Any FORENSIC Pathologists out there??

Question

What classes in high school help towards this career? Chemistry? Law? Biology? (Physics? - I didn't take this class)

Can you "shadow" a professional before signing up to college/university?

Any specific classes recommended to take in college/university for this career? Or great schools for this specific job?

Is it difficult during the first autopsy? Is it easy to adjust to everything that's going on? - I have seen some gruesome pictures, but I know that's nothing to seeing the real thing in REAL life...

The reason I ask is 'cause i'm seriously interested (if you haven't guessed already :) ) in this career choice. Please don't leave any comments asking why, or that it's gross, i've already had to deal with that. Sorry my Q is so long... Thank you SO much in advance!!

PS

If this is not the right career for me, are there any fields in forensic that include art, like photography or drawing for the police? - I know my art instructor (and "artsy" mom) would love me to continue my art. I would though at least want to try pathology, just so I don't spend my whole life wondering...

Answer 1

To be a Pathologist you have to first be a Doctor, you would train as a Surgeon and then specialize in Pathology. There's no job as a Forensic Photographer, although in the job as a CSI you do take photo's, although it's only small part of the job. You may be able to be an Artist for the Police, drawing witness interpretation's or something, unfortunately I don't know about this.

Answer 2

You don't have to train as a surgeon to be a pathologist. You complete you undergraduate degree, get accepted to med school, do your internship, and then do your residency in pathology. This isn't something to get into lightly. It would be a very long, arduous career but worth it if you truly want to do it. But you should investigate what a pathologist actually does. Autopsies make up a small portion of what they do. Pathology is a large field. Try this site to get an idea of what it is like: http://www.pathguy.com/.