>Like for example in Star Trek the only people that can override the captain is the doctor. For medical emergencies they can basically force some course of acti

>Like for example in Star Trek the only people that can override the captain is the doctor. For medical emergencies they can basically force some course of action. I guess most people who are familiar with this at all are familiar with it from Star Trek, but it's worth mentioning that this is just a natural extension of Starfleet's pseudo-military basis. When I was in the Army, my word carried nearly as much weight on medical matters as my immediate commanding officer's, even though I was a lowly line medic, not a near equal as the doctors in Star Trek usually are to their respective captains. I had no official authority of my own, but the fact that I could go to my medical superiors for backup meant that I was never questioned when I said something was medically necessary. My point is, we don't need to go to a SciFi TV show to see this dynamic. It exists in our own current society.