I’d like to study forensic pathology (perform autopsies)

Do you really? If you understood the medical role you’ve set your sights on, you would understand that autopsies are a very small part of what pathologists do and that it’s a sub-specialism of a much broader field? And that the specialism involves using medical skills to understand the basis of disease at a molecular, cellular and structural level? I’m about 90% certain that the number of people who literally just perform autopsies all day is probably quite small. If you’re picturing yourself cutting open bodies and weighing organs, I think you really need to investigate butchery as a career.

I’m being facetious, I am, but I know two pathologists (one of them quite well through his daughter and another because we shared a table at lunch a few times) and neither of them ever goes near the morgue. The younger of the two does eventually want to go into forensics but she’s been working for four years post-graduation to get there and is still not there. She only decided at foundation that she wanted to do pathology and only later set her sights on forensics. It’s been a very organic journey for her. If she’d wanted to do forensic pathology from the beginning she’d have been very bored for 9 years by now. As it is, she just really likes understanding disease and tissues. It’s medicine on the molecular level. If you’re not interested in medicine, you’re probably not really that interested in forensic pathology because that’s what it takes to get there. The venn diagram of people who initially want to do FP and those who initially want to do medicine is very nearly two perfect circles, I would imagine. And with reasonably good reason. I’d be a little worried if I show up on my first day of medical school who said that they wanted to do FP because I’d know that they’d lied at least once to get in! I’d say it’s something you could only realistically say you wanted to do once you’ve actually done histology rotations. You notice that no one ever goes in saying that they want to be a psychiatrist specialising in addiction? Or an endocrinologist? It’s a career I think people think they understand because it’s high profile but it’s probably as obscure and unknowable as any other medical specialty. You can only know it once you’ve done it.

Hlo ,
Actually i was searching for someone to help me with this thing . I am a year 10 student going to do gcse next year. Although it is a bit early to think about things i actually want to be a forensic pathologist in future I mean i I wish to . So the thing is I took combined science instead of triple science for gcse will it affect my aim to become a FP? .
Also after reading your response to that message I guess you know something about this field so could you explain more about this career and steps to take towards it ?🙏
Also is it better to be a pathologist first and further develop into FP or start on FP ? .

Pls help me with this ......

The second post of this thread outlines it. You have to study medicine --> go into pathology --> become a forensic pathologist.

I have made this sound very simple but it takes a lot of time and effort. You'll have to study 5-6 years in medicine and then complete the foundation programme which is another 2. If medicine/pathology is something you're interested in the best thing you can do now is do a bit of light reading/research around a life in medicine.

And double science is just fine. To give yourself teh best opportunity to apply to study medicine, you will need to do bio and chemistry at A Level

Hope this helps!