Melbourn Haley, Smith Gabriella, McFarland Jessica, Rogers Melissa, Wieland Kelsey, DeWilde Delilah, Lighthart Sarah, Quinn Matthew, Baxter Alexis, Quarino Lawrence
Master of Science in Forensic Science Program, Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA, 18104, USA.
Forensic Sci Int Synerg. 2019 Aug 7;1:161-169. doi: 10.1016/j.fsisyn.2019.08.001. eCollection 2019.
The article presented is supportive of mandatory certification of forensic scientists and believes that such a mandate can help establish a threshold for competency in the profession, provide a universal standard for ethical professional conduct, and enhance the credibility of forensic science in users of the profession and the general societal public. After examining the history of professional certification in the United States across a spectrum of professions including forensic science, results of surveys sent to forensic science practitioners to gauge their views on mandatory certification is discussed. Seventy-three surveys were received with most surveyors being in support of mandatory certification related to their discipline. Reasons why many practitioners have chosen not to engage in voluntary certification were also provided on the surveys and discussed. Finally, the article discusses possible ways of implementing mandatory certification and concludes that the mechanisms to achieve this goal may already be in place.
所呈现的这篇文章支持对法医科学家进行强制认证，并认为这样一项规定有助于确立该职业的能力门槛，为符合职业道德的专业行为提供通用标准，以及提高法医学在该职业使用者和广大社会公众中的可信度。在审视了美国包括法医学在内的一系列职业的专业认证历史之后，文章讨论了向法医科学从业者发送的调查问卷的结果，以衡量他们对强制认证的看法。共收到73份调查问卷，大多数调查对象支持与其学科相关的强制认证。调查问卷还提供并讨论了许多从业者选择不参与自愿认证的原因。最后，文章讨论了实施强制认证的可能方式，并得出结论认为实现这一目标的机制可能已经存在。
