Learning a New Trade

Posted on Thu Oct 28th, 2010 @ 7:43am by Commander Earlond & Commander Michael Evans M.D.

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Mission Day 17, 1120

::BACKPOST::

ON: [[Sickbay, USS Pandora, Mission Day 17, 1120]]

The doors to Sickbay hissed open as Drake entered. Looking around curiously, he searched for any sign Dr. Evans was still in. For a while now, Drake had been wanting to brush up and expand on his medical training, which wasn't all that expansive to begin with; what better place than under the best doctor around?

Evans was found reclining at the primary medical monitoring station, a PADD in hand. There was a lull, no patients in the sickbay, and he'd decided to catch up on some of his CEU's. According to the PADD in front of him, the stem cells from the articular cartilage of Bolian donors was being used quite effectively to treat certain cartilagenous degenarative conditions in a variety of humanoid species. He looked up as Drake walked in. "Hello, Lieutenant," he greeted rather cheerfully as he sat up straight. "What brings you to Sickbay?"

"Hello, sir," Drake said. "Actually, I'm wondering if you could help me with something. You see, a while back I was trained as a medic, but some of that training's bound to be outdated by now. Since I've basically gotten as high as I can as a Starfighter Pilot with my Top Ace rating, I've been thinking about expanding a little into other areas. Medical seems the most useful to me - do you think you might be able to teach me some of the basics?"

Michael quirked an eyebrow. Not many people volunteered for further medical training, and it was particularly unusual for certain professions (engineers and pilots included). Then again, Drake wasn't a usual sort of fellow. "What sort of medic have you been trained as," Mike asked. "Battlefield? Independant Operations? Auxilliary Response...," he prompted.

"Well, my previous training was in battlefield," Drake said. "But I guess I'm looking for something that would be useful on a starship, maybe something I could use to help out in Sickbay from time to time. Who knows? Maybe I might even try a new career track." He grinned. The possibility was pretty far out there, but still there.

Mike smiled at the half-jest. "Well, it would be easy enough to cross-train you as a starship medic. Many of the principles are the same, but the way you operate is different and you have different sorts of equipment. You've got more resources at your disposal, including access to a physician consult, but operational procedure is a little more structured. Starship medics really shine in the event of a shipwide disaster or a heavy assault, but sometimes feel sort-of useless during normal operations.

"If you'd prefer to spend more time in Sickbay," Michael continued, "I could cross-train you as a general medical technician. It'll take a little longer but you'd be exposed to a broader base of procedures and knowledge, and wouldn't really specialize in one area. You'll also usually be working under a nurse or physician in a medical unit, but your skills can be used on a more regular basis.

"What do you think?" Dr. Evans asked.

"I guess the second sounds preferable," Drake replied, taking only a few moments to think them over. "I'd rather have a broader range of skills; being useful is important to me."

"Me, too," Michael smiled. "Why don't you come back this evening, say eighteen-thirty hours... give me a chance to prepare some material before we get started."

"Sounds good, sir," Drake said, nodding. "I'll see you then." Smiling, he turned and headed for the exit, looking forward to the training to come.

OFF

A Post By:

Lieutenant Drake Lexon (NPC)
Shuttle/Runnabout Pilot, USS Pandora
Played By: Commander Earlond, XO

AND

Lieutenant Commander Michael Evans
CMO, USS Pandora