History of the National Association of Medical Examiners and Its Meetings, 1966–93

Abstract

Although the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) is now more than 25 years of age, no comprehensive history of its organization, meetings, and milestones has yet been published. lnfonnation must be gathered from many disparate sources, including records in the St. Louis office, program brochures from meetings, the personal memories of members, and the recent audiotapes of some conference presentations. To provide an introduction to and a historical perspective on NAME for newcomers to the field of forensic pathology and death investigation. and to furnish documentation that may be useful as a reference or for future NAME planning. I have attempted to summarize the first 25 years of NAME's existence. Since J have only been a NAME member for slightly more than a decade and therefore must rely heavily on administrative documents, program brochures, and information gleancq during the afterhours get-togethers with other members of our closely knit group, some important details may have been omitted or presented incorrectly in my account; if so, I apologize to those affected. I also concede that some of the editorial comments at the conclusion of this article may prove to be a source of contention for some readers; nevertheless. these comments reflect things as I perceive them. So, in the beginning ...