Legal medicine and the medical establishment.
Formal medical discipline-based regulation and professional support for legal medicine practitioners have been a long time coming. While informal associations and societies of like-minded doctors and dentists have existed for some time, they have not had the sort of "establishment credibility" that is required to influence policy-makers and drive formal processes for professional training and regulation in this area. The recent creation of formal medical College status for medico-legal specialists within the medical establishment is described and the advantages discussed. The creation of formal career pathways, organised training structures and policy advisory systems in legal medicine for government has the potential to support recruitment to this difficult and challenging area of medical practice. This can only be of benefit to the legal profession who rely on these medical practitioners in so many areas. The standards setting, recertification, revalidation and accreditation activities of a formal Royal Medical College are likely to have significant influence on the work of health and legal policy regulators at a time of considerable change.
Ranson
David
D
Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine, Monash University.
D000068:Accreditation; D001315:Australia; D002568:Certification; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003479:Curriculum; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000592:standards; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D011050:Policy Making; D013044:Specialty Boards; D006113:United Kingdom