Quick question: I have a character who is a doctor in, essentially, a wasteland. She has some access to decent medical tech, but most of what she does would be considered "battlefield triage". This is the first time I've written a character like this, and I was wondering if you had any good sources on writing for, or as, a doctor? Like, as in, from the POV of a doctor, not first-aid related.
If you’re referring to the physician’s mindset the best literary example is Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based him off a Scottish surgeon named Joseph Bell. Think cause and effect, process of elimination, and prioritization, because physicians are very specialized detectives. Medical school, and especially Grand Rounds (some schools still do them), are not only giving doctors the skills they need to treat people (how to set a bone or how to draw blood), but to reinforce that all important deductive reasoning.
Side note: military medicine and wilderness medicine are technically subsets of emergency medicine. Research guidelines for emergency medicine and you’ll likely find better information.
Some of my favorite resources:
Youtube: You can find thousands of quality training videos posted by medical schools and other health care educators covering every imaginable topic—surgery, autopsies, how to take a patient’s history, how to listen to someone’s heart, how to set a broken bone. Many of these do get into mindset or cover good medical practice. Some of these videos can be extremely graphic, so be warned.
Student Doctor Network: this is a forum where aspiring medical professionals can network with current doctors and specialists. Many continue posting throughout their medical school experience and share their stories. I don’t think you need to create an account to read, but do not post if you have to make an account. It’s for future doctors and doctors to share their stories, not to help a writer do their research.
Research Medical School course catalogues: No better way to think like a doctor than to read through what they’re being taught. Some even have syllabi online. Take a look at the books they’re reading or the topics they’re covering.
Lastly, if you’re going to write scenes where your doctor is treating someone, you have zero reason to make things up. Use the proper terminology and do your research. No one is expecting you to get the exact right dosage on a medicine, but with some basic googling you can come close.
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