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I want to be a Forensic Doctor, but what do i need to be one?

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#forensic #medicine

Thank you comment icon I have read the 2 responses and yes this is a long road you will be traveling. That being said, if this is your passion, go for it. All your hard work will be rewarded if you are doing something you love. It is also true that once you start, you might find another path but you will never know unless you start. I have tried many careers in my life and I never expected to be a Nurse Practitioner when I graduated High School. I also never expected to serve in the military, but life has a way of giving us opportunities if we just are open to them. Good luck. Lenore Cappelluti, MSN

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Subject: Career question for you

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Jason’s Answer

A forensic pathologist must first earn a bachelor’s degree, then a medical degree, either an M.D. or D.O. Extensive additional education and training is required, including four to five years of training in anatomic, clinical and/or forensic pathology and a one-year residency or fellowship in forensic pathology.

Once training is completed, a forensic pathologist must pass an exam to become board certified.

Source: https://explorehealthcareers.org/career/forensic-science/forensic-pathologist/
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Christopher’s Answer

Everything Jason wrote is correct, you basically need to get into med school and graduate before you even consider a sub-specialty like forensic pathology.

To be totally honest, the vast majority of folks who go to med school often change their mind about what they want to sub specialize in, particularly once they start doing clinical rotations and get to experience firsthand what different types of doctors do, so the best strategy would probably be to focus on getting into a good undergraduate program and working hard to maintain a strong GPA (ideally 3.8 or higher) and lots of healthcare-related volunteer experience. As long as you have solid grades, have good volunteer/extracurricular experiences, and get a decent MCAT score (the MCAT is a standardized test that virtually all med schools require for admission, which most pre-med undergraduates take in their final year of college) then you should be able to get into a Medical School in the US.

You will then need residency and fellowship training (several more years) after graduation from Med School

So basically, it’s a long and challenging path but medicine (regardless of what sub-specialty) is very rewarding and has great job security so if you’re willing to work hard it’s a good choice.

Chris

Christopher recommends the following next steps:

Go to college and get good grades
Volunteer in a healthcare related capacity
Ace the MCAT
Get into Med School
Sub-specialize in pathology (residency and fellowship)
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