Dr. Ree's Rank?

[mbruno]

What is Dr. Ree's rank supposed to be? On Memory Beta, he's listed as a Commander, but in the Appendix seen in several Titan novels(including Seize the Fire) he's listed as Lieutenant Commander, so which is it supposed to be?

 

[BillJ]

If it doesn't impact the story, I really don't care. From a perspective of authority, it doesn't matter. As Chief Medical Officer he has final medical say about anything going on aboard Titan.

 

[mbruno]

If it doesn't impact the story, I really don't care. From a perspective of authority, it doesn't matter. As Chief Medical Officer he has final medical say about anything going on aboard Titan.

Oh, that's a helpful answer.

 

[PsychoPere]

If one of the novels says Lieutenant Commander, then his rank is LtC. Memory Beta is simply a wiki and, as such, can be a useful resource but it is only as accurate as the person who updates the entry in question.

 

[mbruno]

If one of the novels says Lieutenant Commander, then his rank is LtC. Memory Beta is simply a wiki and, as such, can be a useful resource but it is only as accurate as the person who updates the entry in question.

Yeah, I went ahead and made the necessary edits to Memory Beta.

 

[KingstonTrekker]

His rank is Lieutenant Commander.

Titan already has a number of officers at full Commander rank on the senior staff: Vale, Tuvok, Troi, and Ra-Havreii.

 

[Csalem]

I didn't think Ra-Havreii had a rank. I thought it was more like an enlisted member of the crew rather than an officer.

 

[Paris]

I didn't think Ra-Havreii had a rank. I thought it was more like an enlisted member of the crew rather than an officer.

Nope. He's been a full commander since his first appearance in Titan. I think he was even a full commander while at Utopia Planitia working on the Luna ships...

 

[Christopher]

It's odd that people assume Ra-Havreii is a civilian just because he's addressed as "Doctor." They don't make that assumption about medical doctors.

 

[Cybersnark]

As Chief Medical Officer he has final medical say about anything going on aboard Titan.

And if CMO authority isn't enough, he also has very large teeth and fast reflexes.

 

[Smellincoffee]

His rank in Seize the Fire is Lieutenant Commander (He tells a Gorn scientist that "I carry the rank of Lieutenant Commander,").

 

[elaithin]

It's odd that people assume Ra-Havreii is a civilian just because he's addressed as "Doctor." They don't make that assumption about medical doctors.

I've always wondered why the ship's counselors aren't addressed as 'Doctor' as well.

 

[Christopher]

I've always wondered why the ship's counselors aren't addressed as 'Doctor' as well.

Because they don't have doctorates? Or maybe it's a matter of tradition. I learned something interesting in a Law & Order UK episode recently: in England, surgeons are called "Mister" instead of "Doctor" because surgery was traditionally performed by people who weren't doctors.

 

[elaithin]

Interesting, and a little bit frightening.

 

[Csalem]

I've always wondered why the ship's counselors aren't addressed as 'Doctor' as well.

Because they don't have doctorates? Or maybe it's a matter of tradition. I learned something interesting in a Law & Order UK episode recently: in England, surgeons are called "Mister" instead of "Doctor" because surgery was traditionally performed by people who weren't doctors.

That distinction was also made in Alex Kingston's first episode of ER where her character said she would have to get use to calling the surgeons 'Doctor'.

 

[Jim Gamma]

Yeah, and the receptionists at hospitals can be VERY protective of that distinction - try calling a surgeon "Doctor" whatever here, you'll get a haughty "Oh, you mean MISTER" whatever.

 

[DS9Continuing]

I learned something interesting in a Law & Order UK episode recently: in England, surgeons are called "Mister" instead of "Doctor" because surgery was traditionally performed by people who weren't doctors.

Interesting, and a little bit frightening.

You misunderstand - it's not that they're less qualified than doctors, they're actually more qualified. They move past the Doctor title and onto Mister, which is actually more senior.

It's only the same distinction really that US hospitals make between "medical doctors" and "surgical doctors."

 

[Christopher]

^And I did say "traditionally." The explanation given in the episode was saying that the "Mister" title was traditional for surgeons because of the historical origins of the profession.

 

[TerraUnam]

It is traditional. Surgeons were not Physicians, and vice-versa. Surgeons engaged in surgery, cutting and excising; Physicians administered physic, that is medicinal drugs. There is such a thing as a Physic Garden (Oxford has one) that is devoted to medicinal plants for use by physicians.

Of course over the last century the two professions have crossed over a great deal.