FAQs about Autopsy & Forensic Pathology
How do you become a Forensic Pathologist?
Following high school, you need to complete your undergraduate studies (typically 4 years, completing the pre-med requisite courses, and choose whatever field of study interests you - I did psychology!), followed by medical school (typically 4 years), followed by at least a residency in anatomic pathology (this is 3 years, but many complete a combined anatomic and clinical pathology residency which is 4 years), and finished with a forensic pathology fellowship (1 year). Additionally, some opt to pursue additional training in either Pediatric Pathology, Neuropathology, or Pediatric Pathology depending on career interests.
How good is the job market?
Excellent! The pandemic lead to increasing caseloads for many offices, prompting increased funding for additional positions in many offices across the nation. Additionally, recruitment from countries like Australia and New Zealand is common in the field.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
One of the things I love most about this job is that no two days are the same. You never know what cases are going to come into the office and even two similar stories can have very different findings at postmortem examination. Some days you are in the autopsy suite doing exams all day, other days you are at your desk typing up reports, reading through medical records, and following up with families. Other days you are testifying in court or teaching. There is so much variety in this field! A longer answer can be found here.
What’s the salary range for Forensic Pathology?
Salaries are continuously increasing significantly. The general range of salaries as publicly listed is between $160K - $325+K depending on a combination of location and experience with office Chiefs (i.e. the Chief Medical Examiner) typically making the most. Many of the lower salaries are for those who are not ABP certified and then substantially increase once the forensic pathologist passes their Board exam the fall following graduation. Those with additional credentials, such as being Board-certified in Neuropathology, also earn more. Many forensic pathologists supplement their salaries with a combination of teaching, consulting, and expert witnessing. Some chose to transition into starting their own business, filling in and taking cases from understaffed offices, oftentimes making well over the previously stated salary ranges.
Do you commonly go to crime scenes?
That depends on the office. Most offices have a requirement for forensic pathology fellows to attend a certain number of scenes during their training in order to gain a greater appreciation for what our Investigators look for when they respond to a reported death. Many offices have done away with necessitating attending-level forensic pathologists to attend suspicious scenes, unless upon request by law enforcement.
How many hours per week do you work?
The work schedule (what time your day officially starts and ends, how many days per week you are on call, etc) varies by office. On average, I currently work 7:30 am - 4 pm Mondays thru Fridays with a Saturday shift every month and a half. Other offices (usually larger, big city offices) have you in the autopsy suite for a set number of days (10-13) with the remaining days of the month considered paper days to catch up on your work. It also depends on if you are in a big, busy office or a smaller office, but on average I would say 40-60 hour work weeks. Many offices are moving towards allowing employees to at least partially work remotely.
How similar is your job to what we see on television shows?
I have never been one to watch these shows, but I would suspect it is a poor portrayal of what we do. The stereotype I hear is that we are typically depicted as odd characters that live down in basements and keep to ourselves. The actuality is that we interact with a variety of people ranging from grieving families to local and federal law enforcement to fire departments to the CDC and public health departments.
What is the difference between a hospital-based autopsy and a forensics autopsy?
A typical hospital-based autopsy requires consent from the decedent’s next of kin (e.g. spouse, adult child, sibling, etc.) including the extent to what parts of the body can be examined (i.e. brain only, heart only, etc). They usually serve to answer a question the family and/or the clinical team has.
A forensics, or medicolegal, autopsy has jurisdiction granted by the local or state government (i.e. written into law), meaning consent is not needed and the forensic pathologist determines the extent of examination needed (i.e. full autopsy examination versus limited).
Both serve vital roles in the community - both to the immediate family and to the greater community at large.