First Responder

MEDICAL STAFF
First Responder	Access: Medbay, Morgue, EVA, Maintenance, External Airlocks Qualifications: Must be least 18 years of age with an EMT certification. Employers: Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals, Nanotrasen, The Private Military Contracting Group Supervisors: Chief Medical Officer Duties: Recover and safely deliver injured crew to Medbay, work against the clock. Guides: Guide to Medicine

The First Responder plays an extremely important role on board the ship. Primarily tasked with reaching injured crew members far from medbay, every second counts and every action or inaction means the difference between life and death. First Responders are trained in the medical field, but are not doctors thus they cannot perform surgeries or advanced diagnoses. They're trained in detecting and fixing symptoms found on the field, and assisting in triage when necessary.

Your Coworkers and You

Physician/Surgeon

The dynamic between the Physicians, Surgeons and the First Responder is a vitally important dynamic. First Responders are expected to retrieve patients for the Physicians and Surgeons to treat. This does not entirely exclude First Responders from assisting in the GTR, however it should only be done when requested or during an emergency. There are other functions which a First Responder can do within the medbay, but the focus of a First Responder is always on what is outside of the medbay.

When bringing a patient to the medbay, it can be useful to inform the Physicians and Surgeons of the general state of the patient over the radio. Details are not needed, but the severity and type can help prepare whoever may be receiving the patient. You should also inform the receiving Physician of what chemicals have been administered to avoid overdosing patients.

Pharmacist

The Pharmacist can be a very useful coworker. First Responders can often fill their role without the need for extra chemicals beyond those already in the medbay, however having access to advanced chemicals such as Adrenaline, Mortaphenyl, Dexalin Plus, and so on can enhance your capabilities.

Remember that the purpose of a First Responder is to retrieve patients and treat minor injuries in the field. If there is a limited supply of chemicals from the pharmacy, the Physicians should get first pick.

Chief Medical Officer

Remember that the Chief Medical Officer is your boss. They have a direct link to the activities of the other departments, such as security, and can offer vital information about potential locations where injuries may occur. Some areas cannot be accessed by First Responders. In these situations, working with the CMO may be necessary to gain access and retrieve otherwise unreachable patients. Utilize their expanded access, and in return listen out for their orders and keep them informed.

Getting Set Up

A large part of the emergency response life is having all bases covered and prepared before an actual call, because once you get it, there is little to no time to fetch any missing medicine. A good First Responder must be able to stabilize a patient on the field, and reduce any damage to their body, whatever the type. A good First Responder must also be able to reach all corners of the ship as soon as possible, regardless of its condition. This is why it is advised that the following (most of which is typically found in NanoMed vendors or in your quarters) is always on hand:

• A Medical HUD to check records and patient physical condition on the go. Also available in aviator form. So cool!
• A pair of Latex Gloves to prevent spreading infection. Nitrile works too and is the only option for our clawed friends.
• A Sterile Mask to avoid catching or spreading infections.
• A Health Analyzer to diagnose injuries.
• Advanced Trauma Kits to treat brute damage and prevent infections.
• Advanced Burn Kits to treat burns and prevent infections.
• A Rescue Hardsuit. This is your primary means of EVA travel. It comes equipped with many modules, of which can be the difference between life and death for you or your patients.
• A Medical Voidsuit. While there are two medical hardsuits, the hardsuit module removes the ability to wear a bag. It is up to you whether having a bag or having a hardsuit is more valuable. In the case the bag is more valuable, a voidsuit will be needed. These can be found in EVA on deck 1.
• A Splint to secure fractures before moving a patient.
• A Hypospray to inject up to 15 units of chemicals. This is faster than pills and more sanitary than syringes.
• Inaprovaline bottles to prevent further deterioration of a critical patient. Inaprovaline does many amazing things, including slowing down all bleeding.
• Dylovene bottles or pills, to treat the liver if it's been damaged by toxins.
• Dermaline bottles or pills, to treat burn damage. If Dermaline is not available, Kelotane should be used. Be careful not to mix them!
• Butazoline bottles or pills, to treat brute damage. If Butazoline is not available, Bicardine should be used. Be careful to not mix them unless you really want to!
• Dexalin inhalers, to treat hypoxia. If Dexalin Plus is available, always choose it over standard Dexalin.
• A Roller Bed to quickly transport patients unable to walk.
• A Body Bag to transport dead patients to the medbay.
• A Stasis Bag to transport critical patients, or ones bleeding arterially, to the medbay.
• An effective painkiller like Mortaphenyl. Patients in extreme pain are likely to faint, or even cause pain shock, leading to their heart stopping. Both situations result in the patient being unable to communicate with you, which is detrimental to the diagnostic process. You have mortaphenyl pills in your locker.
• Coagzolug is an important chemical for slowing down bleeding. You have Coagzolug autoinjectors in the lockers of your Quarters and Nanomeds contain 2 bottles each. Always carry one on your person!

