Add a Medical Resident Alt-title. "Medical Intern" or "Medical Orderly"

So, this was a long time brewing. As it stands, there is no learners role for Medical. To explain what I mean by this, there is no role that isn't expected to be competent. I will explain more on this before I carry on.

Used to, we had a role known as 'Nursing Intern', it was expected to know very little and be taught how to work in Medical from the ground up. Now? We have the Medical Resident, which sounds like the same thing? Wrong. The medical resident occupies the niche of a fully educated Doctor undergoing residency, which in the Medical industry is required to obtain a license to practice. You are a fully schooled and mostly competent Doctor who is just doing their rounds (Known as Residency) which is displaying competency to their peers. Why is this bad? Two words. Mostly Competent.

For comparison, you have...

Lab Assistant - Incompetent, but trusted around lab equipment.

Engineering Apprentice - Incompetent, but trusted with engineering tools.

Security Cadet - Incompetent, but trusted with some security gear.

Medical Resident - Near full fledged doctor, trusted to do everything in medical with light supervision.

One of these things is not like the other ... one of these things just doesn't belong

The Medical Resident as a concept has evolved past being a learners role, now it's a 'I'm out of date in Medical but completely competent' role, as it stands, you have to OOCly handwave the Medical Residents incompetence and pretend he learned nothing in Medschool for this to be a learners role, that is not preferable.

Soooo, proposal; Add Medical Intern as an alt-title. Problem solved, easy peasy. Fixed.

As said by another person, Medical Student is another firm possibility IMO.

There should also be one called "Surgical Intern" or something similar, which sways you more toward the surgery side of things instead of the medicine side of things.

I'm fine with medical orderly.

The point of the Medical Resident is to for training both IC and OOC in how medical works. You can be a medical resident that is becoming a surgeon, but because of your lack of access you need implicit oversight by someone else who will open the door to the medical OR for you. And not being labelled a "surgical resident" means that people ask you what you are here for, and you can discreetly change your answer depending on what you want to learn within medical.

So more specific interns like 'surgery intern' is a bad idea, whereas an orderly is fine.

I'm fine with medical orderly.

The point of the Medical Resident is to for training both IC and OOC in how medical works. You can be a medical resident that is becoming a surgeon, but because of your lack of access you need implicit oversight by someone else who will open the door to the medical OR for you. And not being labelled a "surgical resident" means that people ask you what you are here for, and you can discreetly change your answer depending on what you want to learn within medical.

So more specific interns like 'surgery intern' is a bad idea, whereas an orderly is fine.

I understand. But it also leads to cases where you say "I'm here a surgical resident" but get brushed off because "Medical residents don't do surgery." It is more an exception than the rule, however, and I've not experienced it personally.

I do definitely think something slightly below "resident" is needed. If it's "orderly" that's fine, but keep in mind an orderly is not the same thing as an intern and you cannot go from orderly to doctor with some experience. Orderlies do not need an M.D.

My complaint is largely on the responsibilities thrusted on a learners role. We don't expect Security Cadets to know how to protect themselves and use all guns responsibly with supervision, we don't expect the Engineering Apprentice to be able to do the Engine or Tesla with just basic supervision, we don't expect Lab Assistants to do all of the work in R&D with just a Scientist there to watch.

In theory, there's not a lot of reason that a Student, Intern or Orderly, whatever they are called, couldn't up their alt-title to Resident to hint that they are through with schooling and working full time for their license instead of just getting practical experience to help in school. We just throw far too much responsibility on Medical Residents as of this moment to expect them to know nothing. It actually breaks character to teach them the basics of Dylovene, Inaprovaline etc, because of this. They should already know all of that.

That said, I don't want Resident gone, it fills a decent niche of an advanced learners role. Its just, it's NOT a basic one. There needs to be a slot or title for that.

I'm fine with medical orderly.

