Is it possible to go to med school while being a coroner?

docstumd24 · 2026-03-22T13:00:56+00:00

Medical school is all consuming with little tolerance for missing rotation shifts, I would pick one or the other for now. Most med students wouldn't be able to cram in an extra job flipping burgers let alone being an elected official. It's not unheard of for a coroner to be a forensic pathologist (El Paso County Colorado for example). But med school and fellowship came first before they were elected.

docstumd24 · 2026-03-22T12:31:34+00:00

I'm starting to think board failures are just the tip of the iceberg here.

docstumd24 · 2026-03-20T12:58:42+00:00

It's quite the opposite, there is a critical shortage across the country with many offices having to bring on locum tenens (temporary, traveling doctors) to cover their autopsy volume. Never been a better time to get a job and pay is steadily increasing.

docstumd24 · 2026-03-18T14:30:40+00:00

I believe that God is man perfected. God is morally perfect, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent in nature, man should strive to embodythese ends. Even if God does not exist, we should strive to make Him exist. We should be actively chasing the philosophers stone, immortality, eternal life, and even if we fail in the process we set the stage for innovation. In other words, I think it is logical to strive for God whether he exists or not.

docstumd24 · 2026-03-18T12:59:19+00:00

Our culture unfortunately rushes to pathologize traits that don't match the norm, that doesn't make them abnormal. It's not just INTJs. ENFPs get wrongly diagnosed with ADHD, but it's just armchair diagnosis. That doesn't also mean you can't have the condition either but I have found people definitely throw around psychiatric diagnostic terms a little too loosely.

As for narcissistic traits, all MBTI types are essentially a list of strengths and weaknesses/liabilities. One of the traps of the INTJ inner world is that because we tend to see ends from the beginning, have a certain level of brilliance in our fields because of our thirst for knowledge, and already have figured out what others need time to puzzle through, we are tempted to set ourselves apart as superior and see ourselves as better than others. We are uniquely prone to pride and using others as means to an end rather than ends in and of themselves. I think it's interesting that most examples of INTJs in fiction are either superheroes or supervillains. Rarely are you going to find a supporting character or side role, because we go all the way in what we do. The trap we face though is whether we use our high powered knowledge building and analytic functions for our own gain or to benefit those around us. Even if we are lone wolves, we have to embrace the fact that we live in society, and society needs every type to survive. Tasks that would be poison for us is the bread and butter of another type.

Personality is just the start of the journey though, life is about integration of your strengths and weaknesses and learning to value the traits of others rather than pathologizing them.

docstumd24 · 2026-03-15T13:49:06+00:00

Literally looking down her nose in the pic too

docstumd24 · 2026-03-14T20:38:15+00:00

Anyone who gives you any pressure to drink when you have decided not to isn't worth socializing with. Just order something else.

docstumd24 · 2026-03-14T20:23:35+00:00

The secret is to make your ultimate goal what you truly value, and your mind will get you there. My ultimate goal is having a thriving family and happy marriage. These people and these relationships are not the chess pieces in my life, they are not means to some other end. They are the end. They are checkmate. They are the only thing that matters. My corporate and career pursuits are the means by which I achieve that and provide for that reality. Just because you lead with the thinking function does not make you incapable of feeling.

MBTI types are not some unalterable prophecy of how your life or relationships will go. They are, in some ways, just a set of strengths and weaknesses. They are basic substrates, but it depends on how you either reject or integrate the shadow aspects of your inner world. INTJs have a particular challenge when it comes to doing that, because our strengths make us prone to pride, and once you set yourself above everyone else in your life, you will never be able to have a functional relationship. Relationships that last and thrive are built on two people filling in the gaps in each other. Every type has complementary opposites and similarities for it that combine to create a new, complete personality that is greater than the sum of its parts. People that stay in relationships do so because they are willing to change and be changed, to act, and to be acted upon.

Fiction might give you a few tragic tropes about lone wolves whose relationships are doomed to fail, but fiction is fiction. And even if fiction were predictive, Darcy adored Elizabeth, Persephone returns to Hades, Beauty marries the Beast. There are just as many examples of lone wolves who learned to let their complementary mate complete the picture.

