What Does a Forensic Pathologist Do?

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Bethany Pridgen and I'm a Forensic Chemist. I'm here to talk about what a Forensic Pathologist does. In order to become a Forensic Pathologist, you need to become a Physician first. Then, once you have your medical license, either from an Osteopathy school or Medical school, you can pursue a residency in Pathology or Forensic Pathology. Then you can sit for the boards and become a certified Forensic Pathologist. Once you are a Forensic Pathologist, you may work for a Corner or Medical Examiner office. In this office you will determine the cause and manner of a variety of types of deaths. Primarily you will investigate sudden, suspicious or unnatural deaths. Once you have a death come into the office, then the first thing most Forensic Pathologists will do is identify history about the death and how it might have occur. Then, you will often try to gain information on the, the deceased medical history. Once you have some of that information, you will perform an autopsy which involves the external and internal examination of the body. You will collect biological specimens to send off to be tested for drugs, alcohol, disease, poisons or any other thing that may help you determine what could have caused that death. Once you receive all that information back into your office, you will correlate that information and try to see if those results can help determine on what is the cause and manner of the death. In addition to the work that you will do in the office and in the laboratory, you can be expected to be called by subpoena to court or other legal proceedings in order to explain your findings and explain how those results led you to the conclusion that you made. These are just some examples of what a Forensic Pathologist would do."