ABSTRACT
Postgraduate education, training and assessment in Forensic Medicine in Sri Lanka are managed by the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM), University of Colombo. There are several components in the postgraduate examinations; theory, clinical case presentation, a full autopsy and presentation, Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE), Histopathology component and a viva voce examination where a pass grade is compulsory in each component. This includes the 20 minute viva voce examination as well. The viva voce can be used to test intellectual processes such as decision making and justification of opinions; abilities paramount to an effective expert medial witness. However, it has been dropped by many Examination Boards due to several shortcomings. Poor inter examiner reliability is one example that has been quoted as a serious drawback. Certain measures can be taken to increase the validity and reliability of the viva voce, some of which have been introduced in Sri Lanka by the Board of Study in Forensic Medicine, PGIM. Improvements to the viva voce should be an ongoing process. This paper will 1) discuss the value of the viva voce in postgraduate examinations in Forensic Medicine, 2) study its pass/fail reliability as a compulsory component, 3) examine how its shortcomings could be overcome, 4) examine the evolution of the viva voce in postgraduate examinations in Forensic Medicine in Sri Lanka and 5) make recommendations for the future.