which led to her election as the Charleston County Coroner in November of 2020, the importance of nurses in this profession and her role as the President of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners (IACME)

Bobbi Jo O'Neal, a Registered Nurse and a Board-Certified Fellow with the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators, has served in the Coroner’s Office since 1998, including serving as Chief Deputy Coroner from 2011-2020. She was elected Charleston County Coroner in 2020.

With her leadership, the Charleston County Coroner’s Office is one of only 26 coroner offices in the country that is accredited by the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. Additionally, as a grant writer for the Coroner's Office, O'Neal has successfully brought in over $840k in funds to Charleston County.

O’Neal is the President of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners and serves on the Executive Committee for the Lowcountry Healthcare Coalition, which has taken a lead in the coronavirus preparation and response locally.

An experienced emergency room nurse, O'Neal received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. She is and has been actively involved in the specialty of forensic nursing, first in the area of sexual assault and then as a death investigator.

She is a member of the National Association of Medical Examiners, a Fellow with the American Academy of Forensic Science, a member of the South Carolina Coroner's Association, and a member of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science Medicolegal Death Investigation subcommittee among others.  

A former Director-at-Large for the International Association of Forensic Nurses, O'Neal is the author of the book "Investigating Infant Deaths" and has had the unfortunate distinction of working the mass fatalities of the Charleston Super Store fire and the Emanuel AME church mass shooting.

Resources: 
The International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners (IACME), www.theiacme.org

American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI), www.abmdi.org 

Death Investigation: A Guide to Scene Investigators  https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles/167568.pdf

Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Investigation Reporting Form
https://www.cdc.gov/sids/SUIDRF.htm

Episode 27: The Role of a Nurse Coroner

Bell Work Talks - from Academy of Forensic Nursing