Taiwan Medical Association (TMA) members yesterday criticized the Legislative Yuan’s proposal to amend a law to allow non-physicians to become qualified as forensic pathologists, saying that only physicians have the expertise necessary for the job.
However, the Taiwan Society of Forensic Medicine said that forensic pathologists and physicians require different skills, and the rule change is not designed to exclude physicians, who are welcome to train to become forensic pathologists.
The preliminary reading of the amendment — which would exclude physicians from performing examinations and autopsies on cadavers unless in conditions of major disasters or when there are insufficient forensic pathologists — was passed and the amendment is scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 29.
The amendment might bring about a situation in which none of the nation’s forensic pathologists are physicians, as is the case in China, cuurently the only country in the world that allows non-physicians to serve as forensic pathologists, he said.
The Taiwan Society of Pathology has already given forensic pathologist certification to 29 physicians, and a survey by the Ministry of Justice showed that many physicians specialized in pathology are willing to study forensic pathology and become forensic pathologists, Tsai said.
Physicians are generally trained to treat the living, but forensic pathologists examine corpses, so there are differences in their skill-sets, Taiwan Society of Forensic Medicine chairperson James Lee (李俊億) said.
However, several physicians work part-time as forensic pathologists, because physicians specializing in pathology are not required to take special training and pass a forensic pathology test to take up part-time jobs, he said.
The society is in favor of amending the law so that all forensic pathologists — whether they are physicians or not — would need to receive specialized training and certification, he said.
A free exhibition aimed at teaching the public about air-raid shelters and basic emergency personal protection skills today opened on the concourse level of the Taipei MRT's Ximen Station. The event, organized by the National Police Agency, aims to raise awareness about disaster preparedness ahead of nationwide air raid drills scheduled from July 15 to 18, which are part of broader urban resilience exercises. The exhibition outlines the recommended actions people should take depending on whether they are indoors, commuting or outdoors when air-raid sirens sound. It also teaches people how to equip air-raid shelters and pack emergency "go bags," with displays
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
An electric bus charging facility at Taipei Metro’s Beitou Depot officially opened yesterday with 22 charging bays to serve the city’s 886 electric buses. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told a ceremony to mark the opening of the facility that the city aims to fully electrify its bus fleet by 2030. The number of electric buses has grown from about 650 last year to 886 this year and is expected to surpass 1,000 by the end of the year, Chiang said. Setting up the charging station in a metro depot optimizes land and energy use, as the metro uses power mainly during the
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
RSS