The point of the Medical Resident is to for training both IC and OOC in how medical works. You can be a medical resident that is becoming a surgeon, but because of your lack of access you need implicit oversight by someone else who will open the door to the medical OR for you. And not being labelled a "surgical resident" means that people ask you what you are here for, and you can discreetly change your answer depending on what you want to learn within medical.

So more specific interns like 'surgery intern' is a bad idea, whereas an orderly is fine.

 

I understand. But it also leads to cases where you say "I'm here a surgical resident" but get brushed off because "Medical residents don't do surgery." It is more an exception than the rule, however, and I've not experienced it personally.

I do definitely think something slightly below "resident" is needed. If it's "orderly" that's fine, but keep in mind an orderly is not the same thing as an intern and you cannot go from orderly to doctor with some experience. Orderlies do not need an M.D.

If someone is saying a medical resident can't do surgery when you're there as a surgery resident then they're being intentionally obtuse and you have my permission to gib them

Or complain to a Head of Staff or file an IR

So for about the first two months of being on the Aurora server, I main-ed a medical resident. I hadn't played in at least two years, and wanted to get back into how medical worked based on my limited memory and knowledge back when I first played, etc.

During this time, I realized that what I was expect to know and not to know was incredibly vague and obtuse, and even would change from CMO to CMO, and Admin to Admin when it came to Ahelps. On the subject of cloning in particular, I was given three contradictory answers by Admins on whether I knew how to clone or not as a resident ("You know how to clone, you can only clone alone in an emergency, you do not know how to clone at all). The medical resident role has a major problem in that OOCly, they're supposed to be in-training, someone who doesn't know how the medical system of the Aurora works, and wishes to be taught it by other doctors. ICly though, you already have your Medical Doctorate if you're a resident, and should know how to administer bicaradine, set the IV drip, do surgery...

Adding to this is the fact that, with how the server is laid out, medical rarely has time to train a resident about anything more advanced than what we can ICly do to a monkey and not get arrested for animal cruelty. Medical is either sitting and waiting for something to happen, or everyone scrambling in preparation for when something does occur. When we have three patients with popped lungs, we don't usually have the time to prepare the resident to attempt surgery with supervision- it goes to the first medical doctor to get the patient, with the resident having to just observe and ask what happened in the aftermath.

I heavily support the idea of adding either medical interns or medical students to the list of internship roles, as it both designates the lack of experience that a brand-new player in that job would have. The medical student role would have even less access then the medical resident does (as it is, a medical resident can enter the Operating theatre on their own), in exchange for having little to no actual responsibility other then observe and ask questions. A resident meanwhile would be expected to be somewhat competent and on-point when it comes to most basic medical treatments (what medicines to give what forms of injury, how to perform basic/advanced surgeries, etc.), however they wouldn't be expected to know more advanced treatments off the top of their head, and require aid on such matters.

I'm fine with medical orderly.

I don't agree with having the beginner role be 'medical orderly' however, due to the fact that, as Chada said, the training an orderly receives is different then the other roles in medical have. It'd be similar to having the nurse role become the new form of 'resident'. Yes, the two usually overlap in duties (A medical resident at this point is basically treated as a nurse for all intents and purposes on server), but the requirements ICly for both are completely different.

The insight of new players is very much what we need, and with the above poster's insight I now feel that Medical Intern is a very strong inclusion, to give new players a foot in the door and let them work up to resident, and then a fully fledged medical character?

Medical Student would be a FANTASTIC "beginner" position in Medbay. Learning hands-on is something they do, even for CNA's and CMA's. They usually train on themselves, but a medical student going to the Aurora for some hands-on training would make a lot of sense!

And it carries with it the exact treatment a "beginner" would require. Doctors, Residents and even Surgeons could take a student under their wing and have them sit-in during treatment/surgery. They can teach them simple tasks and use the process as a learning experience. Now, of course they can't do that during emergencies. Hospitals today don't just go 'Oh, you're missing your hand. Let me take the time to teach my student.".... BUTTTTTT the student can still be in the room to watch, learn, and even assist by grabbing things for the doctor/surgeon during the emergency. (Which brings up the topic of the old Medbay where there WAS an "observation" room to the surgery units and how doctors would sit in to watch the procedure occur. I miss that, a lot!)

