Course Description
The course in forensic medicine attempts to provide the students an understanding of tfie basic principles of forensic medicine practice in all major areas of the discipline. The approach is one that discourages rote memory — providing instead a firm knowledge case and logical approach to problems that the student cum practitioner should encounter in future practice. One major course objective is to force the student to realize when a situation is not solvable and, most importantly, to be able to meritoriously say that he/she does not know the answer. At the point one can admit ignorance, real learning has a chance to flourish.
The course is organized into three main sections:
The course in forensic medicine relates to all other courses of study the student may experience. Due to the myriad conditions that may be found at autopsy, knowledge from all other disciplines must be applied in the assessment of cases.
Course Objectives
The course in forensic medicine is designed to prepare the student to assess injuries of all types and to properly evaluate the victim of sexual assault. The various bases for identification of humans are presented. The principles taught are applicable to either living or dead persons, and the student is also prepared to perform autopsy examinations at a level reasonable for this country.
Course Content
All areas of forensic pathology are covered in the course, including not only the ones customarily included but also the evaluation of natural deaths of forensic interest and special situations that may be encountered, e.g. death in the dental chair, anaphylaxis, abortion, torture methods and victims, starvation, electrolyte disorders as primary cause of death, and sudden death associated with violent struggle without demonstrable anatomic cause of death, amongst others. Evaluation of postmortem cases with no anatomical findings is extensively considered.
Specific objectives:
Students should be able to define and discuss
Implementation Strategy
Approximately 80 hours of didactic lectures, examinations, and reviews and discussions of examinations are presented. These lectures cover all the above-mentioned- topics and are devised so as to promote thinking and reasoning on the part of the student. Rote memory is discouraged. The result wished to be achieved is a student/practitioner capable of utilizing the information presented in a productive and scientifically objective manner in a mileu of absolute intellectual integrity.
The class is divided into four groups of 15 students each, the maximum number that can be comfortably and productively accommodated in the morgue facility. Each group should experience through observation and participation 25 to 30 autopsy examinations.
Each student must prepare at least five complete autopsy protocols concerning cases in which he has participated. Autopsy demonstration is for a duration of two weeks of 2 hrs session per day.
Near the end of the course, a review of all the basic principles is undertaken with a slightly different perspective than the original lectures since at this point the students have a broader knowledge and different areas can be related to each other more effectively.
Throughout the course, emphasis is given to the necessity for any person involved in forensic medicine — indeed any arena — to be a person of science and a person possessed of absolute intellectual integrity. The fact that decisions made by the forensic medicine practitioner can drastically affect living people, perhaps even their very freedom, is stressed repeatedly. The student is many times reminded that he must not reach beyond the bounds of his knowledge and that all of medicine involves continuing education throughout his career.
The basic philosophy of our approach to teaching is that we as instructors are here to guide and help the students realize their educational goals and necessities. We are not enthroned as professors, heads of department, lecturers, or readers in some god-like positions that preclude the students approaching us with questions, concerns, criticisms, and/or requests for assistance with study.
Teaching/Learning Resources
The theory and review sections of the course are taught by utilization of multiple case slides, video clips and other materials via computer PowerPoint presentations.
The practical experience portion of the course relies upon the morgue resources and the constant flow of bodies of individuals dead from various causes through the facility.
Evaluation
Examinations of objective nature are given on a regular basis through the course. The questions typically should involve presentation of investigative findings of circumstances surrounding the case, a clinical history, and autopsy findings. One or more questions — often several — should be asked about the case, and the ability to answer the questions should depend upon understanding of the principles presented in the course lectures and materials.
At the conclusion of the course, students are asked for their evaluation of specific items, e.g. lectures methods and quality, examinations, audio-visual materials utilized, and the like. They are also requested to give any comments and/or suggestions that they feel should be made. Identification of the student giving an evaluation is voluntary.
Practical/Demonstrations
Text books:
