Careers in forensic and legal medicine

Forensic medicine is often seen as a glamorous yet morbid field of work, a myth perpetuated by television stars like the notorious Quincy, ME. But it's not all solving crimes and post mortems. Richard Jones and Roy Palmer describe the different career opportunities that bring the law and medicine together

If you are interested in the law, or the legal aspects of practising medicine, there are a number of highly satisfying medicolegal careers. You may have to do a lot of casework and use a variety of skills that you would not use in clinical medicine.

Forensic medicine combines knowledge of the law with that of various branches of medicine. You may have seen Dr Sam Ryan or Dr Quincy, ME, on television, working in that “most fascinating sphere of police work,” single handedly solving murders. The reality is somewhat different.

A forensic practitioner is someone who provides evidence for court proceedings (the word “forensic” is from the Latin “forensis,” a court or forum). Practising clinicians working mainly in clinical medicine may occasionally find themselves giving professional evidence of fact, or expert opinion reports, in personal injury (including medical negligence) claims, other civil cases (for example, family law cases), in criminal courts, or for the coroner. Some careers, however, allow a practitioner to spend more of their time dealing with medicolegal matters.