Cargando…

A Standard of Knowledge for the Professional Practice of Toxicology

BACKGROUND: Employers, courts, and the general public judge the credibility of professionals based on credentials such as academic degrees, publications, memberships in professional organizations, board certifications, and professional registrations. However, the relevance and merit of these credent...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hulla, Janis E., Kinter, Lewis B., Kelman, Bruce
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: NLM-Export 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4529009/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25782181
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408643
_version_ 1782384732973039616
author Hulla, Janis E.
Kinter, Lewis B.
Kelman, Bruce
author_facet Hulla, Janis E.
Kinter, Lewis B.
Kelman, Bruce
author_sort Hulla, Janis E.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Employers, courts, and the general public judge the credibility of professionals based on credentials such as academic degrees, publications, memberships in professional organizations, board certifications, and professional registrations. However, the relevance and merit of these credentials can be difficult to determine objectively. Board certification can be a reliable indicator of proficiency if the certifying organization demonstrates, through regularly scheduled independent review, that its processes meet established standards and when a certificate holder is required to periodically demonstrate command of a body of knowledge that is essential to current professional practice. OBJECTIVE: We report herein a current Standard of Knowledge in general toxicology compiled from the experience and opinions of 889 certified practicing professional toxicologists. DISCUSSION: An examination is the most commonly used instrument for testing a certification candidate’s command of the body of knowledge. However, an examination-based certification is only creditable when the body of knowledge, to which a certification examination tests, is representative of the current knowledge, skills, and capabilities needed to effectively practice at the professional level. Thus, that body of knowledge must be the current “Standard of Knowledge” for the profession, compiled in a transparent fashion from current practitioners of the profession. CONCLUSION: This work was conducted toward ensuring the scientific integrity of the products produced by professional toxicologists. CITATION: Hulla JE, Kinter LB, Kelman B. 2015. A Standard of Knowledge for the professional practice of toxicology. Environ Health Perspect 123:743–748; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408643
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-4529009
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2015
publisher NLM-Export
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-45290092015-08-14 A Standard of Knowledge for the Professional Practice of Toxicology Hulla, Janis E. Kinter, Lewis B. Kelman, Bruce Environ Health Perspect Commentary BACKGROUND: Employers, courts, and the general public judge the credibility of professionals based on credentials such as academic degrees, publications, memberships in professional organizations, board certifications, and professional registrations. However, the relevance and merit of these credentials can be difficult to determine objectively. Board certification can be a reliable indicator of proficiency if the certifying organization demonstrates, through regularly scheduled independent review, that its processes meet established standards and when a certificate holder is required to periodically demonstrate command of a body of knowledge that is essential to current professional practice. OBJECTIVE: We report herein a current Standard of Knowledge in general toxicology compiled from the experience and opinions of 889 certified practicing professional toxicologists. DISCUSSION: An examination is the most commonly used instrument for testing a certification candidate’s command of the body of knowledge. However, an examination-based certification is only creditable when the body of knowledge, to which a certification examination tests, is representative of the current knowledge, skills, and capabilities needed to effectively practice at the professional level. Thus, that body of knowledge must be the current “Standard of Knowledge” for the profession, compiled in a transparent fashion from current practitioners of the profession. CONCLUSION: This work was conducted toward ensuring the scientific integrity of the products produced by professional toxicologists. CITATION: Hulla JE, Kinter LB, Kelman B. 2015. A Standard of Knowledge for the professional practice of toxicology. Environ Health Perspect 123:743–748; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408643 NLM-Export 2015-03-17 2015-08 /pmc/articles/PMC4529009/ /pubmed/25782181 http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408643 Text en http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ Publication of EHP lies in the public domain and is therefore without copyright. All text from EHP may be reprinted freely. Use of materials published in EHP should be acknowledged (for example, “Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives”); pertinent reference information should be provided for the article from which the material was reproduced. Articles from EHP, especially the News section, may contain photographs or illustrations copyrighted by other commercial organizations or individuals that may not be used without obtaining prior approval from the holder of the copyright.
spellingShingle Commentary
Hulla, Janis E.
Kinter, Lewis B.
Kelman, Bruce
A Standard of Knowledge for the Professional Practice of Toxicology
title A Standard of Knowledge for the Professional Practice of Toxicology
title_full A Standard of Knowledge for the Professional Practice of Toxicology
title_fullStr A Standard of Knowledge for the Professional Practice of Toxicology
title_full_unstemmed A Standard of Knowledge for the Professional Practice of Toxicology
title_short A Standard of Knowledge for the Professional Practice of Toxicology
title_sort standard of knowledge for the professional practice of toxicology
topic Commentary
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4529009/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25782181
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408643
work_keys_str_mv AT hullajanise astandardofknowledgefortheprofessionalpracticeoftoxicology
AT kinterlewisb astandardofknowledgefortheprofessionalpracticeoftoxicology
AT kelmanbruce astandardofknowledgefortheprofessionalpracticeoftoxicology
AT hullajanise standardofknowledgefortheprofessionalpracticeoftoxicology
AT kinterlewisb standardofknowledgefortheprofessionalpracticeoftoxicology
AT kelmanbruce standardofknowledgefortheprofessionalpracticeoftoxicology