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Career essay on forensic pathology
Career essay on forensic pathology
Career essay on forensic pathology
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Forensic pathologists are the people who determine the cause and time of death if the deceased person died under suspicious circumstances, whether they be violent or not. They determine if the death was accidental, a homicide, natural, a suicide, or even if the cause of death was unknown. They do this by studying said victim’s medical history, evaluating the crime scene for evidence, studying the body for any clues, and performing an autopsy. After determining the cause, time, and the manner in which the victim died, forensic pathologists make a written report on the victim and sometimes testify in court to report their findings. In order to become a forensic pathologist, you must obtain a bachelor’s degree, a medical degree, then finally
either an M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) or a D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine), resulting in about 13 years of training after graduating high school. In addition to studying biology and other science fields, you must have a basic understanding in math since you will be doing things such as weighing and measuring the organs and the body. You would also need to understand statistics as you would need to factor in things such as the probability of if the victim was killed due to a specific reason (for example, hate crimes) or if the person who died was at an age where death is almost expected. The average salary for a forensic pathologist is between $105,000 and $500,000, although that may vary greatly depending on whether you work for the city, county, or federal government.
In the Forensic Case #356228, skeletal remains of both human and animal were discovered in a hunting area. The skeletal remains were of potential victims named as either Robert Rutherford or Stephen Morton. Robert Rutherford, potential victim #1, was an African American, 65 years or age, had a pacemaker, carried a Gerber 650 knife, had unknown religious affiliations, and was 5’ft 6”inches tall. Potential victim #2, was Stephen Morton, a Caucasian 40 years of age, had a heart condition, was a hunter in the same area, also had unknown religious affiliations, carried a Gerber 650 knife, and was 5’ ft 7” inches tall.
A psychological autopsy is an investigative technique, usually employed by psychologists, which is used to determine how death had occurred in equivocal death cases (Fulero & Wrightsman, 2009). This technique is used to try and understand the mindset of the deceased person to help answer certain questions like why did the individual do what they did and why did it occur at that time? The investigator will collect data about the individual, like written correspondence and journ...
When a death occurs suddenly, unexpectedly and from unnatural or unknown causes, a forensic scientist has the duty to gather and analyze evidence to determine whether the victim died from a previously undiagnosed disease or infection or from a homicide, suicide or accident (Lurigio, 2009). When considering suicide as the probable cause of death, we are looking at the act of intentionally killing oneself through one’s own effort or with the assistance of another (Sever, 2009). The resolution of the manner of death by a forensic pathologist as suicide is based on a series of factors which eliminate natural causes of death, homicide and accident (Geberth, 2013, p.55). The cause of death is also determined by the medical examiner in conjunction with the crime scene investigator; however, it can only be determined after a thorough investigation is concluded. Therefore, in the complicated process of doing a death investigation there are several mistakes that should be avoided, which are discussed in Geberth’s article, Seven Mistakes in Suicide Investigation (2013). Mistakes in doing any death investigation affect the integrity of the evidence in determining the cause of death and in its admissibility in court.
In all cases in which the cause of death cannot be determined, a medico-legal autopsy is done. In a nutshell, a medico-legal autopsy serves to help explain a legal question surrounding the death in question e.g. is the manner of death natural, unnatural or undetermined? Was someone else involved? What were the circumstances leading to death? Therefore, in addition to the results and findings of the autopsy, other findings such as those from the crime scene also play big role in helping to determine what really happened.
