Basic Medical

Log Title: Basic Medical Characters: Doc, Scales, Starlock Location: Fortress Maximus Medical Bay Date: January 23, 2020 TP: Summary: Scales and Starlock learn how to treat human injuries. As logged by  Scales

Log session starting at 20:16:31 on Thursday, 23 January 2020.

'''Doc has returned to Fortress Maximus, this time with more gear than just a CPR dummy in a bag. She's dressed casually today, wearing an X-Files T-shirt and jeans under her labcoat.'''

Scales is ready and eager, prancing slightly in place as she waits for things to get started, optics bright.

'''Starlock had heard about Doc being on her way back and was already sitting in the medical bay of forte Max, waiting and reading away at some of the medical books she'd put onto her datapad, humming to herself.. She'd perk up on seeing doc and waved. "Hey~"'''

'''Doc rolls her gear in on a card, waving casually to Starlock. "Hey, girl!" she says brightly, and then spots Scales. "Oh, my, ain't you a cute one. What's your name, honey?" she asks. She studies Scales frankly, showing none of the fear many humans display towards Transformers they don't know.'''

'''Scales sits up on her haunches and waves to Doc. "I'm Scales!" She leans forward and cranes her neck to look at what's on the cart.'''

'''Starlock smiles and sits back, after a moment and closing her optics, that familiar, short-dark, freckled skinned, long, curly haired, purple eyed, glasses where, and purple scrubs appears in a slight static, Starlock's Holomatter comes over. "Need a hand there Doc?" She'd chirp and chuckle. "I've been reading a number of human medical textbooks I believe you guys use for teaching?" she'd ask pointing to the equipment.'''

'''Doc grins. "My name is Carla, but my friends call me Doc. It's nice to meet you, Scales!" Her cart is fully of medical training hardware - first aid dummies, emergency supplies, educational charts and graphs - the works. Doc smiles at Starlock and then her holo-avatar. "I'll take some help, sure!" she says brightly.'''

'''Scales grins, fluttering her wings. "Hi, Doc!" she chirps, then bounces over to the cart. "Are we setting things up on a table? Or the floor?"'''

'''"cool just tell me where to set things." Starlock nods before giving pause. "And Carla? Alright… mmm I go by Astra, in my holomatterm ost the time." She'd explain, picking up some of the equipment.'''

'''Doc looks from holo-Starlock to Scales. "I was anticipating giant robots, not the two of you reasonably-sized students," she laughs. "Where would be comfortable to you?" She looks around the medbay. "This isn't really set up like a classroom, but I'm sure we can figure something out," she grins.'''

'''Scales chuckles. "I dunno.. I'm pretty comfortable anywhere. I'm kinda used to climbin' all over to get at things."'''

'''"This would probably be best for me at the moment... sides." She'd jerk back to her actual body. "am just outta the way over there if I needa swap." Starlock would smile as she moved items.'''

'''Doc grins. "Patients don't tend to politely wait to get hurt in classroom settings, anyway," she laughs. "Put the dummies on the ground, spread out so we can reach them easily. The equipment can go on tables or on the ground nearby - either works for me."'''

'''Scales nods and carefully tugs a dummy off the cart and into a nice, open space before going back to unload some supplies and put them nearby. She's very careful not to accidentally puncture anything even when she's carrying it in her mouth. >.>'''

'''"true, but I can snap back and forth from this to there in a blink, so." She'd smile as she helped Scales in setting up. "So what are we learning today?" Starlock asked Carla.'''

'''Doc stops to watch Scales work. "You know, you're pretty handy for someone without opposable thumbs!" she laughs. She then goes back to what she'd started - setting up a small projector and screen. Using a remote, she starts pulling up slides from which to work. The first slide shows an overturned car and a man laying on his back in the road with four people bent over him, two of them wearing orange vests.'''

'''Doc says, "Well, first thing: it is important, especially for giant -" she looks over Astra and Scales "-or not-so-giant robots," she grins. "Consent! It means permission - if the victim is conscious, you must identify yourself, your level of training, and ask if they want help. If they say No, all you can do is call for an ambulance - you can't force someone to accept help just because you think they need it," Doc advises.'''

'''Scales sits, taking out a datapad and stylus to take notes as she listens. She tilts her head and raises an arm.'''

'''"Oh hey, I do that already." Starlock laughed. "Part of why I get bent out of shape at Dust Devil." She'd muse as she looked at the slides.'''

'''Doc looks at Scales with a smile. "Yes, Scales?" she asks. "Do you have a question?"'''

'''Scales nods. "What level of training would we have after all this?" She waves the arm to indicate the dummies and supplies around them.'''

"Well, just a basic level after today, but I'm willing to continue to help develop your skills over time, and hope you can help me develop mine as well. I'd want to be able to help you guys as well if you're assisting us against Cobra," Doc answers.

'''"Course." Starlock smiles. "Thank you again for this." She'd add with a nod, listening to her explanation more, she was a little bit a head of Scales but still, mostly on the same level.'''

Scales twitches her tail and hmms, settling back in to take more notes.

