[snip]

“Kate?” Faith asked, “I know I’m only an unqualified nurse in training, but isn’t that a lot of questions to ask that poor man at once. He only just opened his eyes and it feels like an interrogation. And he is already suffering so much too from his great loss!”

‘’Oh Faith, its Hunter that is asking the questions and I do feel the same way as you’’ replied the nursing officer.
Since they were near the doctor Hunter spoke to both women ‘’ I agree but I’m just following orders from the Captain ‘’ he intently looked at the patient ‘’He has already given us a lot of information .The Lt was coherent in the state before ,now he is more stable though still in pain’’ .

Hunter although he too was not comfortable in asking for more information …the doctor was just following orders.

“Well, I’ll be asking Captain Glen what on Earth he was thinking of!” Faith told them. “He has no right to over-ride the permission of the medical staff. That’s section 5, subsection 2 of the Starfleet Medical code. And subsection 3 says we must also provide some privacy, they can’t just be questioned in public… I was just reading it in the textbook, The Students Guide to Starfleet Medical Law and Ethics, if you want to see?”

Hunter got up ‘’Faith dear in the situation we are in any section 1 or 100 does not matter since the Merrimack and all the crew might be in danger .A danger that took the lives of all crew of the Trudograd , I’m quite sure the Captain knows what he’s doing and only our patient may or may not give us answers we so desperately need ‘’ he went on ‘’It was the CMO herself who passed on the Captain’s message and if she thought that any section was valid in the said circumstances she would have over ridden his request ‘’.

“Well, if you say so,” Faith replied to Hunter’s interruption, but then she continued to Kate, “There is another book, ‘Epidemics’, Book One of the Hippocratic school: ‘Practice two things in your dealings with disease: either help or do not harm the patient’. But maybe what I’ve read in books doesn’t apply to the practice of realistic medicine? Medical practice seems to be very confusing!”

‘’Faith at times we have to act with what we feel is the best way ‘’ the nursing officer replied ‘’ I went into nursing cause I wanted to be closely acquainted while caring for the patients .Obviously we have to follow the treatment a doctor orders, but effectively we are the ones who know and are familiar with our patients. Having spend a considerable amount of time getting to know them, not just as patients but also as individuals and when trust is build you’ll find that as a nurse they open up to you something that they do not usually do to a doctor . Of course we work as a team and as nurses we tend to realize if what a doctor may have ordered is helping or doing more harm then good, or no progress is being made …Faith that’s when we step in, doctors are not Gods don’t ever forget that ‘’.

Doctor Hunter thinks he is a God, thought Faith, but she replied instead, “Yes, I’ve read that studies have shown that Doctors rely heavily on nurses and pharmacists to identify and correct their errors.”

Kate had been a nurse for many years and was experienced, skilled, competent and knowledgeable.

‘’When I was on my very first night shift after I got my nursing degree I bawled my eyes out while alone in the treatment room of a ward, afraid that all patients where going to die ‘’ Kate chuckled as she remembered ‘’We study theory but its practice that makes you confident in your line of duty’’ .

“Thank you for letting me shadow you like this today,” replied Faith. “I want to learn everything I can. This will give me the edge over other students at Starfleet Medical.”

With all the back and forth banter, Carol gave a weak chuckle as he came back around. “..B…Boy you folks sure like to cough banter around the sick on this ship huh?” he said with a faint wheeze, one of the NE nurses helping with the biobed controls to prop him up at a 20 degree angle to be more comfortable. After a moment he spoke, “..I am....I am unsure what else I can contribute really. Everything happened so fast,” he sighs heavily with a somber tone. “..I guess I’m just still feeling in shock with it all happening. Everything is so jumbled and I can’t really recall the order of events properly if I am honest. Sorry..” he said.

‘’It’s not that important ‘’ he replied with regards to the questions Hunter was told to ask ‘’ Just try to rest ‘’.

The medical staff could probably tell the man was still in some form of shock mentally. While physically he would recover and was more or less stable, the mental recovery would take more time, days even. Not to mention the no doubt longer term recovery for survivors guilt he would suffer further on.

The doctor walked to where Kate was ‘’ If you pick up that the patient is exhibiting any psychological distress at some point let Cross know, it might hinder and impede the progress he made so far ..slowing down the ability for him to get physically better ‘’.

And when he realises that he is the only survivor from his ship, thought Faith. Carol Machs seemed to be in good humour now, but he still needed to grieve, and when that realisation finally came it would likely hit him like a brick!

• Faith, yeoman