Educating for practice: A new redesigned pedagogical model of clinical forensic medicine

Nowadays, cultivating experts in clinical forensic medicine (CFM) has become a universal problem worldwide. In most English-speaking countries, CFM is traditionally designed as an introduction and incorporation into medical undergraduate training whereas in China it is an essential sub-specialty of forensic science. The scope, missions, and tasks of this discipline vary widely by virtue of the diversity of countries and legal environment, leading to the difference in pedagogical model, even in professional qualities and abilities. Accordingly, it is imperative to uniform and standardize the training model of undergraduate of forensic major. In this article, we describe a redesigned pedagogical model of CFM implemented by the Faculty of Forensic Medicine, which is characterized by: (a) initiating students into comprehension of CFM and raising their awareness of the professional responsibilities; (b) developing students intellectual curiosity of legal and medical issues and educating in advanced techniques of CFM; (c) cultivating students ability of expression and communication in professional terms and providing with educational resources to enhance their professional qualities; and (d) improving teachers ability of imparting knowledge and promoting the development and optimization of teaching evaluation system. In terms of forensic practical and scientific research, plentiful prominent achievements have been currently acquired resulted from this redesigned pedagogical model, which demonstrates its superiority in undergraduate education.