Residents are, in a nutshell, doctors. They're newbie doctors, but they have finished school and are getting their feet wet. As a CMO, I've let my resident do Kois removal surgery because it was an emergency, he knew the procedure, and I was unavailable for the immediate extraction that was needed. The resident was successful (and did this during a radiation storm too!). Not only did it boost the confidence of that character, it made the player feel pretty good about themselves too. I always ask what my residents are trained in. If there's something they don't know, I offer to teach them, hands-on, when the time comes. But some of the stuff is so simple.... a RESIDENT should know it. Yesterday, I offered to teach a resident how to do a simple physical. To me, that's just something a resident should know. If it had been a student doctor, that scene would have made much more sense.

Student doctors would be almost a staple in the surgical theater, not for hands-on training, but observation. Surgeons would then have something else to do other than "Click this guy with my hemostat and wait wait wait.". They would have the ability to RP out a rather boring ass situation.

Chemists and Pharmacists could take the time to explain the nitty gritty details of their medications. Metabolism rates, overdose rates. What neutralizes another medication. etc etc.

I had a c-section with my first child. Three student doctors were in the surgery room watching the procedure take place. It wasn't an emergency c-section and they learned quite a bit since my c-section had to be done in a different way than most. There are, of course, some guidelines the student would have to follow, where as the resident wouldn't have to

Examples?

A student cannot diagnose a patient. A doctor must confirm the students stated diagnosis. They would be HIGHLY encouraged to give their opinion on what the issue is. They can also treat this diagnosis under the supervision of a doctor or resident.

A student cannot prescribe medication to a patient. A doctor must confirm their SUGGESTION. Once again, they'd be highly encouraged to give their opinion. They can give the medication to the patient, and even tell them how to take care of themselves outside the medical unit under the supervision of a doctor, chemist, or resident.

A student doctor would not know how to clone, however, they can be shown how to properly handle a patient that needs to be cloned, and can be taught the cloning procedure.

A student doctor shouldn't make notes on a patients record without the express approval of a doctor.

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Sounds like a lot, but those would really help define what the difference between a resident and a doctor is. A resident can do all of that. The resident just needs to be checked in on from time to time by the CMO. This differs from a regular doctor because a doctor doesn't need their hand held, or a performance evaluation. If anything, the resident has a lot on their plate and it's their time to prove themselves to the Medical unit.

A resident is a stepping stone (and more importantly an RP element) to becoming an independent doctor aboard the N.S.S Aurora. You know your stuff, you're just green and it's up to the experienced staff of Medbay to checking on what you're doing and make sure you're remembering your education. Residents can be tasked with blood drives, physicals, basic patient treatment, basic surgery (if they're trained as a surgical intern or have the education behind it. Whatever it may be.). A resident should expect their CMO to monitor their behavior. At the same time, a CMO needs to let their resident get the opportunity to prove themselves.

In light of Satin's post, student doctor would be a fantastic addition for medical. Someone that follows around a fully-fledged doctor to really learn from. Gee, sounds an awful lot like security, engineering, and science!

Tell me who I have to lobby to, I want to help make this happen.

I still believe this is a very relevant suggestion, as it stands, new players to Medical have far too much expected of them. This leads to them wandering aimlessly through Medical or doing things they ICly shouldn't do, such as not understanding the proper dosage of Bicaridine and the like.

I really think this simple alt-title would make a large difference in the accessibility of Medical to new players and enable them to learn in a less stressful environment.

Consider this a bump so it isn't lost in a pile.

This idea is really what I'm waiting for before diving in to Medbay with any characters. As it is, the only way to do something like this is to talk to the HoP after coming on as an Assistant, and get them to change your ID.

https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora.3/pull/5235

I asked Code-Dad Arrow to open a PR on this.

Moved to projects.