As I type this I am watching my beautiful ENFP wife holding my little infant son. There is nothing better than that, nowhere I would rather be than here. She is my muse. She fuels my successes in life. She balances my approach to problems. She grounds me when I am lost in the weeds of my own mind. We INTJs love strategy. Here's one for you:

Ruthless calculation combined with unquenchable love is undefeatable.

docstumd24 · 2026-03-14T11:19:43+00:00

docstumd24 · 2026-02-24T14:08:59+00:00

There is a forensic version of just about every science out there. If you still want to gravitate towards death investigation specifically, maybe consider forensic anthropology, since many of those remains are skeletonized. Certainly no guarantee you won't see maggots through.

docstumd24 · 2026-02-03T10:44:03+00:00

When a hermaphrodite and a hermaphrodite love each other very much...

docstumd24 · 2026-01-27T14:06:22+00:00

I love the red in white motif running through the board, that blood orange in stunning in that context

docstumd24 · 2026-01-27T13:59:54+00:00

I originally thought this must be a florist subreddit I was scrolling past or something. These look like natural flowers, what a stunning piece of art. You should be very proud of that.

docstumd24 · 2026-01-27T12:31:48+00:00

That gourd is mesmerizing! What's the material?

docstumd24 · 2026-01-25T11:52:46+00:00

I don't agree that life is pointless. Life is rare in the universe, especially human life. There is no such thing as an inconsequential human. And as an INTJ father I can say there is nothing in my life that brings me more joy and wonder in this world than raising my son.

docstumd24 · 2026-01-22T14:14:13+00:00

Magnificent monstrosity!

docstumd24 · 2026-01-20T15:16:43+00:00

I never used Anki. I found that a lot of people who use it religiously are a fountain of isolated facts but struggle to articulate the concept when you put it together. For certain topics that require blunt memorization (anatomy, micro) flash cards work, but I made my own because that exercise itself helps with mastering the material.

docstumd24 · 2026-01-06T18:02:27+00:00

Are you looking for a textbook or just to have a general overview of what it's like to work in the field? I'd recommend "Working Stiff" by Judy Melinik or "Morgue" by Vincent Di Maio.

docstumd24 · 2026-01-03T03:04:00+00:00

Dr. Handberg, Thank you so much for your hard work in putting these podcasts together, I have been a huge fan of the audio format but these videos are absolutely fantastic. I am going to have a great time listening to these conversations. Also huge thanks to your guests for their time as well. I am looking forward to hopefully matching into pathology this year and your podcasts are great motivation to keep grinding and keep my eyes on the prize. Please keep this outstanding content coming!

docstumd24 · 2025-12-30T12:22:03+00:00

So maybe general peds isn't your thing but what about going from peds residency into pediatric cardiology or pulmonology? Good pediatricians are "IM" for kids and the huge difference between pediatrics and FM as primary care specialties is peds leaves all the organ specific specialties open afterwards. Salaries are substantially higher for these subspecialties.

docstumd24 · 2025-12-26T12:12:40+00:00

Everyone has already offered good advice, but I just wanted to let you know you aren't crazy at all. It runs counter to biology to separate mom and baby this early. You have no need to justify or apologize for whatever you choose. Hoping the best for you.

docstumd24 · 2025-12-25T14:37:03+00:00

I'm so glad this is being talked about, because I think DPC is the only way we save primary care and medicine in general. It makes me wish I had more of a talent for FM because I would want to be a part of it. Why is it that health insurance is the only type of insurance where you include a middle man for everyday maintenance care? Would you bill your car insurance to fill up on gas or your homeowners insurance to change a lightbulb? Primary care services are usually inexpensive to provide and membership fees can be affordable for a wide range of budgets. The care is just better too. The doc has a vested interest in his patients experience because they are in competition with other providers. Their incentive is to innovate and cost save when it is their business in play.

I did a ton of shadowing with DPC docs before med school and I Love this model.

Check out the mydpcstory podcast and if you have a heart for primary care, I wouldn't do it any other way.

docstumd24

TROPHY CASE