• Simon Young, David Wells, and Ian Summers.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria, Australia. simon.young@rch.org.au
• Emerg Med Australas. 2004 Oct 1;16(5-6):441-5.

ObjectiveTo assess the effectiveness of a 6-month rotation in forensic medicine in developing medicolegal and forensic skills for doctors training for a fellowship with the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM).MethodsOver a period of 6 years 12 trainees undertook a 6-month rotation with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) as a clinical forensic registrar. These 12 trainees were surveyed and asked structured questions regarding their perception of the usefulness of the training and the impact of the rotation on their professional development.ResultsTwelve replies were received (100% response rate). All respondents felt that the term had a major positive influence on their ability to examine victims of physical and sexual assault, obtain forensic specimens and prepare a medicolegal report.ConclusionsA 6-month rotation in clinical forensic medicine improves ACEM trainees perceived ability to perform a number of medicolegal tasks without interfering with other areas of professional development.

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