¶ Writing a Medical Character
Just like in real life, there are numerous jobs within the medical field that you can do in Starfleet. The duties of these are vast and encompass everything from ward clerks to surgeons.
At Starfleet Academy, training for medical roles starts early. If you joined the Academy with the intention of becoming a doctor then you start this from first year - the same goes for something like nursing or paramedic science. There is still hope for people who decided in third year that they want to specialise into Medical; anything that doesn't take as long as a full four-year degree only requires the last two. Some examples of medical roles that support this are technician or ward clerk. If someone decided that they wanted to become a doctor but was already halfway through Starfleet Academy, then they would need to complete that training by staying at SFA for longer.
The length of time that it takes to train for your job is different, and some jobs require a lot of further study. If any further study is required, it is done after graduating from Starfleet Academy, and is conducted while posted to a ship or starbase. Below is a list of the most common medical jobs and the progression of their training - this is what your character will have done in their backstory, so it will be relevant to them. Our roleplay uses British terms for medical roles. If you would like some more detail on these, you can check the BMA and Remedium for good explanations.
¶ Counsellor
- Starfleet Academy: Four Years
A prospective counsellor will study at Starfleet Academy for four years; this includes their basic training and a counselling degree. After graduation they may choose to do further study in different types of counselling to build upon their skillset.
¶ Nurse
- Starfleet Academy: Four Years
A prospective nurse will study at Starfleet Academy for four years; this includes their basic training and a nursing degree. After graduation they will work in a specific field of nursing, such as being an ER or ICU nurse.
¶ Psychologist
- Starfleet Academy: Four Years
Someone who wants to be a psychologist studies for four years at Starfleet Academy. This includes their basic training and enough study for them to earn an initial psychology degree.
- Specialist Training: Three Years
After graduation and while on a posting, a psychologist then chooses a specialist field that they would like to study as a postgraduate. Some examples include clinical, forensic, or social psychology. This postgraduate degree takes three years to complete, and afterwards they are fully trained in their field.
¶ Doctor
- Starfleet Academy: Six Years
Prospective doctors do six years of training at Starfleet Academy. This includes both basic training and an initial medical degree. At the end of this, they graduate at the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade and are known as a Junior Doctor.
- Foundation Training: Two Years
Following graduation and on a posting, Junior Doctors complete what is known as their ‘Foundation Years.’ During these they rotate through different fields to gain experience in them all. In their first year they are known as a ‘FY1 Junior Doctor’, and in the second year, a ‘FY2 Junior Doctor’. At the end of the two years they are ‘matched’ with a field of medicine - or they can choose the one that they most like.
- Specialist Training: Three - Six Years
A doctor at this stage is known as a Specialty Registrar. In this first year their title is displayed as ‘ST1 (Specialty)’ for Specialist Training. This number increases per year. They must decide what field of medicine they go into and complete further study in such a field. The length of training to specialise into their chosen area of expertise depends on what they have gone into; General Practice takes three years, but other fields can take up to six or more.
¶ Surgeon
- Starfleet Academy: Six Years
Prospective surgeons do six years of training at Starfleet Academy. This includes both basic training and an initial medical degree. At the end of this, they graduate at the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade and are known as a Junior Doctor.
- Foundation Training: Two Years
Following graduation and on a posting, Junior Doctors complete what is known as their ‘Foundation Years.’ During these they rotate through different fields to gain experience in them all. In their first year they are known as a ‘FY1 Junior Doctor’, and in the second year, a ‘FY2 Junior Doctor’. At the end of the two years they are ‘matched’ with a field of medicine - or they can choose the one that they most like.
- Core Surgical Training: Two Years
A prospective surgeon at this stage is known as a Specialty Registrar. In this first year their title is displayed as ‘CT1 (Surgery)’ for Core Training. This number increases per year. At this stage, they do two years of core surgical training in which they rotate through surgical specialties and learn basic surgical skills and behaviours.
- Specialist Training: Five - Six Years
After completing their core surgical training, the prospective surgeon must decide what field of surgery they want to go into. In their first year of this training their title is displayed as ‘ST1 (Specialty)’ for Specialist Training, and this number increases per year. The training to specialise into a specific field usually takes around five to six years, and afterwards, a surgeon is fully qualified.
¶ Roleplaying a Medical Character
Roleplaying in Medical might seem daunting, but there are lots of tools to help. The very first thing that you should be aware of is basic first aid: every Starfleet officer has been taught it, so if your Medical character can't follow this then there's something far wrong. Know your basics: things like the primary survey, how to control bleeding, and what not to do (such as move a patient with a spinal injury).
When it comes to the treatment of specific things, Google is your friend. If a character has a penetrating trauma such as a stab wound, you can look up ‘how is penetrating trauma treated’ and see how it's done in real life. Websites such as the National Institutes of Health which host academic medical articles are very useful.
Additionally, medicine is far more advanced by our point in time. Whether it works or not is largely up to plot - in one episode someone will die of a stab wound, but someone else will recover from an injury far worse. Memory Alpha has detailed lists of Drugs and Treatments, Medical Devices, and Medical Procedures. All of the above can be used. Common things that you'll hear are biobeds, medical tricorders, hyposprays, and dermal regenerators. There are many more out there that you can use too! Practically any of these can be used within the roleplay and in combination with one another to treat an illness or injury. If in doubt, find something that sounds appropriate and techno-babble your way through.
You can use medical dictionaries to bolster your vocabulary, and you can also brush up on abbreviations. (If a clinician ever tells you that a patient is going for a ‘cabbage’ they don't mean the vegetable; it's a CABG, short for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft.) If you want to get in-depth with your roleplay you can use things like the NEWS2 chart to come up with patients' observations to indicate whether they're improving or deteriorating. You can also use the Glasgow Coma Scale in your roleplay, and in the event of mass trauma, you can even use Major Incident Triage Tools.
Sometimes roleplaying Medical isn't all emergency scenarios. Sometimes it's just time to run a physical, and don't worry - we've got a guide for that too! If you're ever in doubt then don't be afraid to ask other roleplayers. They can always give you advice and point you in the right direction!
¶ Running a Physical
Before starting, ask the patient their name so you can find their file, and invite them to sit on one of the free biobeds. The questions are as follows:
- Have you travelled outside of Federation space recently?
- Have you had any recent illnesses, injuries, or treatments that we should be aware of that might not be on your file?
- Do you have any ongoing conditions we should be aware of that might not be on your file?
- Are there any new signs or symptoms that you are concerned about that you would like to bring up while you’re here?
- Rate your diet
- Rate your exercise
- Rate the level of sleep you get
- Are you aware of/up to date with contraceptive measures if you require them?
- Are you aware of available mental health support on the ship/station?
To finish the physical, check their biobed readings and compare them to a tricorder readings. These will be normal for their species unless the person states otherwise for a matter of plot. Invite them back if they ever require medical assistance or support, and that’s the physical done and them fit for duty!