This is in response to the email from Dr. Imran Sabri
from the department of Forensic Medicine in a recent
digest about the launch of a website for the
department of Forensic Medicine at AMU.

It is an excellent effort, keep it up Imran.

In case anyone is interested in a career in Forensic
Medicine/Path/Med in the UK or US the prelim details
are given below. I would be more than happy to give
any more information, should it be required.

In the West (UK, North America - US and Canada) one
can pursue forensic science after a
post graduate degree/training in Pathology. This means
an MRCPath in the UK (Also recognised in UK, Australia
and New Zealand) and a residency ( post-grad training
of 4-5 years) in the US (Again, recognised in Canada
and UK).

Besides a broad range of Diagnostic histopathology and
cytology, a minimum of 50 autopsies in the US and 75
in the UK are required before one qualifies as a
pathologist. This is a mix of perinatal, adult
hospital and the medical examiner's (US) or Coroner's
(UK) autopsies. There are times when you may have to
eviscerate (start from scratch!) So beware of the
nature of work.


In the US, one then has to do a fellowship with the
medical examiner. In the UK you can take the MRCPath I
and II slanted towards Forensic, or alternatively take
a General MRCPath Part I and then a Forensic MRCPath
II. A basic degree or familiarity with the legal
system is neccessary, as day to day practice makes it
a neccessary  requirement.

To train/work in medicine in the US one needs to take
USMLE steps I and II (which can be done in India) and
preferably step III for an H-1, the better type,  visa
as against the J-1 visa which has a home country stay
requirement for two years (which translates into going
back to the home country for two years or working in
an underserved area in the US for the same time).
Another exam required is the CSA (Clinical Skills (CSA
and Step III are administered only in the
US).

For the UK, you have to do IELTS (the English
exam) and PLAB parts I and II (Part I can be done in
India) but II has to be done in the UK.

An alternative was to do an MD in Path in India and
get a PLAB waiver, but that is now being discouraged
by the Royal College of Pathologists. So its better to
check with the director of studies there before
thinking of this (the website is www.rcpath.org) and
the director of studies is Dr. Hugh Platt (email:
director.studies@rcpath.org).

In the US, they used to give a one year waiver (one
year off the total length of the residency program) in
lieu of an MD from India. But that too has been
scrapped by the US Board for Anatomic and Clinical
Pathology.

Hope this helps anyone aspiring to practise here.

Best wishes,
Hasan Rizvi
MB; BS 1997
London