Corpsman
| Corpsman
"Just call me the Harmicist!" |
Department:
Blackshield |
Access:
Security, Morgue, EVA, Maintenance |
Supervisors:
Blackshield commander |
Difficulty:
Hard |
|---|
The corpsmen plays an extremely important role on board the colony. Primarily tasked with providing healing to injured crew members in the midst of active combat, every second counts and every action or inaction means the difference between life and death. It is heavily advised you play as a medical assistant or an out-of-the-way paramedic role regularly to familiarize yourself with the practices of triage before attempting the job of corpsmen. Officially higher ranking the Trooper, the rank difference is ultimately irrelevant. Similar to a Lance Corporal compared to a Private First Class, one is more senior but doesn’t really have command authority. The one exception to this rule is in the event the Corpsman in question is currently posted in the Infirmary, or if they are operating within a designated field hospital, in which even a Commander may legally be ordered to remain until treatment is completed, and any uninjured personnel may be lawfully ordered to leave. The added rank is meant to show that the Corpsman is a specialist in their field and has likely been in the Blackshield longer than most Troopers. In an emergency where all higher ranks are lost, the Corpsman is likely too busy to assume command however.
The duties of the Corpsman are simple: Keep the soldiers alive, or stabilize and evacuate them in situations where they have suffered extreme injuries. In emergency situations, field surgery may be necessary. In emergencies, they may be ordered to assist Medical in treating the dead and wounded and not always be at the front line. As a newer player. Corpsmen are trained in the medical and combat fields, but are not doctors, most corpsmen are better trained at triage and treating damage than doctors, including doing field surgery, but general don't know how to mix chemicals. They're trained in detecting and fixing, most of the time partially, symptoms found on the field and in the art of triage.
Getting Set Up
A large part of the corpsmen job 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 or equipment. A good corpsmen must be able to stabilize a patient on the field, and reduce/stabilize any critical damage to their body. A good paramedic must also be able to reach all corners of the colony as soon as possible, regardless of its condition. A corpsmen should also be equipped with armor and weapons of his choice, preferably a holstered pistol, when responding to most scenarios. In more dangerous situations a combat medical kit or rifle is highly recommend.
Necessities
This equipment is the minimum required to be efficient during an emergency.
A MedHUD to get an estimate of someone's health from a glance, check their records.
A health analyzer for basic but very necessary diagnosis of injuries.
A syringe to extract reagents from bottles to administer to the patient quickly.
A medical belt to store your medicines, normally bottles.
Dylovene and Inaprovaline bottles to draw from to stabilize and treat basic injuries.- File:AMed.png An advanced kit placed in your backpack, along with other kits to make up for whatever isn't in the chemistry fridge. You probably spawned with one.
A roller bed to transport patients quickly without dragging. Toss it in your backpack.- File:Stasis Bag.png A stasis bag to transport critical patients to medbay.
Additional Equipment
More equipment found around medbay or medicines made by a Chemist may greatly improve your chances of saving lives and preventing unnecessary damage.
- File:LGloves.png A pair of latex or nitrile gloves to prevent spreading infection.
- File:Sterilemask.png A sterile mask to avoid catching airborne pathogens.
OR - File:BreathMask.png An internals mask for environments with harsh atmosphere.
ALONG WITH - File:EmergencyOxygenTank.png An extended emergency oxygen tank in your internals box for emergencies.
- Uncapped bottles of Bicaridine, KeloDerm/Dermaline, and Dexalin Plus.
A webbing vest/drop pouches to store more medical items.
A voidsuit assembled and ready.- File:ComDefib.gif A compact defib to resuscitate a dead patient. Fits on your belt, found in the EMT Bay.
- File:Hspray.png A hypospray loaded with a stabilization mix.
- File:Inflatables.png A box of inflatables to get into dangerous areas safely and without spreading danger to anywhere else.
Responding to an Emergency
Now that you're all prepped and ready, it's only a waiting game until your first emergency arises. Unlike a normal paramedic you're not expected to answer every medical call, you're primary focus should be assisting the Blackshield and marshals should they be injured and responding to calls outside the safety of the colony. That said, nobody will be angry if you ask to aid medical and they approve you to act as a paramedic.
Non-Critical Patient
If the call you've responded to is non-critical (the patient is fully conscious, stable, and/or health above 0) 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 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, which means less medicine used on the patient which can be treated by Medical Doctors.
Critical Patients
Dealing with critical patients is a bit more tricky. More likely than not, you'll find critical patients (health below 0) are unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate. This will make finding the exact cause of the problem unlikely - if you're new - in the field, which will require that you 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.
- Scan the patient with your health analyzer. Seriously, this should be the first step to literally anything.
- Administer Inaprovaline to the critical patient to make sure his situation doesn't worsen.
- If the patient is bleeding, apply a trauma kit to the affected area as soon as possible to stop the bleeding.
- If the patient is suffocating, administer Dexalin to counteract the hypoxia.
- If the patient has/had an open wound, it is advised you apply an advanced burn kit to kill any infection at the stem. This is a preemptive measure, and unnecessary unless you believe the patient is in such a dismal condition that you can't afford any more risks. You are
unablecompletely capable of detecting infections on the field by means of observing their temperature, or by examining the potential area of infection if it has progressed to dangerous stages. - Treat any remaining burn, brute, or toxin damage with the application of advanced kits, pills, or injections to further improve the state of the patient.
- Administer Tramadol if the patient is suffering from pain-causing symptoms. Patients in shock are less communicative which might hamper your ability to diagnose the problem.
- Finally, splint any fractures before wheeling the patient away on a roller bed.
It may be in good taste to inquire the patient about their status. If they can speak clearly, good job!
In the event transport to medical for a critical patient is not possible or unsafe, take them to the nearest forward operating base or safe location and do whatever you can to keep them stable and alive, including field surgery.
What to Do When Out of Emergencies?
Corpsmen, being non-doctors trained in the medical field, can volunteer for various groups to help them in their general operations. Such as going with mining to patch them up or tagging along with prospectors to provided support (keep in mind you need approval from your commander, or if one is missing, the warrant officer).
