The Forensic Medicine Department of Shifa College of Medicine Hosted a Three-Days Medico Legal Training Workshop

The Forensic Medicine Department of Shifa College of Medicine hosted a three-days medico legal training workshop from August 18th to August 20th, 2023, as part of the college’s 25th-anniversary celebrations.

The primary motivation for conducting this workshop was the observed lack of medicolegal training and the challenges encountered by medical officers, house officers, and other healthcare practitioners when dealing with the documentation of medicolegal certificates, death certificates, and post-mortem reports. The core objective of the workshop was to empower participants with fundamental knowledge of forensic medicine and its practical applications.

Dr. M. Arshad, associate professor at Shifa College of Medicine, assumed the role of workshop instructor, while Dr. Sadia Syed, assistant professor in the Forensic Department, served as the workshop’s moderator as well as facilitator. The dedicated instructors from the Forensic Medicine department, including Dr. Hira Sattar, Dr. Maryam Safdar, Dr. Mohsin, and Dr. Usman, displayed great enthusiasm in organizing and conducting the workshops.

On the workshop’s inaugural day, participants received a warm welcome from Prof. Dr. Mohammad Amir, the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Principal of Shifa College of Medicine. The welcome ceremony was attended by Dr. Ashraf Hussain, Chairman of Basic Health Sciences, as well as faculty members from the departments of Pathology, Community Medicine, biochemistry, behavioural sciences and Health Professional Education department. Dr. Sadia Syed presented an overview of the course content and the schedule of activities. Participants had already been added to a Google Classroom and a WhatsApp group, through which all relevant materials were shared with them in advance.

During the workshop, attendees engaged in discussions and hands-on training sessions that covered various topics, including writing autopsy reports and medicolegal certificates, recording and analyzing fingerprints, performing gastric lavage, sealing autopsy specimens for histopathology and chemistry, documenting firearm injuries, and examining victims of sexual abuse.

The certificate distribution ceremony was held on the third and final day of workshop. Prof. Dr.M Amir, Dr. M. Arshad, and Dr. Sadia Syed presented certificates to all participants, organizers, and facilitators. Shifa College of Medicine is dedicated to continuing its efforts to organize comparable workshops in the future, aimed at fulfilling the training requirements of healthcare professionals and ensuring they attain vital expertise in medicolegal procedures.