The coroner system originated in the 12th century in the English colonial period. It came to the United States in the 1600’s, in which an elected official of a particular political party, at the county level, who runs for office for terms of either 2 or 4 years. Early coroners were not physicians, had little to no medical training, but did try to use common senses when conducting a death investigation. By 1860, Maryland laws authorized a physician to participate with the coroner in a death investigation. Baltimore later appointed a coroner physician in 1868. The medical examiner’s origin began in Scotland and France, that came to the United States in the late 19th century as an appointed, non-partisan position, with a continuous term. Early …show more content…
Depending on the jurisdiction, some coroners must have met the peace officer standard. There are some jurisdictions that a coroner may obtain certification through the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators. A medical examiner has extensive education including a bachelor’s degree, a four-year medical degree, as well as residency and fellowship requirements. Furthermore, they must pass the boards for forensic pathology and annual continuing education requirements. Medical examiners can enjoy employment at most local, state and federal governments, as well as colleges, universities, and other private employers (Thompson, …show more content…
At the age 49-years-old, medical school and the financial burden to become a medical examiner is not within my reach, that I would prefer the latter. I have nearly 30 years in healthcare experience and enjoy studying the human body and disease. Some may consider it morbid, but the idea investigating death and providing closure to families and criminal cases is exciting. Every death is unique and poses its own form of challenges. References Crime Scene Investigator Edu. (n.d.). What is a Coroner? Retrieved from https://www.crimesceneinvestigatoredu.org/coroner/ Davis, G. (2015, December). The Medical Examiner and Coroner System. Retrieved from https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1785357-overview#a2 Illinois Association of County. (n.d.). Coroner/M.E. Inside the Courthouse. Retrieved from http://www.ilcounty.org/upload/files/Coroner-Fact-Sheet-new.pdf National Library of Medicine. (2014). Coroner vs. Medical Examiner. Retrieved from https://www.nlm.nih.gov/visibleproofs/galleries/cases/examiner.html Thompson, L. (2017). Medical Examiner Job & Career Information. Retrieved from
To become a forensic pathologist, the minimum amount of college education is around 13 years (Van Berkel). It takes up an immense amount of time to become an medical examiner, and as such, the field is underemployed, leading to those inefficiencies in the offices. Eliminating the coroner position does not help nor stimulate the growth of the field, since the coroner position is relatively easy to become without any college requirements. As an elected official, a coroner has the power to make decisions and is the best representatives of a community’s needs and values (Parrott). The debate should not be on eliminating the coroner position, as the job maintains the balance of workload and represents the wishes of the people in the state who elected the official.
The first coroners were appointed in 1194 by Richard I. He actually had sheriffs to represent his interests, but they were often corrupt. Furthermore, they embezzled shares of the taxes, so Richard I. decided to create a new office: the coroner. Their official task was to "keep the pleas of the Crown"; this included the investigation of sudden deaths, but also administrative duties.
Death is an elementary word harboring many meanings. It is the feeling of being caught in the grip of inevitably. It is a personal realization that you too are mortal. It is the recognition that one's life is changed forever. The shiny image of a once bright world full of promise dulls. Unfortunately, every individual will experience the death of a loved one at least once in their life. No words can soothe the agony of losing a loved one. State legislatures are familiar with this grief and have created either a coroner system or a medical examiner system. A coroner system consists of a coroner whose responsible for identifying the decreased body, alerting the family members or anyone of close relation, signing the death certificate and most importantly determining the cause of death. The tasks seem simple; however, in practicality the tasks are demanding and impossible to fulfill with the coroner system. Due to the absence of scientific knowledge, elective nature and lack of modern resources, the coroner system is exceeding inefficient and should be replaced with the medical examine...
While the concept of the profession began in the 17th century, our paper will focus more on the contemporary American history starting in the 1940s. Dr. Amos Johnson, a founder of the American Board of Family Practice, hired a hospital orderly named Henry Treadwell to assist in the daily activities of his office. Dr. Johnson’s practice in Garland, North Carolina, initiated the spread of the physician assistant model across the state. Dr. Eugene Stead and his general medicine residents at Duke University took interest in this idea. In 1942, due to the lack of adequate medical care during World War II, Dr. Stead created a three year medical doctorate fast-track program. This sparked the idea that perhaps one day he could implement a similar program to alleviate the physician shortage in the United States.
