A cut above the rest? The value of post-mortem examinations in undergraduate forensic science education

Abstract

Very few people have the opportunity to witness a post-mortem first-hand in a mortuary environment. These spaces are typically reserved for those in the medical profession, including doctors in training. However, students enrolled on other programmes may go on to future careers that involve interacting with deceased individuals. Forensic Science graduates, for example, may enter professional roles that require the recovery, sampling, analysis and/or identification of the dead. In only a small number of cases will forensic students have had the opportunity to attend a post-mortem in person. In this article, we explore the value of incorporating post-mortem visits on undergraduate forensic science degrees from an academic (KS) and a student (FS) perspective. As part of this research, we obtained supplementary feedback from students who had also attended a post-mortem as part of their undergraduate degree at the University of Staffordshire. This research shows that while there can be logistical challenges when arranging post-mortem visits, students find the experience to be incredibly valuable, allowing them to improve their own personal and professional practice, and learn about up-to-date methods and processes used by practitioners. It could be argued that these visits are invaluable as they facilitate observational learning, especially the practical application of theoretical knowledge and understanding of post-mortems and the identification process, which in turn improves the employability of students.