Prince Rupert among eight B. C. communities seeking a Coroner

The Province of British Columbia is starting the New Year off with a job search, looking to find the right applicant for a fairly important job in communities across the province, with the need to fill eight positions currently open for the position of Community Coroner.

Prince Rupert is among the eight and applications are being accepted until the 10th of January, for he post which features hours if and as when needed.

The main function of the Community Coroner is to investigate deaths to establish the identity of the deceased and taster information to help determine when, where, how and by what means the person has died.

Duties include waiving certification of death to a physician in the case of natural deaths, or for those deaths where a full Coroner's investigation will be required, the Community Coroner documents the initial findings for further review from one of the Province's Full Time coroners.

As part of those initial investigations, the Community Coroner will work with local law enforcement agencies, Physicians and hospital staff, families and relatives of the deceased and other agencies as required to provide the full overview of the nature of the death under investigation.

The job however does require a special kind of person to take on the sometime grisly tasks that are associated with the work, particularly in incidents which involve children, requiring the need to balance sympathy to the families with the required work of determining causes of death.

As well, the ability to be able to put aside the nature of the work once you have completed your required work, a situation that at times has been something that past coroner's have found hard to to do at times.

Some of the special requirements for applicants include:

Subject to a satisfactory police record check including enhanced security screening. 

Required to be available 24 hours/day for the assigned on call period and for consultation with full time Coroner and Regional Coroner following the on call shift. 

Must have valid driver’s license and use of a personal vehicle that is maintained in good and safe working condition and with appropriate insurance. 

Coroners work from home and their home office must comply with BCCS standards, policies and practices (ie: File Security). 

Ability to manage sensitive and confidential information. 

Must have a good working knowledge of medical terminology or successfully complete a medical terminology course within 6 months of employment. 

Strong working knowledge of computer technologies and ability to enter data in to the BCCS database. 

Must be physically able to attend a variety of scenes (e.g. wilderness, elevated terrain, driving long distances).

You can find out more background and submit your application for the Prince Rupert position here

More background on the role of a Coroner in the province can be found here.

Ministry of Justice seeks Community Coroner for Prince Rupert

It's a job that can call on your services with little in the way of advance warning, requiring that you gather information from family members at what would be their time of greatest distress.

The position is Community Coroner and the province is seeking one for the North Coast to work on a rotating basis, on call, on a 24 hour / 7 day a week schedule.

And if you have what they are looking for, a position on the North Coast is available now.

The successful applicant will become the initial contact person for a process that will determine the cause of death of residents of the North Coast, working in conjunction with police and emergency responders at the scene of death.

Working under the direction of a Regional Coroner, the Community Coroner provides for the opening findings from any scene of death,  with  the majority of the work involving the gathering of preliminary information, assessing the circumstances and then entering preliminary findings into a data base with the details to be forwarded to staff at a regional office for any follow up investigation.

The Community Coroner also provides information and assistance to the family, making the need for compassion one of the key aspects of the position.

Some of the main requirements for the position include:

A degree or diploma in a health, legal or social sciences field and have three years' experience in a related field. 

An equivalent combination of education and experience will also be considered. 

Individuals who have experience in working effectively with community stakeholders, conducting investigative inquiries, who possess sound judgment and excellent communication skills. 

The position functions on a rotating on-call basis, and the successful applicant must reside in Prince Rupert or surrounding areas and be available to respond to calls on a 24/7 basis while on-call.  

Compensation is dependent upon the number of cases and hours worked, which may vary significantly in each community.

More information on the position and how to apply for it, can be found from this posting from the BC Public Service website, where a full overview of the job requirements can be reviewed.

The deadline for applications is January 11th.

More background on the BC Coroners Service can be found here.