Instead, state governments should provide more funding and training for county coroner’s so they can do their jobs well with the proper facilities and equipment. Coroners are important elected officials and should not be replaced by appointed medical examiners who are not accountable to the public (“Coroners and Forensic Science”). Electing coroners with little medical experience and allowing them to perform autopsies with no real regulatory oversight is a deeply flawed and outdated method for conducting death investigations. As stated in the article, “autopsies should be performed only by licensed physicians, preferably those specializing in forensic pathology, and in offices run by certified medical examiners (“Coroners and Forensic Science”).” Furthermore, the U.S. should have a federal department that can impose a uniform set of standards for death investigation in every county, instead of the confusing hodgepodge of systems it has
The steps of education to become a medical assistant is obtaining a Post-secondary degree (offers social/ economic benefits), Associate’s degree (course of study usually 2 years community college, junior college, technical college), and High school diploma (graduation of high school). To attend this job (medical assisting) it takes 2 years at the most. The main degree for this job that is needed is an Associate’s degree. Training starts when you apply for the job and you get called in for training to prepare you for the experience before you actually start the
In order to become a forensic pathologist, you must obtain a bachelor’s degree, a medical degree, then finally
The criminal justice system is composed of agencies and processes established by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate laws. The way criminal justice systems work depends on the jurisdiction that is in charge. Different jurisdictions have different ways of managing criminal justice processes. The components of the criminal justice system are law enforcement, prosecution, defense attorneys, courts, and corrections.
Mortuary science has several different certifications and understudies and can be dated back to 3100 B.C. http://www.preceden.com/timelines/45056-timeline---funeral-practices--3100-bc-1700-ad- Certified embalmers, funeral cosmetologists, directors, and in most funeral businesses, certified retort operators can be found within the business or local establishment. Embalming is a technique used to artific...
Throughout this researched that I investigated I became interested in this field in a way. If I had an option in medical field I would take the option. Knowing that you are helping patients out is an amazing feeling. I would work with infants rather than adults. I would cherish every moment because you would never know if that’s the last time to work with the patient not just because of death but maybe cause they might recover from there sickness.
The criminal justice system is composed of three parts – Police, Courts and Corrections – and all three work together to protect an individual’s rights and the rights of society to live without fear of being a victim of crime. According to merriam-webster.com, crime is defined as “an act that is forbidden or omission of a duty that is commanded by public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law.” When all the three parts work together, it makes the criminal justice system function like a well tuned machine.
The criminal justice system views any crime as a crime committed against the state and places much emphasis on retribution and paying back to the community, through time, fines or community work. Historically punishment has been a very public affair, which was once a key aspect of the punishment process, through the use of the stocks, dunking chair, pillory, and hangman’s noose, although in today’s society punishment has become a lot more private (Newburn, 2007). However it has been argued that although the debt against the state has been paid, the victim of the crime has been left with no legal input to seek adequate retribution from the offender, leaving the victim perhaps feeling unsatisfied with the criminal justice process.
In the early 1860’s, the first field ambulance and attendant was created by the United States. The first recorded use of the ambulance and attendant was during the civil war. Both sides tried to make their medical practices equal, if not better than what was used in the Napoleonic Wars. But due to the lack of funding, government support, and personnel dedication, these attempts failed. In 1864, at the Geneva Conventions, an agreement was made that the European countries would recognize the neutrality of hospitals and ambulances so that the sick and wounded,...
In Anatomy of a Murder, there were four expert witnesses, Dr. Smith, Dr. Harcourt, Dr. Raschid, and Dr. Dompierre, who testified during the trial and gave their respected opinions based on their expertise about the evidence and stipulations raised. An expert witness is defined as a witness who has special knowledge or training in a specialized area (Gardner & Anderson, 2013, pg.123). The opinion of an expert witness may be admissible if the opinion is being given about a subject that can clear issues in the court. To determine whether or not the expert witness testimony is admissible, it must meet the requirements of the Federal Rules of Evidence 702-704. In addition to reviewing each of the three Federal Rules of Evidence, I reviewed each of the four expert witness testimonies and analyzed whether or not each testimony complied each Federal Rule of evidence.
Maio, V. D. (2003). Medicolegal death investigation system: workshop summary. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.