Medical Doctor: Difference between revisions

As a Medical Doctor, your primary function is to heal the injured and save them from the brink of death. If this fails, you are expected to drag those that perish into [[Cloning]] to be reborn (or utilize another method of resurrection). You have a powerful tool at your disposal which can diagnose injuries and diseases in the form of a [[Health Analyzer]], conveniently located in all medical kits, including the one you have at round start. You can even use your PDA to scan for injuries by engaging the Health Scanner function of it, thanks to the MED-U cartridge inside it.

Utilizing the Health Analyzer will give you a readout of all the ailments a patient is suffering from, and a quick overview of all the damage types and simple treatments is found below. To facilitate conservation of consumable supplies in treatment, it is recommended to bring the patient into Medical and put them in a [[sleeper|Sleeper Pod]], which you can then use to inject them with a limitless amount of five basic healing chemicals, only requiring power to do so. Be aware that Sleepers, much like every other piece of technology on the station, can be upgraded by the [[Science]] department to have a larger array of more powerful healing chemicals to administer, as it detailed on the Sleepers page.

Regardless of if an implement is as sharp as a kitchen knife, or as puncturing as a bullet, the damage it will cause is classified as ''Brute Damage''. Due to this wide range of applying forces, Brute Damage is inevitably the most common form of damage, and proper treatment thereof is crucial. A patient suffering from enough Brute Damage will visually have large bloody red streaks on their form, or massive purple-red bruises, and an examination will confirm this. Brute Damage is often treated by [[Guide_to_chemistry#Bicardine|Bicardine]] injections through the Sleeper Pods, or through application of [[Guide_to_chemistry#Styptic_Powder|Styptic Powder]] and other advanced medicines to the afflicted areas, which is made in [[Chemistry]], which is attached to the Medical lobby. Your starter First Aid Kit also has a pile of Bruise Packs inside it, which can be applied to injured areas to heal their Brute Damage immediately, though these run out quickly.

Brute Damage can also cause bleeding, which is covered in the [[Guide_to_medicine#Treating_Bleeding|guide to medicine]] more extensively. To put it concisely, if a patient has brute damage, first diagnose if they are bleeding, as that will cause more complications if it continues unabated. If they are bleeding, wrap the wound in gauze (located in your First Aid Kit) to give yourself time to treat the damage causing it, while taking note of their blood levels. More often than not, a patient will be able to recover their lost blood over time (a healthy diet will speed this process up), but if the Health Analyzer reports a '''LOW''' or '''CRITICAL''' blood level, or the patient reports that they are feeling lightheaded or look pale, they will need a [[Guide_to_medicine#Treating_Bleeding|blood transfusion]]. If attempting a transfusion, be certain to give the patient the correct type of replacement blood, or you may end up harming them further - the Health Analyzer will give a blood type readout, as will the patient's medical record file.

The second most common type of damage is ''Burn Damage''. This is caused by a multitude of sources, from fire and inhospitably high (or low) temperatures, to laser blasts, to standing in space unprotected. Burn Damage visually manifests as grey streaks on a person's body, which can be hard to see on more thoroughly dressed up individuals. Burn Damage is often treated by [[Guide_to_chemistry#Kelotane|Kelotane]] injections through the Sleeper Pods, or through application of [[Guide_to_chemistry#Silver_Sulfadiazine|Silver Sulfadiazine]] and other advanced medicines. Your started First Aid Kit also has two tubes of Ointment inside it, which can be applied to injured areas to heal their Burn Damage immediately, though these run out quickly.

Regardless of how the damage is accrued, it is dangerous in that it has no visual tell. Individuals suffering from poisoning will appear just the same as anyone else, aside from their decaying health and potential fits of vomiting. Toxin Damage is also marginally more involved to treat than Brute and Burn, as the Sleeper Pods have no inherent way to treat it (until upgraded by Science). As such, these cases will necessitate a trip into [[Medical_Doctor#Medical_Storage|Medical Storage]] to grab a Toxins Treatment Kit, which will contain [[Guide_to_chemistry#Charcoal|Charcoal]] and [[Guide_to_chemistry#Anti-Toxin|Anti-Toxin]] pills. Both are very nearly equivalent, but Anti-Toxin has an overdose threshold of 30u, so use it sparingly.

The fourth kind of damage deals with oxygen, and a lack thereof. ''Suffocation Damage'' often occurs when a patient is in critical health and are rendered unable to breathe as they bleed out, or it is caused by having entered into an air deficient environment, such as space. If a patient is suffocating, take a moment to identify the root source instead of merely treating the symptom. If the Health Analyzer shows that the patient has over 100 total damage, they are likely in critical condition, and are dying. A quick injection of [[Guide_to_chemistry#Epinephrine|Epinephrine]] (which is contained in the emergency medical injector in your First Aid Kit) can help reduce the amount of Suffocation Damage they have, as well as typically preventing more from accumulating, allowing you to treat their other damage, or perform CPR to reduce their Suffocation Damage faster, and ultimately stabilize them.

Suffocation can also be chemically treated through [[Guide_to_chemistry#Salbutomal|Salbutomal]], and [[Guide_to_chemistry#Perfluorodecalin|Perfluorodecalin]], as well as other medicines. Perfluorodecalin acts much faster, but it has drawbacks of inflicting toxin damage and having an overdose threshold, whereas Salbutomal acts slowly but surely with no drawbacks, and has no overdose threshold.

The fifth and final kind of damage is relatively rare, and deals with internal organs. Typically, organs inside a healthy living body will continue to function normally (and will regenerate any damage over time so long as the person is healthy and well fed), so they aren't ''usually'' a point of concern. However, in certain cases such as an overweight patient, severe alcohol overdose, or death, organs will decay. This can complicate revival procedures, and will have lingering effects post-revival.  

There are six internal organs that matter: the heart, the brain, the lungs, the liver, the stomach, and the appendix. For a more complete guide on treatment procedures and the negative impacts that damage to each causes, please see [[Guide_to_medicine#Organ_Damage|this page]].