Career as a Forensic Pathologist

Be the show Gotham or the movie Seven, each autopsy scene would move us to the edge of the seat, awaiting the possible reason behind the crime or incident. Though not with complete accuracy, the media has managed to give us a glimpse into the field.

The individuals who would do the daring task of autopsies in these movies are Forensic Pathologists, also known as Forensic Medical Examiners. 

Do you wish to become a Forensic Pathologist? In this article, we’ve covered the career as a Forensic Pathologist, the career path, job roles, and the qualifications required to become a forensic pathologist. 

What does a Forensic Pathologist do?

A forensic pathologist is a subspecialist who studies people who have died unexpectedly, suspiciously, or brutally. They are an expert in assessing the cause and manner of death.

The nature of their job demands the following duties or responsibilities:

• Performs an autopsy to find signs of a sickness or injury
• Ascertain the victim’s identification as well as the manner, timing, and cause of death.
• Gathering of medical and trace evidence from the corpse for additional examination.
• Analyze tissue samples to detect pollutants or microorganisms.
• Investigates medical history
• Evaluates evidence from the crime site, including witness testimony
• Create summaries of these findings to be sent to hospitals and public health agencies.
• Inform the proper agencies of any questionable discoveries.

Job Roles for a Forensic Pathologist

• Pathologist assistant:
  A forensic pathologist is assisted in doing autopsies by a pathologist assistant. They are qualified to carry out the same postmortem procedures as a pathologist with a full licence, but they are not qualified to provide a cause of death diagnosis.

• Autopsy technician:
  An autopsy technician is in charge of taking postmortem photographs of the victim’s body, particularly regions with obvious wounds.
  
  They are expected to conduct postmortem operations, inspecting the organs and, if necessary, obtaining photos of the internal damage. Additionally, they gather and store information for forensic scientists to use in additional expert analysis.

• Forensic scientist:
  Forensic scientists gather evidence from objects at the crime scene using their in-depth understanding of biology and chemistry. 
  
  They use scientific methods to determine DNA strands, blood types, and other crucial crime scene data. To interpret the meaning of the evidence about the crime scene, they conduct additional tests on the evidence and cross-compare data. 

Career path for a Forensic Pathologist 

The qualification criteria for becoming a forensic pathologist differ based on the country. The certifications required are mentioned in the Courses to upskill section of this blog. 

There are two career pathways through which one can become a forensic pathologist:

Path I

• Minimum 60% in Grade 10 + 2 or equivalent. 
• Bachelors in pathology
• Masters in pathology

Path II

• Minimum 60% in Grade 10 + 2 or equivalent. 
• Qualify NEET exam 
• MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery)
• MD Specialization in Pathology

Salary in different stages of a career as a Forensic Pathologist 

Based on the roles mentioned above, here are the details of their average annual salary. 

Skills Required to become a Forensic Pathologist 

• Critical thinking and problem-solving:
  As a trained professional you are expected to critically analyze the cause of an individual’s death. Your reason for this should be rooted in scientific knowledge and evidence to support those claims. 

• Communication Skills
  Forensic Pathologists have to report or keep multiple people in the loop about the findings of the autopsies, therefore one needs extremely good communication skills. 

• Organization skills
  While performing autopsies, you are required to retain the integrity of the evidence and manage multiple aspects of the reports. This needs apt organizational skills. 

• Dexterity
  There’s a reason why it takes so many years to become a forensic Pathologist, one of which being you need to be skilled in carrying out the procedures. 

• Attention to detail and analytical skills: 
  Detail oriented mindset is extremely important to be able to factor in the minute details that contributed to a certain incident. 

• Report writing
  Another thing that you might spend a lot of time doing as a Forensic Pathologist is creating reports, it is part of being able to keep multiple people in the loop with the findings and documentation. 

• Pattern analysis
  As a Forensic Pathologist, you will be observing tissues, cells, and various internal organs. Additionally, you need to be well versed with the parts. Being able to analyse patterns is a part of examining the medical history and finding unusual patterns. 

