FAQ#3: Interested in Becoming a Forensic Pathologist? Some Advice for Students

One of the most common questions I get is "What advice do you have for me if I want to become a forensic pathologist?" These are my answers for students at different levels of training:

For high school students:
First and foremost you need to focus on getting good grades in high school so that you can get into a good four-year college. Make sure you are doing well in your math and science classes. If you are not sure you want to be a doctor and want to pursue other aspects of forensic science (criminalist, technician) I would suggest you research college programs in forensic sciences. George Washington University and Florida State University have well-respected programs, but there are others, so when you are touring and interviewing colleges in your junior and senior year, make sure you tell them about your career interest and see what programs they have to offer.

For college students:

If you are in college, I would focus right now on pre-med requirements and get those out of the way first. Meet with your pre-med advisor early to make sure you have the list of all the requirements and get the classes complete (and with good grades) before your applications for medical school are due.

See if you can find some part-time volunteer or paid work in a laboratory or at the your university's closest affiliated medical school. You can start by looking up professors at your own institution, typing up your resume and a short cover letter saying that you are looking for part-time research work, and dropping it in their mail slot or stopping by office hours. You can pick professors you like who have taught you, or just browse the on-line profiles of educators in your field of interest on the university website. Before you meet with the professor, read (and try to understand) some of their papers and see if their research inspires you. Don't be discouraged if the scientific papers go "above your head." Look up the terms, or meet with a graduate student advisor who can help you understand them. And don't be discouraged if the professor says "No." If the prof is too busy, has too many students and turns you away, ask if he/she can refer you to a colleague. Working or volunteering at a lab will give you much -needed hands-on experience while you are in college, and will allow you to build a relationship with your professor so that you can then get recommendations for medical school or another laboratory job when you graduate.

The American Academy of Forensic Sciences offers grants to college students to attend their meetings. You can go on line and look at the student resources at their website and see if you can attend the annual meeting. I would recommend holding off on applying and going to their meetings until you are a junior or senior in college and about to apply to medical school or graduate school in the sciences. That way it will look good on your resume when you apply to medical or grad school.

For medical school students:

Pathology is usually covered in the second year of most medical school curriculums in the United States. While taking the classes, get to know your teachers and ask them if there is an elective rotation in pathology that you can take in your third or fourth year of medical school. Talk to pathology residents in your institution and ask them who the best professors are to work with, then find a part-time lab job. If you can even spare a few free hours a week after school to help with experiments or do library research for another doctor, you will build a good relationship and get exposure/mentorship that no classroom experience will match. Find out if there is an elective rotation at the medical examiner or coroner's office, or just call up the local office and see if they are willing to take you on to do some volunteer work. This will give you the exposure you need to see if this is the right field for you.

For pathology residents:

Most pathology programs have a required forensics rotation. Compared to other subspecialties, forensic pathology fellowship programs are not that competitive. Some remain unfilled every year, but the best ones fill early. New York City requires you do a rotation at the office if you want to be considered for fellowship, generally in September or October in your second year of residency (after you have some autopsy experience). Other good fellowship programs are in Albuquerque, NM, Miami, FL and Baltimore, MD. I suggest you call the programs you are interested in and schedule a rotation month there, regardless of whether it is required. It will give you an opportunity to meet the forensic pathologists, see their work and learn what you need to pass the boards.

Become a member of NAME and AAFS and start reading their publications. They have discounted membership rates for residents and there are job ads there as well as fascinating journal articles that will inspire you. 

Foreign Medical Gradutaes:

First of all, contact your medical school and see if they have information that might be helpful. The American Medical Association has information about the ECFMG (the examination needed to get an American medical license) on line at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/about-ama/our-people/member-groups-sections/international-medical-graduates/practicing-medicine.page?

Once you pass the ECFMG test you can apply for an Anatomic Pathology residency in the United States. I would contact the American Board of Pathology (ABP) http://www.abpath.org and the American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)https://www.acgme.org/acgmeweb/ about residency programs. Every year there are are residencies in pathology that don't fill so if you're open to working anywhere in the US you will likely be able to find a program. In your first year of residency training you should do a rotation at the Coroner or Medical Examiner's Office and apply for fellowship. 

For all:
Forensic pathology is not the only path to a career in the forensic sciences. Not everyone has the grades, ambition, or money to get them through the 8+ years of schooling required for a medical degree. There are other fields in the forensic sciences that may be right for you and these include Forensic Nursing, Forensic Toxicology, Crime Scene Analysis, Forensic Psychology, Medicolegal Death Scene Investigation, Law Enforcement or litigation. If you are interested in any one of these fields there are many forensic science professional organizations on the internet that can help guide you. Many of these organizations have free or reduced fees for attending their annual conferences specifically targeted toward students or non-members who are interested in the field. These include:

The American Academy of Forensic Sciences

The National Association of Medical Examiners

International Association of Forensic Nurses

American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators

FAQ#2

Question:

My 12 year old friend is interested in forensic science. Can you recommend any books or sites that would be good for someone that age?

Answer:

I would recommend "Forensic Science" by Alex Frith. I bought it for my son and he is 12. 
See:

http://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Science-Alex-Frith/dp/0794516890/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337447010&sr=1-1

The DK Eyewitness book series is also spectacular:

http://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Science-DK-Eyewitness-Books/dp/0756633834/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337446984&sr=1-5

Frequently Asked Questions

I sometimes get e-mail from high school and college students asking to interview me about what I do. Here are my answers to some of their frequently asked questions:

Q. Why did you decide to become a forensic pathologist?

A. I wanted to be a doctor ever since I was a kid. My dad was a doctor (a psychiatrist) and from him I was exposed to medicine as a career early in life. I spent a lot of time going through his anatomy textbooks and really wanted to know how the body worked. During medical school the Department of Pathology was responsible for training all the students in anatomy (the parts of the body), physiology (how those parts all work together) and pathology (what goes wrong in the body). The teachers were excellent and they encouraged me to go into pathology.

