(no subject)
So, I was going to respond to jesschica but decided to just make this a post! Her question is: What is a Fatality Review Coordinator?
Why thank you, what an excellent question. My job is to staff an interdisciplinary committee (that includes law enforcement, social services, treatment providers, coroners, prosecutors, etc.) that analyzes intentional deaths where domestic violence was a contributing factor. That could mean the homicide of an intimate partner, a suicide of either a perpetrator or a victim, and what we call "collateral" deaths, (law enforcement officers killed when responding to a DV call, children, other family members). I identify the cases in the Denver Metro area via media and contacts at the various police departments and then prepare the cases for presentation to the committee. I research them. I read police reports, coroners reports, mental health reports. Shortly, that will mean potentially interviewing surviving family members in an effort to better understand the dynamic that exists in domestic violence relationships, and improving the response of both systems-based and community based agencies to domestic violence. It really appeals to my geeky wanna be CSI side, and it's full time, chock full of health benefits and no on call work. Woo!
I'm really liking this kind of work, this systems analysis and policy work. I'm working with several other co workers to do research studies. This is more of an intellectual challenge, and I joke about being off the hook a little bit, because the worst has already happened. Gotta love gallows humor. I'm not going to go into it, confidentiality to consider, and you my lovelies, didn't sign up for vicarious trauma. I have, historically been a little too flip about the impact of vicarious trauma, but these days I'm exposed to crime scene photos. Of murders. Last weekend, after exactly five days on the job, I was sort of surprised by how quickly I found myself experiencing "intrusive symptoms" (flashes of some crime scene photos from a case I watched earlier that day). I was able to get through it pretty quickly and effectively, and was once again awash in gratitude that I have such a calm, patient lover. Because damn. That woman is the posterchild for meditation. Nothing seems to rattle her or make her loose her patience.
Anyway, yeah, so that's the job! Eventually I'll be presenting a lot, working on publishing the findings of the committee in a report early next year, et cetera. I'm such a geek! And I love it!
Why thank you, what an excellent question. My job is to staff an interdisciplinary committee (that includes law enforcement, social services, treatment providers, coroners, prosecutors, etc.) that analyzes intentional deaths where domestic violence was a contributing factor. That could mean the homicide of an intimate partner, a suicide of either a perpetrator or a victim, and what we call "collateral" deaths, (law enforcement officers killed when responding to a DV call, children, other family members). I identify the cases in the Denver Metro area via media and contacts at the various police departments and then prepare the cases for presentation to the committee. I research them. I read police reports, coroners reports, mental health reports. Shortly, that will mean potentially interviewing surviving family members in an effort to better understand the dynamic that exists in domestic violence relationships, and improving the response of both systems-based and community based agencies to domestic violence. It really appeals to my geeky wanna be CSI side, and it's full time, chock full of health benefits and no on call work. Woo!
I'm really liking this kind of work, this systems analysis and policy work. I'm working with several other co workers to do research studies. This is more of an intellectual challenge, and I joke about being off the hook a little bit, because the worst has already happened. Gotta love gallows humor. I'm not going to go into it, confidentiality to consider, and you my lovelies, didn't sign up for vicarious trauma. I have, historically been a little too flip about the impact of vicarious trauma, but these days I'm exposed to crime scene photos. Of murders. Last weekend, after exactly five days on the job, I was sort of surprised by how quickly I found myself experiencing "intrusive symptoms" (flashes of some crime scene photos from a case I watched earlier that day). I was able to get through it pretty quickly and effectively, and was once again awash in gratitude that I have such a calm, patient lover. Because damn. That woman is the posterchild for meditation. Nothing seems to rattle her or make her loose her patience.
Anyway, yeah, so that's the job! Eventually I'll be presenting a lot, working on publishing the findings of the committee in a report early next year, et cetera. I'm such a geek! And I love it!