• Autopsies
  It might be the last on this list but is certainly the most important one. You will have to perform multiple autopsies and be able to extract and evaluate internal and external organs. 

Is Forensic Pathology a good career option?

The path to becoming a Forensic Pathologist is not easy as it requires substantial degrees, experience, and certifications to become a Forensic Pathologist. However, it is one of the most highly paid jobs. 

As a Forensic Pathologist, you’ll be spending most of your time in laboratories and working under government or autopsy agencies. On average, it is estimated that the public healthcare sector has steady job opportunities. Even at the entry-level the pay is fairly well and has the potential to increase substantially with experience. 

Type of industries Hiring a Forensic Pathologist

Following industries hire Forensic Pathologist in their organization:

• Government agencies
• Federal agencies
• Intelligence Bureau
• Crime departments (Central or State Investigation Departments)
• Law firms
• Health care centre
• Research centre
• Hospitals
• Medical Labs (Center or State Investigation Laboratories)
• Clinics

Courses to upskill as a Forensic Pathologist

As previously mentioned, to be qualified to have a career as a forensic pathologist, one must pass certification exams. These standards could vary from one nation to another.

• To apply for forensic pathologist certification abroad, you must possess a medical degree, an MD degree, a fellowship, and three years of residency.
• In other words, a candidate needs to have earned their AP/CP (anatomic pathology and clinical pathology) certification and finish the necessary months of training.
  
  Try out Clever Harvey’s JuniorMBA Data analytics course to enhance your analytical skills.

Qualifications to become a Forensic Pathologist

You must complete an undergraduate degree in medicine, biology, chemistry, or related field with electives in forensic science, psychology, or other related areas if you want to become a forensic pathologist. Following that, apply for a master’s program and earn the necessary qualifications to work as a forensic pathologist.

Degrees in India

The undergraduate degrees in Forensic Pathology require a min. 55% in 10 + 2 or equivalent. The following entrance exams also need to be cleared, AIFSET: All India Forensic Science Entrance Test, BHU PET, MDU CEE.

Note: Those who want to pursue medicine, will have to appear for the NEET examination after Grade 12.

UG degree names 

You can apply for the undergraduate programs once you have earned your Grade 12 in PCB from a recognized institution or board. A bachelor’s degree takes 3- 5 years to complete whereas diploma courses last between one and two years. 

• BSc in Forensic Science
• BSc Pathology
• MBBS
• BSc (Hon.) in Forensic Science/ Pathology

PG 

To apply for a postgraduate degree in Forensic Pathology, one needs to have a minimum of 60% in BSc or MBBS from a recognized university. The universities follow a merit-based admission. Here are a few Master’s degrees you can try-

Degrees Abroad

The eligibility criteria for becoming a Forensic Pathologist abroad are shared in our blog, How to become a Forensic Pathologist. One can pursue an undergraduate degree in Forensic Science and Criminal Justice, MBBS, Applied Science (Medical Laboratory Science), Pathology, etc. 

The eligibility criteria to apply for a postgraduate degree in forensic pathology is, 

• A minimum of 55% or equivalent grade point average in any of the life sciences bachelor’s programs. 
• TOEFL score of 90/120
• Letter of recommendation (LOR), Statement of purpose (SOP), and application questions.

Following are a few of the courses one can try-

References for Forensic Pathologists

• Knight’s Forensic Pathology by Bernard Knight and P. Saukko
• Forensic Pathology: Principles and Practice by David Dolinak, Emma O. Lew, and Evan W. Matshes
• Handbook of forensic pathology by Vincent Di Maio
• Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner by Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell
• Forensic Pathology of Asphyxial Deaths by Sudhir K. Gupta
• Dead Center: Behind the Scenes at the World’s Largest Medical Examiner’s Office by Shiya Ribowsky, Tom Shachtman
• Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime by Val McDermid
• The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum
• Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime by Val McDermid

Although training to become a forensic pathologist can take some time, it is one of the most rewarding careers. Because one cannot predict the types of incidents or circumstances they may encounter, In addition, having the power to identify crimes and determine the real causes of accidents and incidents makes for very fulfilling work

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