Forensic Pathologist Job Description

Forensic pathologist job description and profile

A forensic pathologist is a doctor who examines corpses and determines the cause of death. The procedure is completely thorough and the body is checked for kinds of internal damages. Every organ has to examined in determine the person died.

Forensic pathologist duties and responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of a forensic pathologist are:

• Investigate the cause of death that may have happened in any suspicious and genuine situation
• Examine the body to detect signs of unnatural death by fingerprinting, DNA testing and other methods
• Finding out the time of death to help the police department solve cases of murder
• Visit the scene of death and collect evidence
• Putting the body through different tests in order to find out the cause of death
• Determining the weapons or instruments used in murder
• Performing toxicology analysis on the body to detect traces of poison
• Summarizing the results found during the autopsy and presenting it to the relevant people
• Training junior pathologists
• Converse with the crime investigators in order to derive correct conclusions
• Maintaining and supervising the pathology equipments and the lab

Forensic pathologist skills and specifications

The skills and specifications required for the job of a forensic pathologist are:

• A thorough knowledge about the anatomy of the body
• A thorough knowledge about toxicology
• Good communication skills in order to deal with the media representatives and give evidence in the court of law
• Exceptional analysis and interpretation abilities
• Should be up to date with the latest technology in forensic science

Forensic pathologist education and qualifications

The education and qualifications of a forensic pathologist are:

• A four year medical school degree followed by a four year forensic science degree and residency and then one year of internship

Forensic pathologist salary

The salary of a forensic pathologist ranges between $80,000 to $120,000 per annum.