Ethics Education in Forensic Pathology Fellowship Training: Is there a Need?

Abstract

Relatively little has been written about ethics in the practice of forensic pathology, considering its critical importance to the individual practitioner and the specialty's long-term survival. While the general foundation of highly ethical behavior has hopefully been established prior to entering the fellowship year, the practice of forensic pathology is unique and has its own special ethical issues, requiring active intentional education. The fellowship training year is the best setting in which to formally discuss the ethical behaviors required in the daily practice of forensic pathology. The American Counsel for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) also requires the demonstration of professionalism and ethical behavior during the fellowship, which includes ethics education. Almost all forensic pathology program directors report that ethics training is conducted on an opportunistic case-based basis as ethical issues arise during training. The majority of forensic pathology program directors would welcome a focused “Ethical Issues in Forensic Pathology” educational module following the Core Curriculum lecture platform and based upon the ACGME Core Competencies and developed by the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME).