The Chief medical officer (CMO) was a senior staff position and was responsible for the maintenance of a crew's health and fitness. In a Starfleet unit, the officer also served as chief surgeon. The chief medical officer maintained and operated medical facilities of starships, stations, and planetary posts. The medical staff, including all medical officers and counselors, were overseen by the chief medical officer.
Duties and functions[]
The CMO was responsible for conducting routine physical examinations and special duty physicals. Other duties included diagnosing and treating any crew ailments, run emergency medical drills, train the crew in first aid, set up remote hospitals and clinics and, when possible, find cures for any new conditions encountered by the starship. Starfleet vessels were often tasked to render medical assistance to any ship, station, or planet in need, and the chief medical officer was charged with ensuring there application of said aid. A ship's CMO performed any needed medical procedures and any elective surgery as authorized. The officer coordinateed with the Head Counselor or executive officer with respect to the crew psychological well being. The chief medical officer prescribed special diets and exercise regimens as necessary. In regards to any special environments required by alien crewmembers or visitors, the officer coordinated with the chief operations officer. Another task assigned to the ship's doctor was to monitor the ship's food replicators to ensure proper nutrition and safety.
Ranks[]
Due to the sensitivity and responsibility of the position, the chief medical officer was usually a Commander or a Lieutenant commander in rank. For smaller starships, the officers were of the rank of Lieutenant or Lieutenant junior grade.
Known Chief medical officers[]
- Lieutenant Commander Leonard McCoy - USS Enterprise, USS Enterprise-A
- Commander Beverly Crusher - USS Enterprise-D, USS Enterprise-E, USS Invincible
- Lieutenant Julian Bashir - Deep Space 9
- EMH aka "The Doctor" - USS Voyager
- Selar - USS Excalibur, USS Excalibur-A
- Edinger Deet - USS Sunnyvale (2370)
- Uldo Osprin - USS Sunnyvale (2381), USS L'Étoile du Nord
- Span - USS Federalist
- Warragul Wirrpanda - USS Bajor
- Robert Dalton - USS Pioneer
- Michael Donaldson - USS Victory-D
- Kaycee Horton - USS Victory-D, USS Victory-E
- Zander Farrell - Deep Space 12
- Lieutenant Commander Lillian Crusher - USS Valiant
- Commander Savel - USS Enterprise-F
- Commander Dilalai Quinn - USS Marvel
- Lieutenant Commander Matthew Jones- USS Endurance
External links[]
- Chief medical officer article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
- Chief medical officer article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.
- Chief medical officer article at Star Trek Expanded Universe.