Q. What education do you need to become a forensic pathologist?

A. In order to be a forensic pathologist in the United States, you need to go to college, medical school and then do residency training in pathology (3 years minimum) and then fellowship training in forensics.

Q. What do you generally do each day?

A. When I get to work, in conjunction with my colleagues, I review the cases that were brought into the office over the previous 24 hours, and I decide which cases I will autopsy. I typically do one or two autopsies a day. After the morning review, I go into the morgue and perform the autopsies. Each one typically take me 45 minutes to an hour. It takes longer if the case is complex, like a homicide. In the afternoon I type up my autopsy reports, call the families of the deceased and let them know what I found, and that is usually when I am scheduled to testify in court.

Q. What is the most memorable experience you've had as a forensic pathologist?

A. September 11, 2001. I was one of the doctors in New York who recovered the remains of the people who died in the World Trade Center attack. It was an overwhelming experience, and certainly the most memorable; it will be part of who I am for the rest of my life.

Q. About how much on average does a forensic pathologist get paid per year?

A. Salaries vary based on location and experience but they range between $120,000 and $300,000 a year.

Q. Has the technology or methodology changed since you began working as forensic pathologist?

A. Not by much. Most of what we do in an autopsy room is no different from what was done, technically, for hundreds of years. What has changed is the complexity of the science: the radiology technology is a lot more advanced and the breadth of knowledge one needs in order to assess all the different kinds of ways people die has most certainly expanded. There have also been advances in clinical chemistry, toxicology and molecular biology that affect the tests we rely on the diagnose diseases, poisonings and to identify individuals (i.e. through DNA).

Q. What most surprised you about forensic pathology?

A. That I would get used to the smell, not even mind it at all over time.

Q. Is there anything you know now that you wish you had known when you began working as forensic pathologist?

A. I wish I knew how political it could be. Not that it would have changed my choice, but it would have prepared me for many of the stresses that stem from dealing with the demands of governmental cost-cutting measures and the political pressure when dealing with high-profile cases.

Q. What do you like most about being a forensic pathologist?

A. Helping families with their grief and explaining to them what happened to their loved one. I find it gives them the closure they need and sometimes I am the only one who has taken the time to explain the medicine to them in a way they understand, even following their loved one's long hospitalization. I also like testifying in court and seeing the eyes of the jury light up when I explain what happened and they "get it." I also really like teaching students for the same reasons. A jury needs to understand the scientific basis for my opinions in order to render a just decision, so it gives me a lot of professional satisfaction to be able to play that important role in the legal system, whether it be to testify on behalf of the prosecution or the defense.

Q. Is there a lot of work in your field?

A. There are many job openings for forensic pathologists. According to the National Association of Medical Examiners there are only about 500 board certified FPs practicing forensic medicine in the U.S. We need about twice that. That is why many forensic autopsies are done by hospital pathologists lacking the specialized forensic training that I have.

Q. How many autopsies do you perform?

A. I have performed over 2,000 autopsies and I have been in practice nearly 10 years. I average 200-250 cases a year. On a typical day I do 1 or 2.

Q. How long does it take you to start performing autopsies after being certified?

You do autopsies as part of your training in medical school and residency. You need to do 50 autopsies as a resident (a pathologist in training) in order to be allowed to sit for the Board Examinations, so that's before you are even board-certified.

Q. What schools did you attend? How long have you worked in this field?

A. My resume is on my website and it documents my schooling and professional accomplishments. See http://www.pathologyexpert.com/drmelinek.htm

Q. What was your major in college? What major would you recommend for someone interested in forensics?

A. I majored in biology in college. I didn't know I wanted to be a forensic pathologist until I did the required rotation throught the medical examiner's office in my residency in pathology. I would recommend majoring in any field you love but making sure you take the prerequisite courses for medical school admission. Depending on the college you attend, you can sometimes be a "pre-med" major, though in many cases students interested in medical school major in the sciences, like biology or biochemistry.

Q. What would you say was the hardest obstacle while heading towards your major?

A. I found that applying to medical school was a "numbers game" and it didn't matter where I had gone to college or that I had done all these extra-curricular activities (like theater, or working in a lab). On applying to medical school all they wanted to know was my GPA and MCAT scores. If I didn't hit the magic cut-off, I didn't get an interview. My best advice to you if you are pre-med is to take easy courses where you can get straight A's and take practice courses for the MCATs so you score high. I found medical school a bit boring too: lots of memorizing. It got a lot more interesting in 3rd and 4th year when you finally got to see patients and behave like a doctor.

Q. How were you able to pay the cost of schooling?

A. Paying for college and medical school in the United States is very expensive. My father passed away when I was a teenager, and had left me a modest inheritance. That was just enough to pay for (private) college and (state) medical school. Most of my friends and colleagues took out a lot of student loans to pay for medical school. May of them are still paying off the debt.

Q. Are you happy with your career choice? Is the reward worth the work you do?

A. Absolutely!

Q. What do you think you would be doing if you weren't doing this?

A. Either teaching medicine or writing or both. Actually, I am already teaching and writing as well.