Forensics Journal - Stevenson University 2012 | Page 15

FORENSICS JOURNAL

The Citizens Review Panel examines the work of the Department of
Social Services and while it is not necessary to be a forensic nurse to
sit on this panel, the knowledge and background often adds to the
examination of the records again pointing to the safety in homes and
families and means to increasing prevention at the primary level.

following the crash of United 93 was to work as a team member in
whatever capacity was needed. All members of DMORT perform
multiple duties as assigned despite being specially trained in a forensic
discipline. I spent 12 days in the morgue assisting in the identification of those who perished in the crash. My role for the first week was
working alongside a forensic pathologist examining each body fragment recovered from the crash site. We noted every injury down to
the most minuscule detail that would provide the means to identify
the person as part of the post-mortem assessment. This documentation was then compared to the ante-mortem information obtained
from the families as they compiled a description of the family member in the family assistance center. This is one part of the process used
to identify the deceased. For an additional five days I worked with the
DNA extraction team where we removed portions of bone, teeth or
muscle to send to AFDIL (Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab).
The process is very specific in order to preserve the specimen, avoid
cross contamination, and record the exact numbered sample so the
forensic lab can process the piece to create a DNA profile.

SCIP is a group of citizens who provided a detailed assessment of the
state of Washington County Maryland to delineate the needs of the
community. We looked at health and well being, the current state of
domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse, STI’s (Sexually Transmitted
Infections), pregnancy and other issues pertinent to the health of all.
I recently joined the Mar 居