Responding to an Emergency

Now that you're all prepped and ready, it's only a waiting game until your first emergency arises. Whether by monitoring suit sensors or a radio call, you'll hopefully have a name and a place, and maybe even a glance at what the issue is. Rush to the place as soon as you can, making sure you're equipped with your voidsuit or hardsuit if the area is atmospherically tumultuous. Once on scene, you will need to stabilize your patient before moving them to medbay, depending on the state they are in.

Non-Critical Patient

If the call you've responded to is non-critical (the patient is fully conscious, not bleeding internally, not vomiting, brain activity 100%, etc.) then all you need to do is diagnose the specific problem and administer the necessary medicine on the field. It is advised, however, to bring the patient back to the medbay for a more thorough check. Nonetheless, you will find yourself performing several of the steps found in the next section but with much less urgency.

Critical Patients

Dealing with critical patients is a bit more tricky. More likely than not you'll find critical patients (brain activity below 100%) are unconscious, or otherwise unable to communicate. This will make finding the exact cause of the problem a bit harder in the field, which would require you to transport the patient to the medical bay post-haste. But before that, a series of steps are required to make sure your patient doesn't die on the way. The steps are listed in order of importance.

• Administer Inaprovaline to the critical patient, to make sure their situation doesn't worsen.
• If the patient is bleeding, apply the trauma kit to the affected area as soon as possible to stop the bleeding.
• If the patient is bleeding internally, administer Coagzolug.
• If the patient is suffocating due to bad atmosphere, inject Dexalin and setup their internals if the trip back involves a lot of depressurized areas.
• Treat any remaining burn, brute or toxin damage with the application of advanced kits or pills, to further improve the state of the patient.
• Administer Mortaphenyl if the patient is suffering from pain-causing symptoms, like fractures, burns or brute damage. Patients in shock are less communicative, which will hamper your efforts.
• Finally, unless your patient's condition would make running to medbay right this instant a life or death endeavor, splint any fractures before strapping your patient to the roller bed and rolling away.

If possible, you should utilize the capacity of your hypospray to inject multiple chemicals at once. Furthermore, if the Chief Medical Officer is willing, ask for their premium hypospray to inject up to 30 units of chemicals instantly.

While transporting the patient, make sure to ask them how they’re feeling. Don't let the effort that went into stabilizing the patient go to waste, throwing away the advantage of having a perfectly responsive patient.

On arrival, make sure you brief any doctor that will handle your patient on what you did, and whatever their symptoms were. Remember that ICly, doctors shouldn't give out treatment lightly, and failing to inform the doctor of past steps might have them repeat the treatment, which might lead to an overdose.

What to Do When Out of Emergencies

First Responders, being non-doctors trained in the medical field, can assume other roles around the medbay to make the lives of the Physicians and Surgeons easier and improve overall efficiency of the medical bay.

• Help move patients from one branch of the medbay to another.
• Monitor the reception area, monitor suit sensors.
• Handle triage, stabilize patients who were left waiting.
• Check up on patients who were given a bed.

Traitoring

As a FR, you get all the perks Medical Doctors get when traitoring, from deliberate malpractice to using your medicines of good for plots of evil. But one added perk is that, as a FR, you're usually the only medically trained person to first reach a dying patient outside the medbay walls. That can be used to your advantage: frantically dragging off a bleeding body is part of your job, and in no way suspicious.

Roleplay Tips

• Remember that FRs are not MDs. Keep that in mind, and use it to give an interesting edge to your character. Think like an EMT would, not a doctor. Asking questions a doctor would consider 'silly' is perfectly fine for you.
• FRs are trained on urgency, speed and that every second counts, unlike the MDs who had to spend over a decade studying to start practicing. That contract between your coworkers and you can be used to enhance RP.