Isn't it dumb to only have 1 Doctor on Voyager and NX-01 Enterprise?

[Jayson1]

I got to admit I never understood this logic? The NX-01 didn't even have a nurse or EMH for the doctor to work with. I would say the crews were big enough that you would at least want a small staff to help take care of medical needs. Wouldn't need to be as big as you would see on the other shows but 1 is a comically unrealistic number.

Jason

 

[The Old Mixer]

The crew sizes were (roughly, from quick Googling) 83 and 152, respectively, so...not that big. Never hurts to have a little backup, though.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

At least someone to hand them tools and such. I suppose anyone could fill in, in a pinch if trained in first aid. Kes and then Tom Paris were the Doctor's helpers.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I got the impression there was more than one person in the Voyager medical staff and they just all died in the initial jolt.

 

[Jayson1]

I got the impression there was more than one person in the Voyager medical staff and they just all died in the initial jolt.

That's possible. For years I have always sort of thought it was that one guy and the vulcan nurse. I have no idea why I never thought that their might be more doctors or nurses on other decks who were killed. Granted for all of them to due I think it would have to be something like they were all down in the mess hall celebrating one of their birthdays or something only to have a beam fall on them or a fire break out and kill everyone in the room.

Jason

 

[F. King Daniel]

I never understood why the Doc couldn't summon a holographic army of nurses and surgeons when necessary. Or even multiples of himself operating from a single consciousness, since he's software.

The I remember the stacks of PADDs and remember how technologically illiterate the writers were.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

The only problem is although the nurse is pretty, she has The Doctor's personality subroutines!

 

[MacLeod]

Well in the case of VOY, it's original mission was only supposed to last a couple of weeks or so. So they might not have had a full crew compliment for that mission. And they where operating close to Federation space.

 

[Paul Weaver]

Yes, medical staff didn't arrive u till Tuesday

Oh that was the B.

How many doctors do mid-sized Antarctic bases (c.100) have?

 

[Smellincoffee]

In any situation approaching real life, ENT would need another doctor or nurse for the other shifts. Phlox may not need much sleep, but it's not like he can work 24 hours a day. I'm sure he likes to do the 23rd century, Denobulan equivalent of vegging out in front of the TV with his potato chips and beer.

 

[Refuge]

I got the impression there was more than one person in the Voyager medical staff and they just all died in the initial jolt.

That's correct the original Doctor died and the EMH was the back up.

 

[Paul Weaver]

In any situation approaching real life, ENT would need another doctor or nurse for the other shifts. Phlox may not need much sleep, but it's not like he can work 24 hours a day. I'm sure he likes to do the 23rd century, Denobulan equivalent of vegging out in front of the TV with his potato chips and beer.

Rothera is an Antarctic base with about 15-20 people on it for 6 months over winter, with any reduce very dangerous and difficult. It has 1 doctor and 0 nurses. I think there's only one doctor at Amundsen Scott too - population 45 overwinter. Pitcairn had 1 doctor for a population of 49 too.

I don't think voyagers complement of at least 2 medical crew for 153 for a short 3 week mission is terribly wrong, especially with an EMH.

 

[Mage]

Like Macleod said, in Voyager's case the one doctor and (possibly) two nurses would have been enough for those few weeks, especially with the EMH as back up.

For the NX-01 however, it is really silly that no medical staff was ever mentioned.Atleast two nurses would have been needed, and probably a second doctor as well, because no one can be on call for 24 hours a day. I got the impression that in some scenes, we did see people helping in sickbay with medical/science blue uniforms, but no actual medical staff was ever mentioned I believe.

 

[flandry84]

Also the dearth of cross-trained personnel.
No one except Paris seems to have taken even a field medic course in the academy.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

IIRC in the Enterprise pilot they only had one doctor because they were in a rush to leave, but that doesn't explain why after that situation, more doctors were not brought in.

Tom Paris was super lucky in Caretaker, every single person who hated him in the crew died instantly.

 

[Jayson1]

IIRC in the Enterprise pilot they only had one doctor because they were in a rush to leave, but that doesn't explain why after that situation, more doctors were not brought in.

Tom Paris was super lucky in Caretaker, every single person who hated him in the crew died instantly.

I think they could have found the time to recruit some more doctors on "Enterprise." Archer did have time to go to ,the country I can't recall at the moment, to recruit Hoshi and Phlox was able to go. You could have taken every doctor and nurse in that operating room where we first meet Phlox while he is working on the Klingon.

Jason

 

[Paul Weaver]

Even if Archer didn't have time in broken bow (and with a quick 2 week trip not essential), they returned to earth in shockwave and should have been able to pick up more medical staff then

 

[The Wormhole]

In Caretaker Voyager did have an actual medical officer and a nurse assigned to the ship, which with a crew of 150 or so is actually in line for the medical personnel on naval crews of approximate size. Take into account that the ship wasn't even fully staffed yet, was only expected to be out for a few weeks and had an EMH as well as potentially other personnel with field medic training, and they were reasonably prepared medically speaking. Even after they were stuck in the Delta Quadrant, there's an EMH on call 24/7, and Kes and Tom Paris served as his assistants/nurses/corpsman/whatever. In emergencies where sickbay was loaded up we do see other blueshirts doing work, implying there is someone else in the crew qualified to work as an emergency medic.

Similar situation on the NX-01, we do see others pitching in in sickbay during emergencies, though Phlox does seem to be the only medical staff on the ship, IIRC it was stated or at least implied that Crewman Cutler did shifts in sickbay. At the very least she was filling in as medic in the shore leave episode where Phlox was taking his required annual hibernation.

 

[Voth commando1]

Voyager lost most of its medical personnel when it was flung into the DQ. Only the EMH, Kes, Paris(part time), and occasionally others did medical work.

As for Archer's enterprise remember it was an experimental ship and that they probably couldn't afford a full medical staff. Phlox did have nurses IIRC.

 

[The Wormhole]

As for Archer's enterprise remember it was an experimental ship and that they probably couldn't afford a full medical staff.

That doesn't make sense. An experimental starship has greater need for a full medical staff, as there's greater chances of something going wrong. Hell, the ship's first mission was to transport an injured Klingon back to his home planet, that alone should have necessitated a full medical staff.