Posted by Lieutenant Jericho Semenza (Chief Medical Officer) in side - Sim: I am not Geriatric (TAG Semenza)

Posted by Captain Rende Asam (Captain) in side - Sim: I am not Geriatric (TAG Semenza)

Posted by Lieutenant Jericho Semenza (Chief Medical Officer) in side - Sim: I am not Geriatric (TAG Semenza)
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
“The department is fine… Everything has been easy to handle.” So far it had been an easy department to run and Semenza was thankful for that. It had become apparent to him that running things wasn’t… really for him. He preferred practicing, without the extra paperwork. Or maybe medical research. The medical lab had always been a favorite for him. But he didn’t want to disappoint the Captain so he was hesitant to say anything. “Were there any other medical concerns…?” He asked, a bit awkwardly.

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

El-Aurian empathy was a strange thing. It was picked up from the voice of the speaker - hence being ‘a race of listeners.’ Rende sensed a little bit of restlessness, unfulfillment. Not so odd, to want more or something different. “No nothing for me. Though we haven’t gotten to introduce ourselves. It’s been quite busy since you arrived. How did you end up in Star Fleet Medical?”

Rende

Semenza pulled up a stool and sat on it. “I had a friend in medical school who was training to go on to Starfleet. I had become fascinated by alien culture and I wished to get out there and meet some of them. My undergrad degree is in anthropology, the study of human culture. But I’m a bit of a zenoanthropologist, too. Might go back to school for it at some point.” He shook his head. “But I am rambling, am I not? Since I was already doing medical training, and I did want to be a doctor, it wasn’t a stretch to jump into Starfleet medical academy.” Jericho, though he rarely mentioned it, was also a writer by hobby. And since making CMO, he really hadn’t had time to work on his novel at all. It felt like he was choosing one interest over the others, and ended up not being all that… happy with it. Why did he have to be so indecisive? But he had always been that way. He only chose medicine in high school, and before that, he’d been unfocused and lazy, without a clue what he wanted to fill his life with.

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

“Alien cultures are a passion of mine. At some point I did get an undergrad in archeology. However it is now so far out of date to be obsolete. I have found that having the degree has provided valuable insight into many aspects of first contact and diplomatic situations. Do you find it to be so with medicine?”

Rende, CO

“It makes it easier to understand why a specific patient might deny a specific treatment and if necessary, how I might go about convincing them to take it. It also makes it easier to relate to even the most difficult of patients. Everyone liked to know you know at least something of their people.” Semenza replied. “Vulcans are known to avoid treatment until they think it will affect their ability to do their job. If I can phrase what I think they need in a logical way that sounds more efficient than waiting until a problem becomes a major problem, maybe I can get them to agree.”

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

Rende nodded at that, “It always amazes me how difficult it is for Vulcans to miss the logic in preventative and early care. On the other hand my species is very long lived and sometimes symptoms don’t increase rapidly, but once they do we are left with the problem for a very long time. So as a whole we tend to be very aggressively proactive about seeking out care.”

Rende, CO

Semenza nodded. “And so, I would not expect to need to chase you down for things like annual physicals and I’d expect to see you frequently for whatever might be bothering you. Vulcans will generally show up for an annual, but deny any treatment that might take them away from work. Humans, and andorians in my experience, really depend on their personal fears and experiences which side they will fall on.”

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

“Now that is true. Centuries ago I would not have been so compliant. But then the medicine of the worlds I was living on was more frightening than the pain I might have been in. I think Klingons are similar. Honor and endurance and reliance on their redundant body systems,” Rende mused. She had no idea if Kohr argued about his physicals. Though he had reason to keep his medical record to himself.

“Other than forced geriatrics, what is your specialization?”

Rende, CO

Semenza didn’t know, he had yet to have more than a passing conversation with Kohr. “Klingons in general tend to have a poor view of medicine.” He commented. He smiled at her comment and shook his head. “Hardly geriatric, Captain.” He said. He was simply being kind, of course. It was well known that Rende was getting on in her years. “I specialize in preventative medicine and internal medicine. That means that I specialize in cases where the outcome is rarely surgery. Of course, serving in Starfleet, one tends to be a bit of a jack of all trades.”

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

“I think that is true of most departments. I can’t count the number of times some random piece of chatter of Eldorin’s ended up saving my hide as a marine.” The captain appreciated the kind comment, but she knew she was old. Old didn’t mean useless, but she hated feeling more fragile as the years went on. “So you tend to rely more on testing and experimenting in the labs, so I would guess you enjoy it. Do you get to do much of that now? Or does the paperwork keep you too busy?”

Rende, CO

“I do. Most things can’t be detected early without lab testing and scans. I couldn’t prevent things without quite a lot of lab time.” Semenza said, and then he shook his head and shrugged. “I almost always end up delegating that sort of thing to others. The paperwork is… Manageable, but leaves little time for the sorts of jobs one enjoys.”

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

“You sound like you miss it. You have moved quickly through the ranks, making CMO in four years of service is no easy feat. If you could do anything where would your career go next?”

Rende, CO