Well Phlox is pretty darn capable. And he did have some nurses.
Isn't it dumb to only have 1 Doctor on Voyager and NX-01 Enterprise?
- Thread starter Jayson1
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For what is the situation aboard modern US aircraft carriers, I found some detailed info in this document:
Quite a lot of detail there. In the not too distant future, the use of robots and expert systems will likely become prevalent although their bedside manner will probably be somewhat lacking. We're quite a way off holographic replacements, of course.
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Dunno about bedside manner: one could program it into a machine that wouldn't grow fatigued and irritated and forget all about it at the times of direst need.
Speaking of need, medical care would mostly be a surge/contingency job, not something done in shifts. If you sprain your ankle, you take two pills and call the doctor in the morning, not right away. If people start getting perforated by hull spallation as the Klingon disruptor bolts slam against the armor, two doctors isn't substantially better than one - you need fifty, and you won't have fifty. It just doesn't make sense to waste a precious crew position by giving it to a doctor you will only need one day out of a hundred.
It's a wonder Janeway even had an MD aboard to start with. A nurse for 150 should have been fine - she could have come back home to get serious cases treated, especially with those nice stasis chambers aboard for turning most emergencies into nonemergencies.
Timo Saloniemi
Speaking of need, medical care would mostly be a surge/contingency job, not something done in shifts. If you sprain your ankle, you take two pills and call the doctor in the morning, not right away. If people start getting perforated by hull spallation as the Klingon disruptor bolts slam against the armor, two doctors isn't substantially better than one - you need fifty, and you won't have fifty. It just doesn't make sense to waste a precious crew position by giving it to a doctor you will only need one day out of a hundred.
It's a wonder Janeway even had an MD aboard to start with. A nurse for 150 should have been fine - she could have come back home to get serious cases treated, especially with those nice stasis chambers aboard for turning most emergencies into nonemergencies.
Timo Saloniemi
Remember Voyager lost at least a sixth maybe a fifth of her crew by the caretaker-the Maquis made up the difference.
One doctor per 150? That doesn't seem bad. Especially the EMH who is probably the best doctor in terms of skills and knowledge, the Federation has in the 24th century.
As for the NC-1701 it seems as though it wasn't as supplied at first as it needed to be. Hence the need for the MACOs.
One doctor per 150? That doesn't seem bad. Especially the EMH who is probably the best doctor in terms of skills and knowledge, the Federation has in the 24th century.
As for the NC-1701 it seems as though it wasn't as supplied at first as it needed to be. Hence the need for the MACOs.
My issue with the medical staff on NX-01 was less there only being one doctor (in the RW, combat vessels smaller than an amphibious ship/light carrier don't typically have even that), but rather that it was explicitly called out that Phlox's main assistant was an entomologist, which I'll admit is a step-up from Tom Paris (minor in biochemistry, limited knowledge of astrophysics) in the sense that she's at least a biologist but I would have thought that someone better would have been available. Similarly, the MACO detachment if it was as much as 36 (per the novel Last Full Measure) should have had at least one Field Medic of their own (based on infantry standards) or up to 3 or 4 if MACO organisation follows Green Beret or MARSOC styles).
They had Crewman Cutler training to be a medic in Season 1 of Enterprise, she even was Phlox's replacement when he had to hibernate in one episode, but she never returned in Season Two and the actress died in 2003, so no idea if they ever planned to have her back and if in-universe we were expected to assume that she was in sickbay during his off-hours.
Can't be after - the caretaker died, Voyager was the last ship taken, before that was Chuckles' ship. Before that there was the equinox, may have been a cardassian one too. Not clear why the equinox wasn't returned to the AQ though.
I imagine the equinox was a science ship in the same area as Voyager probably doing research on the badlands. Or maybe just in the AQ but I can't imagine they were that far.
They get thrown into the DQ. And Ransom instead of waiting for the Nacene to probe them just bails and hits the fastest warp button.
Voyager may have arrived days later.
They take a different direction than Voyager maybe going around Borg space the long way, maybe hitting a wormhole or two. Or maybe just going "higher" above the galactic plane.
That would be why Neelix had never seen the Equinox.
They get thrown into the DQ. And Ransom instead of waiting for the Nacene to probe them just bails and hits the fastest warp button.
Voyager may have arrived days later.
They take a different direction than Voyager maybe going around Borg space the long way, maybe hitting a wormhole or two. Or maybe just going "higher" above the galactic plane.
That would be why Neelix had never seen the Equinox.
Equinox route is odd -- they came across the Krowtonan Guard pretty much straight away, you'd expect Neelix to have mentioned them if they were that close.
At the very least, you want someone who can fill in if, dare I say, the doctor gets critically sick or injured.
It was obviously before, Ransom said it was the Caretaker that took the Equinox, so that rules out after Voyager.
