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

[Timo]

Remember the debris field Neelix was squatting in when our heroes first met him? The Caretaker might have been in the general habit of returning his victims, but it might have been common for him to just tear those to little bits, too - either coming in or going out. His kidnapping tech wasn't a precise art, obviously.

A few ships slipping his net is also to be expected - it's not as if he would have snared in Janeway's ship right away, either, and Janeway could well have escaped if not for her basic curiosity or the need to track down Harry Kim and her assigned quarry of criminals. It's pretty natural to assume Ransom would just have left behind his Kim-equivalent, and there would have been no second starship for Ransom to worry about.

Neelix not knowing much about the immediate vicinity of Ocampa is another thing to be expected: his homeworld was actually quite distant, along the route the Voyager eventually took (as we later learn in "Jetrel"), and the only reason he was anywhere near Ocampa was because he traded with the Kazon. Said Kazon might not have allowed him to sightsee much. But Janeway used Neelix as her guide, and Neelix had ideas about the best course (or at least wanted to make Janeway think so), so the route taken may not have been a beeline to Earth. Ransom's route would have been.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Nyotarules]

On a much larger vessel, like with 1000+ crew. There would be one doctor, one dentist, and some medics.

Assuming the crew are mainly humanoid and require at least 6 hours of sleep and operate a 24 - 26 hours Sol day should there not be a doctor, dentist, medic, and nurse to cover each shift?

 

[Timo]

Why? What possible reason would the doctor have for taking patients in the middle of the night today? Or even daily, for that matter? Most medical matters can wait. Why would starships be any different?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Jayson1]

That's kind of, well, silly. There's only a given number of any specialists or experts before they may 'run out'. Doctor, human or otherwise, Engineers could apply to any ship too.

You know what else I find curious is why wasn't their any doctor or anyone with medical skills among the Maquis. You would think they would need doctors as well.
Plus you got to figure Seven also must have medical knowledge from people the Borg assimilated so it makes sense she would also help out in sickbay when needed.

Jason

 

[Nyotarules]

Why? What possible reason would the doctor have for taking patients in the middle of the night today? Or even daily, for that matter? Most medical matters can wait. Why would starships be any different?

Timo Saloniemi

Because in space its always night.....

 

[Timo]

...So the doctor is always out.

You know what else I find curious is why wasn't their any doctor or anyone with medical skills among the Maquis.

The Maquis lost people, too. Could be they lost their medic before meeting Janeway. Could be they never had any, despite desperately needing one - it's clearly not as if those grow in trees or anything.

Did Chakoteya have a "crew" when fleeing the Cardassians? Or just self-loading cargo in a hurry to leave a compromised Maquis hideout? We learn from "For the Uniform" that the Maquis are ready to evacuate a planet at the drop of a WMD, and this is what we might be seeing in the VOY pilot as well, with Chakotay and a few trusted friends whisking thirty random hoodlums away from the Cardassian attackers while other ships flee in other directions.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Prax]

Assuming the crew are mainly humanoid and require at least 6 hours of sleep and operate a 24 - 26 hours Sol day should there not be a doctor, dentist, medic, and nurse to cover each shift?

No. If there's an emergency in the night, they can wake the doctor or dentist up...if the medic can't handle it.

 

[Nyotarules]

...So the doctor is always out.
Timo Saloniemi

Why should she be? If I call my doctor 'out of hours' I will get a locum or whoever is on duty not my 'regular' day doctor. Even hospitals have night nurses and night staff, no one expects the day staff to come on duty unless its a dire emergency like a terrorist attack.

 

[Nyotarules]

No. If there's an emergency in the night, they can wake the doctor or dentist up...if the medic can't handle it.

But its always night in space, operating a shift system is for the benefit of beings like humans who need ideally 8 hours sleep per day. A Denobulan ship will never need to sleep, they can operate indefinitely.

 

[Timo]

This just isn't how things work today. Yet things do work today. Navies don't crumble (or drop anchor at night) just because the doctor only takes in patients during regular working hours. It just doesn't seem necessary for Starfleet to do anything differently.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Prax]

It's not always night on a Starship though.

On a Naval vessel, they can wake up the Doctor if there's an emergency that the medic can't handle.

On the NX-01, Phlox is already awake.

On Voyager, the Doctor is also awake.

 

[Prax]

There is no "night doctor" on modern day ships, as far as I'm aware, but my brain is but one, and the world is vast.

 

[Nyotarules]

This just isn't how things work today. Yet things do work today. Navies don't crumble (or drop anchor at night) just because the doctor only takes in patients during regular working hours. It just doesn't seem necessary for Starfleet to do anything differently.

Timo Saloniemi

The assumption is all Starfleet functions operate totally on a human based system, where most of the crew are humans that would make sense, it would not on a mixed species crew. I would assume all posts are covered whether it is day or night shift, since in space there is no day or night. The ship can be attacked, come across a new phenomena or a new planet or new race of beings at any time.

 

[Timo]

A ship out on the sea today can also be attacked at night. Still doesn't mean there'd be a night doctor there (or indeed a doctor of any sort at all).

"Coming across a new phenomenon" would not require waking up McCoy at ungodly hours. Kirk would just tell him after the vitally important morning coffee, lest the captain risk losing a limb. And Kirk would simply take care to arrive at a new planet when his preferred shift was at work.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Nyotarules]

A ship out on the sea today can also be attacked at night. Still doesn't mean there'd be a night doctor there (or indeed a doctor of any sort at all).

"Coming across a new phenomenon" would not require waking up McCoy at ungodly hours. Kirk would just tell him after the vitally important morning coffee, lest the captain risk losing a limb. And Kirk would simply take care to arrive at a new planet when his preferred shift was at work.

Timo Saloniemi

An Earth ship operates under conditions that suit the human body, humans need to sleep for a third of their day. In universe in Starfleet this would be adjusted for depending on the species crew of the ship. E.g USS Denobulan ship who can go months without sleep and still be an effective and efficient crew would have a doctor or doctors on duty all 'day' and 'night' in space.

 

[Timo]

Possibly so. None of the ships we have observed so far have been in need of a Night Doctor, though. Indeed, we have seen the E-D operate two day shifts and one night shift during which the lights on the bridge (!) are dimmed. Apparently, Starfleet can afford to operate ships so that only a certain fraction of a given 24h period is active mission time.

Even regardless of this, if 150 humans or other "ordinary" folks can be kept healthy by a single doctor who isn't awake for more than his share, there's no a priori reason Deobulans or other "special" species would need any more attention. They may be awake more, but they aren't ill more, unless otherwise proven.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Prax]

I wonder if some of the Voyager crew are scared of the Doctor. I would be. I wouldn't want to bother him while he's out playing golf or something.

 

[The Old Mixer]

IRL, if a ship goes to battle stations, everyone is up and has a duty...they don't stay in their bunks if it's not their shift.

 

[WARLOCK1965]

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

Yes the EMH was the back up medical with Voyager's medical staff kill by the caretaker actions and Enterprise NX-01 having a small sick bay basic staffing was done even if it was short on staff

 

[MacLeod]

Why? What possible reason would the doctor have for taking patients in the middle of the night today? Or even daily, for that matter? Most medical matters can wait. Why would starships be any different?

Timo Saloniemi

Perhaps because Sickbay is in essence the equivalent of a Hospital, last I checked Hospitals are manned 24/7.