Blood Challenge: Practicing Medicine, by niqaeli

[niqaeli]

Title: Practicing Medicine
Author: niqaeli
Genre: Gen.
Rating/Warnings: hard PG.
Summary: Carson copes with the Pegasus Galaxy.
Notes: So, saeva is totally an enabler and this challenge was sort of perfect for exploring the stuff she dumped into my brain.

Comments

[grey_bard]

You know, that makes the whole "What is a geneticist doing in the infirmary when there isn't something alien and freaky going on?" thing actually make sense. Thank you.

[niqaeli]

Hee. You're welcome.

A lot of it came out of me and Andrea reading too much fic wherein Carson was an ex-trauma surgeon or what have you. IDIC, YMMV, etc, but Carson just doesn't read to me as having the personality of a trauma surgeon, ex or otherwise. He very much seems like a research scientist.

[teaphile]

He very much seems like a research scientist.

And it tracks with him having discovered the ATA gene. There's no way a surgeon would have come across a research opportunity like that.

I like the way you dealt with that discrepancy. I always figured the military had just said, "Well, MD equals surgeon, why tell anyone else the secret when we don't have to?"

[tafkarfanfic]

I have to agree. This was really well done, and it's frankly something I've never thought of.

[casspeach]

I liked this. It's a different take on Carson to my own, but not so different that I recoiled against it, lol

[niqaeli]

Oh, it's certainly possible he did!

But surgery, trauma or otherwise, carries a lot more pressure than regular clinical work, and he doesn't seem to respond well to pressure. Generally I think surgeons are the kind of people who thrive on pressure--to pull an example out of a completely different show, Hawkeye from M*A*S*H is such a surgeon. Clearly the work he was doing in Korea was trauma work, but... yeah. *shrug* YMMV.

I can't claim any knowledge of the UK medical system, so I can't speak to any of the practicalities of that.

[casspeach]

Ah, well, yes, Carson's not so hot under pressure as a pilot, or a soldier. Personally I think he handles it fine medically, like in Hot Zone. But we can agree to disagree!

[saeva]

On the other hand, while the SGA medicine overall is rather consistent, what comes out of Carson's mouth is... not so much, at least in regards to trauma. See: 38 Minutes.

- Andrea.

[anonymous]

I've wondered about Beckett's status on the Atlantis expedition too. Your fic is a more pessimistic take on it, but definitely feasible. I especially liked your line about him being an "ornamental talisman." It's kind of interesting to contrast his situation with Dr. Frasier's on SG1, where she's the CMO but seems to be more of a trauma specialist (as would be necessary for a military installation). She calls other specialists in (e.g. neurosurgeons, virologists, etc.) when other emergencies arise. (Uh-oh, I think I'm starting to ramble

[niqaeli]

Regarding bedside manner... ability to treat patients effectively and bedside manner are completely seperate things altogether. I read Carson as someone who coasted through his med school rotations on bedside manner, getting the irate family out of the way and calming down the patients, which left everyone else to get on with treating people. Many utterly brilliant doctors have zero bedside manner, which is why Beckett would be *able* to coast through.

Personally, I just can't see him enjoying clinical work. All those bodies and that *pressure*. Carson just does not respond well to pressure. I figure he was on the expedition because, one, he understands the gene better than anyone and two, he has it himself. That would get him in, no matter what, because when you're going to the city of the Ancients, you're gonna need that kind of knowledge.

[anonymous]

"Regarding bedside manner... ability to treat patients effectively and bedside manner are completely seperate things altogether."

Yeah, I have to admit that's true. We've all seen doctors who demonstrate this, I'm sure.

"Carson just does not respond well to pressure."
Hmm, depends on the source of the pressure, I think. And there are medical researchers out there who still do a bit of clinical work on the side just for the hell of it. (OK, maybe not many, but I do know a few.) I'm not trying to argue though. Your reading of the character is just as valid as anyone else's. :-) I do like your fic.

[barkeep]

Nice!
Excellent Carson exploration - I really enjoyed it.

[misspamela]

Very nice! I like this view of Carson.