The Medico Legal expert should have a deep understanding of laws along with clinical experience and medical expertise, along with that there are some more skills which a good Medico Legal expert is expected to have:
First, you have to be clear about the role you want to choose according to your clinical experience. Job vacancies are listed on the NHS jobs website. Job in the field of medico-legal depends on your years of clinical experience:
If you have less than 5 years of clinical experience then you can start with SHO level jobs such as claims handler. You can apply on the NHS jobs website or you can also contact your department manager.
If you have 5 years of post-qualification experience then you can become a medico-legal advisor MLA with any defense organisations. The job of medico-legal advisor can be part-time which can be managed along with your clinical commitments or full-time.
If you have the clinical experience of more than 10 years then you can opt for the career of an expert witness. It includes analysis of medical facts, dealing with a clinical negligence claim, medico-legal report writing for litigation. This job requires involvement in legal proceedings, attending court, and providing reports to the solicitors based on factual assessment.
To become a Medico Legal expert is a good option to have a professional degree or diploma in medical law and ethics. To become an efficient expert you can take training and courses. You can also read books, case studies, and journals of other practitioners along with learning the legal language. You need to pay attention to every agreement as an expert witness to mitigate chances of conflict or confusion. You need to learn about report writing for the legal process. All Medico Legal experts need to adhere to a code of practice for an expert witnesses to ensure the quality of their work.
