STF

Sickbay – Shock reporting for physical exam

Posted Aug. 12, 2022, 9:28 p.m. by Ensign Noah Astor (Doctor) (Scott Kafader)

Posted by Lieutenant Shock (Chief of Security) in Sickbay – Shock reporting for physical exam

Posted by Ensign Noah Astor (Doctor) in Sickbay – Shock reporting for physical exam

Posted by Lieutenant Shock (Chief of Security) in Sickbay – Shock reporting for physical exam
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(Takes place within an hour or two of Shock’s arrival to the Athena)

It was now time for Shock’s physical exam. He was used to them, undergoing them regularly, especially after potential injuries on away missions. Security officers had a long history of being the ones most easily injured in service – the last century’s harangue of “redshirts” being “cannon fodder” might even have changed Star Fleet’s uniform colours, in a drive to bring more recruits into the “golden” department.

In any case, the gold on Shock’s uniform looked good – a Tellarite colleague once said – it went well with the green-bronzey hue on his skin and his chestnut-coloured eyes.

He waited for the doctor or nurse in charge.

– Lieutenant Shock (Chief of Security)

Noah popped out around a corner and noticed the Vulcan standing in the reception area. Tossing a few hyposprays onto a counter to be cleaned he headed over to the other officer.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, sir, I’m Dr. Astor. What can I help you with today?”

-Ensign Astor, Medical

“Good morning, Dr Astor. There is no need to apologise, I am in no rush. My name is Shock, lieutenant, and I am the newly assigned chief of security on this ship. I am here for the physical exam required before going on active duty,” he replied as succinctly as he could. He noticed the younger-than-himself physician. Dr Astor had to Shock a friendly demeanour. The physician was some fifteen centimetres shorter than him, and a little slimmer than Shock (even when proportionals were considered), but otherwise their bodies appeared somewhat proportional to one another. “Will you, or some other doctor, perform it?”

– Lieutenant Shock (Chief of Security)

Noah gave a relieved smile to the security chief. This was shaping up to be quite the event in sickbay and the department was hopping.

“I appreciate your understanding, we’ve been a little slammed down here. I can help you with the boarding physical. Let me just grab a few things and I will meet you at Biobed 2,” he gestured to one of the nearby biobeds before heading over to one of the supply stations to grab a medical tricorder.

-Ensign Astor, Medical

“Of course,” replied Shock. A tricorder would be logical under these circumstances, he thought.

Shock looked around. Here in main Sickbay (he knew there was a smaller nurse’s station sickbay near engineering too), there were 50 biobeds around. In their configuration, they looked to Shock as if they were infinite (which obviously was illogical). He only had to pass one biobed before reaching Biobed 2. Should he lie on it? Sit on it? Stand next to it? Different doctors always had different expectations of their patients. He decided to wait for Dr Astor’s return before touching the biobed. This was the realm of physicians, and he was but a guest. He should wait for the physicians to decide how he should act. That would be most respectful, and, indeed, most logical.

– Lieutenant Shock (Chief of Security)

Noah arrived to meet the other officer at Biobed 2, “Feel free to have a seat on the bed Lieutenant. I don’t anticipate we will need to really use it today but if we do it will already be handy.”

He accessed the computer to bring up Shock’s medical records and quickly reviewed those for anything of note.

Turning back to Lt. Shock he opened the tricorder and began running some routine scans, “I’m just running a few quick checks here and I’ve reviewed your medical records. Is there anything not in the records that I should be aware of?”

-Ensign Astor, Medical

Shock dutifully obeyed the doctor’s orders. Shock had been fascinated by the reverse power structure in Sickbay. For example, a doctor could command a nurse to perform something, even if the nurse outranked the doctor. Dr Astor, an ensign, could prescribe treatment to Shock, and could even, if Shock would have an infectious disease, order Shock to quarantine himself – yet Shock outranked Dr Astor. It was as if, every time one entered Sickbay, one entered a new world with different rules. It was, of course, logical that this was the case, but he had never figured out the need for rank in Sickbay. Perhaps, one day, if Shock would advance to command in his career, he would learn to understand it.

Shock’s medical records were rather clean. Of course, as a security officer, he had had his fair share of cuts and bruises, but never anything serious. His childhood was normal, as was his mother’s pregnancy with him. He had been vaccinated according to the normative rules of his childhood and adult life, and have no long-term ailments.

“Only that Tuvan syndrome runs in my family, but the risk of developing it, I’ve been told by my family physician, is low, and the risk of it would increase only in about one hundred and ten years from now.”

When scanning Shock, Dr Astor would find most vital signs for a fit Vulcan man of Shock’s age, except for his blood oxygen saturation. It was at 94%, instead of the expected 97–99%. Moreover, there appeared to be an above-normal build up of lactic acid.

– – Lieutenant Shock (Chief of Security)

Noah glanced at the out of range values, his medical poker face suddenly coming into play. A slightly out of range O2 sat was usually not something to be concerned about but elevated lactic acid could indicate a long term issue. He cross referenced the values with the lieutenant’s past medical history to see if this had come up before.

Looking back to the other officer with a reassuring smile he said, “That is good information to have. I’ll have to refresh my memory on Tuvan Syndrome but, if I recall correctly, your family physician’s assessment makes sense. We will just keep an eye on it and make sure we catch anything early. How have you been feeling overall?”

-Ensign Astor, Medical

“I’ve been feeling lethargic as of late,” Shock replied, “perhaps it’s related to my transfer here and transition into a new role and new ship and new crew.”

He paused for a while. “But I’ve also experienced it’s harder to breath, and it’s becoming more and more strained to do so.”

– Mr Shock, Patient

Noah nodded at this. “Well your oxygen levels are a little low, and there is some evidence from your blood work that this has been going on for a little bit of time, you have a build up of lactic acid. I’d like to take a closer look at your lungs to see if we can figure out what’s going on there. If you wouldn’t mind laying down on the biobed I’m going to bring the sensors up.”

He turned back toward the control panel for the biobed and tapped in some commands to prepare for the scan.

OOC: Sorry about the delay in response. Do you want to let me know here what we are looking for on the scans or reach out on Discord if you want it to be a surprise for every one :)

-Ensign Astor, Medical


Posts on USS Athena

In topic

Posted since


© 1991-2024 STF. Terms of Service

Version 1.15.9