Posted by Lieutenant Commander Liadra (Counselor) in Counselor’s Office - Cadet Buckingham reporting for Evaluation

Posted by Cadet Thomas Buckingham (Doctor) in Counselor’s Office - Cadet Buckingham reporting for Evaluation

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Liadra (Counselor) in Counselor’s Office - Cadet Buckingham reporting for Evaluation
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“Agreed,” she said with a slightly comical grin. “I had to see a counsellor outside of normal yearly evals on a couple of occasions after events on my ships were rather dramatic. It’s harder for health professionals like us because we know the drill. It’s hard to take off that practitioner’s hat enough to just be a patient.”

Liadra leaned back. “Any notable incidents so far?” she asked with curiosity.

Lt. Cmdr. Liadra, CNS

“Personally, I’ve never been terribly ill or hurt.” Tom said. “But in regards of patients I’ve had quite a few major cases. But thankfully there hasn’t been anything that I couldn’t deal with.” He paused a moment, hoping that he didn’t sound big headed. “The majority of my Medical Profession has been spent in the field of Trauma and Emergency Medicine, which makes it slightly more difficult to come across anything that might be considered ‘minor’.

• Cadet Thomas Buckingham, Medical

“True, but it’s easy for chaos to become completely normalized. It can cloud a person’s perception, make them take more risks when there isn’t a reason to. Have you ever witnessed this in your studies so far?” she asked, gauging his reaction to both her question and his reaction.

Lt. Cmdr. Liadra, CNS

“Not that I’m aware off” Tom said. “I always try to remain as grounded as possible. That’s something that I’ve got to thank my Father for. Risk taking can be dangerous in medicine because ultimately you’re dealing with people’s lives and their health.” Tom spoke in such a way that it was clear to see how much the people under his care mean to him. “There are days when it’s busy, and it is - like you say - chaos. But fortunately there are quiet days too, when you can reset, so to speak. I think this helps to balance things.”

• Cadet Thomas Buckingham, Medical

“Do you think you would notice if there was a point where more risks were being taken? Either in yourself or in those around you?” She knew that when you were in the thick of it with others it could be hard to call someone on something that didn’t feel right and many cadets still didn’t know that line between their oaths and following orders. It was a tricky balance to find and one that even the most seasoned officers could still struggle with.

Lt. Cmdr. Liadra, CNS

“In all honesty, I’m not sure” Buckingham answered. “I’d like to think I’d notice, but I’m just not sure. You see, before I trained in medicine, I was a Science Teacher in a High School” He explained “So there were very few risks involved. Star Fleet is very much a new chapter in my life, which means encountering situations that I haven’t been in before, So I expect I shall learn a great deal more about myself in my time serving.” As Tom spoke he could sense the conversation was quite deep and meaningful, and he was being quite open about himself, which wasn’t the norm, but he continued to answer in an open way, simply out of comfort more than anything else. It felt good to speak sincerely to somebody.

• Cadet Thomas Buckingham, Medical