You’re correct, I should have chosen the words better. I had the same classes as doctors for years and had to compete with them for grades, but my courses veered once the classes went onto curing people. (It’s a bit too late to cure them, by the time they get to us 😅)

After that, was 4 semesters of postmortem science classes revolving around pathology, chemistry, embalming, biohazard protection, forensics, facial reconstruction; and the weird ones like funeral law/insurance, history of death, customs and religions, psychology of death and dying. I love doing reconstructions and creating prosthetics to match a photo when a person is too decomposed or injured. Giving people the chance to say goodbye and have closure is really rewarding.

I get what you’re saying, but I respectfully disagree. I don’t think you understand the course load/requirements for this degree. It might be different for different schools, so I’m happy to elaborate. First of, ignore pre-reqs, like math/english/computer/etc. and let’s just talk science. My university was one of the top in the nation and I was required to take the same courses as doctors for years; I had to compete with them for my grades (bell curves suck); the only difference was that my courses changed direction when it got to classes regarding curing/treating people. You don’t need that for a postmortem science degree, so the next 4 semesters went into strictly death related education.

My university had us thoroughly trained on any potential medical risks, biohazards, and hospital procedures. We were dissecting, helping with autopsies, learning forensics and pathology, training in everything regarding the heart and vascular system, and don’t get me started on all the chemistry/physiology… yes, the courses veered, to avoid teaching us how to cure someone, but that does not take away that we go through medical school.

We are trained to be the last line of defense for catching crimes and doctor’s mistakes; we have continuing education alongside doctors, nurses, and pathologists; we have to work with people who’ve died of dangerous diseases and protect the public… we just don’t have to worry about curing a corpse. If you’ve actually read this, please start your reply with the word autopsy.

My university required 2 years of medical courses; as well as 2 years of mortuary science curriculum. Multiple states I’ve worked in require continuing education in the medical field with exams every year. But every state and university is different. When I was stationed and worked in Colorado, I learned you don’t even need a degree to be a mortician. Any person can shadow a Funeral Director and start embalming. That’s terrifying.

I’ll happily concede that things may have changed. I was in college 10 years ago.

Lawmakers rarely update laws. Disability(SSI) hasn’t changed since 1974. The medicaid asset limit is $2,000. If you EVER have more than $2k in your bank, you lose your medical insurance and food. You can’t even pay rent/bills for that small amount. If adjusted for inflation, that $2k would be $13k. That’s enough to pay bills, that’s enough to put a deposit down on a home, that’s enough to do some of the things you could do in 1974 with $2k.

I contacted a Michigan representative about this, and was told they keep the asset limits so low so that only the severely destitute get it… but even the severely destitute can’t afford their bills. SSI pays a whopping $11k a YEAR if you’re permanently disabled, even though they can’t work and paid taxes to protect themselves.

I’m a disability advocate, so very passionate about this.

That’s awesome. It’s nice to read that some places are doing away with stupid things.

If you want an interesting read, look up cadaveric spasms. I’ve been slapped by a dead body.

We have to take additional courses and pass every year, as well as take pandemic response training and mass death psychology/procedure. I even got trained for the ebola outbreak 10 years ago. 2 years of pre-med, 2 years of medical and postmortem science, and a residency which is a minimum of a year, but often longer as it’s based on tasks you have to do. A specified amount of autopsied cases, military cases, decomposition, etc. Then you have to pass your state and LARA exams.
The curriculum included classes for psychology, reconstructive cosmetology, and business law too. I’m a Jill of all trades 😅

I’m a mortician and posted something similar. Morticians go through 4 years of medical school, including pathology and forensics, because it falls on us when the coroner screws up… and they have. The case that hits me the hardest was an infant being given SIDS as the cause of death, but postmortem bruising and broken bones told a different story. The owner had to call police and fake a funeral arrangement while he waited for them to arrive.

The county coroner is an ELECTED position.