Thing is, after Voyager was pulled into the Delta Quadrant it was heavily damaged and on the verge of a warp core breach. Logically, the Equinox should have been at least as bad off.
In my head canon, I incorporate things Neelix said in Caretaker, that the Caretaker was pulling ships from all over the galaxy and then returning them where came from. Presumably, he wasn't being too careful with the return trip, and as a result, the Equinox ended up in another location, one that wasn't on Voyager's direct route right away, thus explaining why they ran into aliens Voyager didn't and why they didn't encounter the Kazon or the Vidians or whoever.
Yup -- the original ship's CMO had a Vulcan nurse whom we see in "Caretaker," but she dies alongside him when the ship gets flung into the Delta Quadrant:
http://voy.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/1x01a/caretaker_0176.jpg
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Voyager had an original compliment of 141(as stated by Lt Stadi) and had one CMO, a nurse(s) and a medical staff + the EMH. Even after Caretaker there was still a medical staff or team. They are only mentioned a few times and only seen once or twice, but they are blue shirts.
In season 1, episode 1, the Doctor, and at least one nurse died. In episode 2, Paris was voluntold to become an additional medic. Kes became a nurse in one of the first few episodes also.
There's also an important factor considering the EMH.....he never sleeps.
The NX-01 had a compliment of 82 + a squad of Jarheads. Phlox was the CMO, and he also had Medics. They were blueshirts.
There's also an important factor considering Phlox......he never sleeps.
(Well only 6 hours per year, but even then he gets bothered when his medics can't handle it) You gotta pay attention to details...it's all there. On a modern day vessel that small, there wouldn't be a doctor. On a much larger vessel, like with 1000+ crew. There would be one doctor, one dentist, and some medics.
In season 1, episode 1, the Doctor, and at least one nurse died. In episode 2, Paris was voluntold to become an additional medic. Kes became a nurse in one of the first few episodes also.
There's also an important factor considering the EMH.....he never sleeps.
The NX-01 had a compliment of 82 + a squad of Jarheads. Phlox was the CMO, and he also had Medics. They were blueshirts.
There's also an important factor considering Phlox......he never sleeps.
(Well only 6 hours per year, but even then he gets bothered when his medics can't handle it) You gotta pay attention to details...it's all there. On a modern day vessel that small, there wouldn't be a doctor. On a much larger vessel, like with 1000+ crew. There would be one doctor, one dentist, and some medics.
Or here's another perspective:
A Company(army) consists of roughly 80-120 soldiers will have 1 or 2 medics. And army company at full strength ready to mobilize will have enough for at least one medic per platoon (3 or 4) and a Batallion, which is roughly 3-5 companies will usually have 1 Doctor, and a few RNs( or just Medics)
A Company(army) consists of roughly 80-120 soldiers will have 1 or 2 medics. And army company at full strength ready to mobilize will have enough for at least one medic per platoon (3 or 4) and a Batallion, which is roughly 3-5 companies will usually have 1 Doctor, and a few RNs( or just Medics)
One thing you also have consider though is that the EMH use to not be able to leave sickbay so that would hamper his ability to render aide in some situations such as on a away mission or if someone is injured on the ship and transporters are down.
A few other things to factor in for the need for additional medical staff is even though they were only supose to be gone for 2 weeks they were going into a potential hostile situation since they were trying to hunt down the Maquis.
Another issue which would be a triage situation were actually saw the flaw of only having one doctor impact a episode. Remember the episode were the EMH starts to go crazy because he has to choose between saving KIm or another officer because he couldn't do 2 surgeries at the same time?
Of course maybe a bigger issue is why is a ship only equipped with 1 EMH? I would think you would like to install a handfull just to be safe.
Jason
A few other things to factor in for the need for additional medical staff is even though they were only supose to be gone for 2 weeks they were going into a potential hostile situation since they were trying to hunt down the Maquis.
Another issue which would be a triage situation were actually saw the flaw of only having one doctor impact a episode. Remember the episode were the EMH starts to go crazy because he has to choose between saving KIm or another officer because he couldn't do 2 surgeries at the same time?
Of course maybe a bigger issue is why is a ship only equipped with 1 EMH? I would think you would like to install a handfull just to be safe.
Jason
What's the cost of a holodeck character? Even the most basic humanoid photonic program with a nurse database in the memory banks could have been enacted for Voyager's EMH. We've seen how easy it is for holodeck characters to be programmed and display significant competence in the sciences (Da Vinci, for example). Never could understand why a nurse (or two) wasn't programmed. Ah yes... they needed something for Kes to do. 
I got the impression (maybe it came from a book-not sure) that since the Caretaker was dying his faculties were starting to diminish. He might have attempted to return Equinox but instead flung them into the Delta Quadrant because he was losing control of his abilities.
Part of my headcanon is the Equinox EMH was the basis for the EMH we saw in Living Witness and for the training EMH in Critical Care. I know the EMH deleted him but I'm sure they could recover the template and start over.
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