When planning to enter into the forensic psychology field, the degree you earn will lead to licensure. Earning your masters or doctorate in clinical psychology or counseling psychology will be the goals to becoming a licensed psychologist. Typically the common degree amongst most forensic psychologists are in the clinical psychology department and not in the counseling department as the bulk of your co-workers will
Wound specimen vary from crime scene to crime scene such as; gunshot wound, stab wounds, defense wounds, rape wounds, blows from blunt objects, poisoning, strangulation, hanging, burns, explosions, electrocution, lightning, burning, hanging, and smothering, just to name a few. There are numerous classifications of wounds, most of which can let qualified investigators know more about the manner of death. Forensic pathologists' have the role in investigating medical examination of the body. They also assist investigation by relating the evidence to the autopsy findings. They will examine the wound, and tell if it was inflicted the wound and what instrument caused it. Pretty much all of the evidence that guide the examiner to consummate that the death was murder also allows for it to be sustainable evidence for the investigation and prosecuting the case; so that pathologists and investigators work closely together (Orthman-Hess, 2013).
I found out that this career expects a lot from an individual. As an undergraduate student one has an option to select a major. There's chemistry, biology, or physics to choose for a bachelor's degree(www.study.com). Next, you must have a four years of medical school, five years in a residential training of clinic pathology and anatomical, and one year in forensic pathology training(www.learningpath.org). I comprehend this career is lots of schooling years, but it will be worth it at the end. Along the way I will get to learn new about my career and get a bit closer to my
...ogy to become more important than it has in the past. The term forensic toxicology has been identified as the examination of toxic substances in human tissues, organs, and body fluids that may have contributed or caused death to an individual (Tilstone, Savage, Clark, 2006). Although forensic toxicology is concerned with what toxic substances contributed or caused death to an individual, it also plays a major role in simple drug testing that doesn’t involve death whether it be drug screening for future employees or even testing which chemicals were involved in sexual assault cases. Regardless of the situation, a forensic toxicologist is involved with determining toxins in the body. Without the use of forensic toxicology, there would be a major hole in forensic science and would make it more difficult for determining causes and times of death in many sorts of cases.
To do so, the anthropologist examines the overall sturdiness of the bones, as males tend to have larger bones and joint surface...
To summarise, sudden death arising from natural causes must be carefully investigated in order to identify the precise mechanism of death and to eliminate any suspicion that the death may have been caused unnaturally. The investigation usually involves a post-mortem which is performed by a forensic pathologist in order to reveal the exact cause of death. This process is important in that it should inform the family of the deceased with the cause of death and perhaps significant information relating to hereditary disease. The role of the Procurator Fiscal and forensic pathologist are vital to ensure the issue of a correctly completed death certificate.
In today’s time, modern Crime Scene Investigation has increased rapidly. From throughout the late 1900’s and in the early 2000’s (Taylor 1). For all of the evidence that they find, a solid foundation has formed over the thousands of years of Crime Scene
People interested in a career in forensic science can begin preparing for the job in high school. As high schoolers, they will want to take courses in mathematics, computers, earth sciences, biology, chemistry, and forensics. These courses will give the student a basic knowledge that will help form a foundation for their college years. As a college student, he or she will need to at least get a bachelors degree ...
Forensic science positions require a bachelor’s degree to work in the field. Understanding of legal procedures and knowledge can be helpful. Job candidates that have extensive hands-on experience with a variety of laboratory equipment, that includes computers and related equipment, don’t require a long period of on-the-job training. People that are interested in a career as a forensic science technician should take as many high school science and math courses as possible. Science courses taken beyond high school, in a bachelor or an associate’s degree program, should be laboratory oriented, with an emphasis on bench skills. A solid background in physics, math, and applied chemistry is vital. Approximately 30 colleges and universities offer a bachelor’s degree program in forensic science, and about a...
The first step taken to become a forensic scientist is to first pass the education required to become one. The education level chosen depends on what kind of forensic job you are interested in and what salary you are going for. Most entry-level forensic positions require a bachelor’s degree in forensic or natural science (Anne 1996). Undergraduate programs consist of toxicology, biochemistry, and criminal justice classes. The American Academy of Forensic Sciences also recommends English classes. This is because forensic scientists need very honed written and oral communication capabilities to write detailed reports and testify physical evidence in court.
Forensic Toxicology is a scientific test which identify the present of any drugs or chemicals in the body. This can be identified from bodily fluids and tissue samples.