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Medical examiner education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Usually, medical examiners don't need a college education. The most common degree for medical examiners is bachelor's degree with 35% graduates, with only 22% medical examiner graduates earning associate degree. Medical examiners who decided to graduate from college often finish University of Phoenix or John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. Some good skills to have in this position include ekg, medical history and vital signs.

Popular medical examiner certifications include Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT), Medical Assistant, or Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). To improve medical examiner qualification and skills, we prepared some online courses to help in medical examiner education paths.

What education do you need to become a medical examiner?

What degree do you need to be a medical examiner?

The most common degree for medical examiners is bachelor's degree, with 35% of medical examiners earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 22% and associate degree degree at 9%.
  • Bachelor's, 35%
  • Associate, 22%
  • Diploma, 9%
  • Master's, 8%
  • Other Degrees, 26%

What should I major in to become a medical examiner?

You should major in nursing to become a medical examiner. 15% of medical examiners major in nursing. Other common majors for a medical examiner include medical assisting services and criminal justice.

Best majors for medical examiners

RankMajorPercentages
1Nursing15.4%
2Medical Assisting Services13.0%
3Criminal Justice11.7%
4Biology9.4%
5Business6.3%

20 best online courses for medical examiners

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1. Medical Terminology

coursera

This specialization is intended for anybody that is interested in developing skills in medical language or preparing for further studies in the medical field. Learners will be able to identify common prefixes, suffixes, roots and abbreviations so they can recognize most medical terms used by medical professionals. Learners will also have an understanding of the structure of an electronic health record and extract vital information from it. Moreover, learners will gain basic knowledge of the...

2. Medical Terminology III

coursera

This final course finishes the comprehensive examination of medical terminology by introducing new roots, terms, and abbreviations related to the remaining body systems: nervous (brain, spinal cord, and nerves) and special senses (eyes and ears), digestive, and reproductive...

3. ICD 10 & 11 Medical Coding and Billing

udemy
4.4
(767)

Preparation for Medical Coding Certification Exam...

4. Customer Service Foundation

udemy
4.5
(290)

An introductory course about understanding the foundations of Customer Service...

5. Medical Terminology II

coursera

This is the second course of the Medical Terminology specialization. It builds on the basic concepts of medical terminology with the introduction of new roots, terms, and abbreviations specific to the endocrine system (hormones). The body's transportation and defense systems (cardiovascular, blood, and lymphatic) will also be covered as well as the respiratory system (lungs)...

6. A Specialty Approach to Learning Medical Billing and Coding

udemy
4.6
(352)

Volume One: Medical Hematology...

7. AMCI Introduction to Medical Coding (I2MC) Course

udemy
4.6
(444)

Introduction to Medical Coding (I2MC) Course...

8. Medical Terminology

udemy
4.7
(3,688)

Introduction to the meaning of various roots, terms and combining forms that are components of medical words...

9. Medical coding for U.S. healthcare industry

udemy
4.5
(266)

Jump start your career in the fastest growing career choice in the healthcare industry...

10. Medical Coding: ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code Training

udemy
4.5
(645)

Learn medical coding and prepare yourself for today's healthcare workplace...

11. Introduction to Medical Imaging

udemy
4.5
(827)

Your guide to the history, science, math, and economics of medical imaging systems (e.g., X-ray, CT, MRI, Ultrasound)...

12. ISO 13485:2016 - Design and Development of Medical Devices

udemy
4.2
(408)

Design and Development of Medical Devices in the perspective of ISO 13485:2016 and Medical Devices Industry...

13. Medical Device Regulation 2017/745 EU regulatory affairs.

udemy
4.3
(764)

Understand regulations for medical devices in simple terms to gain market approval of a medical device in the EU...

14. Medical Device Regulation (MDR): Intro for Device Designers

udemy
4.4
(520)

An introduction to the EU's Medical Device Regulation (MDR) for those involved in developing medical devices...

15. Criminal Law in 120 Minutes: A Fast Track Course

udemy
4.6
(414)

A 2 hour fast track summary of Criminal Law, targeting all common law LL.B examinations!...

16. Medical Terminology 101

udemy
4.4
(752)

For those in healthcare, billing, and more. Boost earning ability and marketable skills by learning to speak medicine...

17. Salesforce Certification: Service Cloud Rapid Exam Prep

udemy
4.5
(1,175)

40 challenging, realistic practice questions with video explanations for the Service Cloud Consultant Certification...

18. Practical Regulatory Affairs 2020 - European Medical Devices

udemy
4.5
(527)

A practical course discussing the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) in real-world situations...

19. Deep Learning with PyTorch for Medical Image Analysis

udemy
4.6
(837)

Learn how to use Pytorch-Lightning to solve real world medical imaging tasks!...

20. How to Become a Medical Transcriptionist

udemy
4.1
(263)

Master Medical Transcription & Work From Home: Skills/Supplies Needed, Practice Files, Job Opportunities & More!...

Average medical examiner salary by education level

According to our data, medical examiners with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $225,584 annually. Medical examiners with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $180,368.
Medical examiner education levelMedical examiner salary
Master's Degree$225,584
High School Diploma or Less$171,149
Bachelor's Degree$180,368
Some College/ Associate Degree$178,226

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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