I’m a mortician who’s worked substantially with autopsies. To be the county coroner, you do not need a degree, you do not need experience in mortuary science, postmortem science, forensics, pathology, NOTHING. All you need to be the county coroner, is to be popular.

Meanwhile, funeral directors in the USA need to go through years of college and continuing education, because we’re literally the last line of defense when coroners/doctors screw up. I’ve caught dozens of mistakes the coroner has made and I’m sick of it. The most recently was a shaken and bruised baby having cause of death listed as SIDS.

I no longer blindly trust autopsies for accurate cause of death. If the mortician needs 4 years of medical school, the freaking county coroner would should be required for at LEAST that to be elected.

This is what I want science to work on! I don’t care about the next smartphone or brain microchips; help pets live a longer, happier life!

My grandmother is convinced it’s still like that. She would not have let me go to WSU except it’s the only school in Michigan that offered a degree in Mortuary/Postmortem Science

I live in Detroit and I don’t get why people are scared. Yeah, there’s a few scary areas, but the city itself is safe with a great nightlife scene.

I was part of this crazy thing called A Simple Walk into Mordor, where a group of guys from Rooster Teeth walked from the real Shire to the real Mount Doom (and Erebor in the sequel) in New Zealand. Finding an actual bathroom to use was a luxury. A sink is much nicer than hand sanitizer, digging a hole when you have to poop is not fun, getting an upset tummy is nerve-racking. When you’ve gotta go, you’re gonna have to use what’s available, not what’s nice. Don’t take what’s nice for granted.

For a long time; crab, lobster, crayfish were seen by the upper class as bugs of the sea and were very inexpensive. It’s only relatively recently did they become hella expensive. My 8th birthday party, I remember getting a pound of snow crab legs (including sides) for $6.99 at a nice seafood restaurant. I was born in the 90s, so it wasn’t that long ago!

It’s like going from Michigan to Ohio… I’m a Michigander and can’t stand our roads. So many potholes

Does this mean that this hard-of-hearing girl is more talented than those that can’t do both? It feels good to think so haha. The only thing I hate is when the subtitle goes prematurely and ruins jokes.

I’m permanently disabled with a degenerative condition. Once I’m just surviving and not living, I’d love the freedom of a painless end. I watched grandparents suffer, I’ve watched them be kept alive through machines and drugs, I listened to my grandfather beg me for death… you’ll never change my mind that assisted suicide for the terminally ill is the ethical choice.

I do research and writing for a crime docuseries, and the amount of times sex workers go missing and cops/news don’t care until there’s multiple bodies or a more well known disappearance occurs, is DISGUSTING.

The Poughkeepsie Killer was killing sex workers in broad daylight and was keeping their corpses in his hoarder house attic. The families of Wendy Meyers and Gina Barone went to the press and were told that the cases “weren’t the kind the public cared about”.

Police had the suspect but didn’t pursue the case until 5 women went missing. Why do their lives matter less just because they do a different kind of physical labor for work? Each was someone’s daughter.

Back incollege, I was a waitress at an Italian restaurant. A lady came in ordered a dish with lots of tomato in it, then demanded I tell the chef she was allergic to MSG, in an accusatory way. What she didn’t know is that I was going to school for a medical based degree, and recently had a professor go off about how MSG is in tons of foods naturally and not to believe the craze about it being bad for you.

“Oh my gosh! You’re allergic to MSG!?! I’m sorry, but all tomatoes contain MSG. Please choose another dish” … “I’m sorry, ma’am but mushrooms have MSG in them too. I’ll talk to my chef and see what suggestions he might have.”

She changed her tone “I’m not allergic, I just don’t want it added… it’s bad for you… blah blah”

I didn’t get tipped, but it was hella satisfying to passive- aggressively educate her.

Oh gosh that’s beautiful. “I get paid to make clothes and then slowly remove them” is more accurate but not as fun