PREAMBLE:

The teaching of students in the Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology is to make physicians aware of medical and legal responsibilities in day to day medicine practice. He / She must be aware of the existing and new Laws in relation to the medicine practice and medical negligence and acquire knowledge regarding medical ethics. He / She must be able to manage medical and legal issues in case of poisoning. He / She must help the Law enforcement agencies in India in administration of justice by using of Forensic Medicine skills.

GOAL:

The goal of the course of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology is to equip all doctors with requisite knowledge and skill to deal with all the Medicolegal cases including post-mortem examination on everyday basis in medical practice.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the course in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, the students should be able to:

  1. Identify, examine and prepare report or certificate in Medicolegal cases with particular emphasis on maintenance of Medicolegal registers such as accident register, wound certificate register, drug-in-charge certificate, death certificate, sickness and fitness certificate, estimation of age by physical, dental and radiological examination and issuance of certificate, examination of victim / accused and issuance of certificate in sexual offences.
  2. Perform Medicolegal post-mortem examination and reasonably interpret autopsy findings to conclude the cause of death, manner of death and time since death.
  3. Preserve and dispatch specimens and other relevant materials in Medicolegal / post – mortem cases to the appropriate Government agencies for necessary examination and report.
  4. Understand and observe medical ethics, etiquette, duties, rights, social and legal responsibilities of the physician towards patient, profession, society and State.
  5. Aware of legal / Court procedures applicable to Medicolegal / medical practice.
  6. Deals with basic aspects of diagnosis and management of poisoning and develop competence to deal with Medicolegal issues arising from them.
  7. Recognize and deal with the general principles of environmental, occupational and preventive aspects of toxicology.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS ACQUIRED:

At the end of the course in Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, the students will have the knowledge to:

  1. Identify the Medicolegal cases
  2. Medicolegal responsibility of physician
  3. Physician’s responsibilities in criminal matters
  4. The principles of analytical toxicology
  5. Diagnosis, management and documentation in case of poisoning
  6. Observation in Medicolegal cases and make logical inferences and opinions
  7. Prepare various Medicolegal reports and certificates such as death, age, wound, sickness & fitness certificates
  8. Testify as an expert witness in Court of Law

LEARNING METHODS:

  1. Didactic Lecture
  2. Structured interactive sessions
  3. Group discussions
  4. Practical including demonstrations
  5. Problem based exercises
  6. Written case scenario
  7. Self learning tools
  8. Seminars and workshops
  9. Case discussion

 

METHOD OF ASSESSMENT:

  1. Essay questions
  2. Short answer questions
  3. Practical examination
  4. MCQs
  5. Problem solving exercise
  6. Oral Viva Voce

TIME OF EVALUATION:

There is regular formative assessment. Day-to-day performance / assessment is of great importance. Apart from regular unit test, class test and terminal examinations, there are final examination at the end of each semester, i.e., 3rd, 4th and 5th semester.

Internal assessment is calculated on the basis of all the examinations conducted with maximum weightage given to sent up examination.

COURSE DURATION:

 Semester Theory Practical
3 semesters (3rd, 4th & 5th ) 100 hours