'''Doc grins. "No problem!" she chuckles. "OK. Well, as a first aid provider, you have several important responsibilities," Doc explains. "You have to maintain composure. You must maintain your own personal health and safety. You must maintain a caring attitude, which can be a little difficult sometimes - when people are hurt and in pain, they're not always at their most considerate and polite best," she laughs. "You need to maintain up-to-date knowledge and skills - that's where I come in," she grins.'''

'''"Without putting yourself in danger, you have must make the victims' needs your main concern," Doc advises. "And most importantly - do no additional harm!" she laughs. "If you're not confident, and there are other medical professionals, there's no shame in letting others take over. "'''

'''Doc smiles. "Just watch what they're doing and learn for next time. But if you're it - you might need to just get in there and do what you can. Frankly, I trust Autobots your size more to do that than someone Ratchet's size. In most cases, I'd rather that First Aid and Ratchet just use their bulk modes to just get victims to a real hospital," she admits.'''

'''Starlock nods in agreeance with Doc at what she explains, a lot of this was similar to what she'd learned while interning at Deltaran Hospital all those years back before Cybertron was dark. "I can understand that, the size difference is.." She'd glance back at her own 9-foot tall bot-body, which was already small, but still too big.'''

'''Scales nods. This is all pretty much the same as the ethics she already knows. "I also do search an' rescue, which means when I'm workin' with Cybertronians, I'm sometimes the only person who can get in. That might not be the case with human-sized things."'''

'''Doc nods, grinning. "Yeah. I realize you both are experienced medics... I'll try to skip to the more useful parts," she laughs. She moves over to the first emergency dummy. "OK. Well, one thing that might be different is that we humans need to breathe. So, if you come across an unresponsive human, you need to attend the ABCs: A is for Airway - You need to open the airway, by tilting the head and lifting the chin, like this." Doc demonstrates, and then steps back so Astra and Scales can try on their dummies.'''

'''"similar to the way you showed me and first aid?" she'd ask, as she went about doing as she was told, remember the simple first aid lesson Doc had taught her and Aid.'''

'''Scales copies the action, retracting the sharp claws before tilting the dummy. "Far enough? Too far?"'''

'''"Yes," Doc answers. "I'm going over it again for Scales's sake, but a review for you probably wouldn't hurt, either. I mean, I guess you can just save all this on a hard drive and have perfect recall, I guess - but just go with me. You might pick up something I missed the first time," she chuckles. She watches Scales, and nods. "Just the right angle, Scales. Good job." After watching the two of them for a moment more, she nods. "OK. Next is B: Breathing. To check for breathing, look, listen for 5, but no more than 10 seconds. If the victim is not breathing normally or if you're not sure, perform CPR. Like this:" Doc then takes several moments to demonstrate (again for Starlock) human CPR.'''

'''Starlock gives a thumbs up to Doc... Starlock pauses in thought, she knows holomatters don't need to breath.. but given she knows about it.. would it be able to emulate such? All the such, once given the clear, Starlock with attempt such once again.'''

'''Scales watches the demonstration for a moment before contemplating the dummy. "Okay, I can do the compressions," she says. "But I think I'd need special gear for the rescue breathing. I mean, even if I could get a good seal, I don't think my breath is good for humans to get right in the lungs."'''

'''"Good point, guys! And that's why I brought these." Doc goes to the cart and brings each of them emergency breathing apparatus. "Start with compression-only CPR, and then once you get them going, use this." Doc demonstrates again, this time using a combination of low-tech compression-only CPR and high-tech oxygenators.'''

'''Starlock blinks. "Ohhh neat." She comments as she looks over the tech, while paying attention to what Doc was doing, that was new too her alright! "That is going to be much more useful, dunno if Holomatters can actually make the air move that would be necessary." She'd muse.'''

'''Scales turns over the apparatus a bit, figuring it out before addressing the dummy. The dragon is just the right size to do compressions the human way, complete with curling the claws of one paw over the other before pressing down. "I guess the advantage we'd have is that we wouldn't get tired the same way somebody else would.." She curls her tail around the breathing apparatus and uses that to bring it up into the position so she doesn't have to change position much.'''

'''Doc nods to Astra. "Yeah... and holo-avatars don't seem to be standard-issue tech yet for most Autobots - or at least, I haven't seen many of you use it," Doc muses. She watches Astra and Scales work with the new equipment, grinning especially at Scales's innovative use of her tail for multitasking. "Good job!" Doc assesses encouragingly. "You two are naturals!"'''

'''"Now," Doc continues, "once the victim is breathing properly, check the circulation. That's C. Look for the obvious - blood pouring or gushing out of a wound. That's BAD," she laughs. "If needed, control blood flow with direct pressure." She demonstrates on one of the dummies how to use pressure to stave off bleeding. "Look for normal tissue color. Skin type aside, human flesh should look like this:" She shows slides of several people in normal healthy range, "Not this:" she says, showing slides of people in shock.'''

'''Starlock nods. "Similar to needing to get a line redirected or sealed, else could lose all their fuel and that would be bad." She'd muse and nod as she looked at the slides. '''

'''"Yeaah.. even then, I don't think most would /want/ to use one." She'd add on about the holomatter.'''

'''Scales tilts her head, looking at the slides. "I know I've seen humans go like that when they're  -not- bleeding, though..."'''

'''Doc nods to Astra and then smiles at Scales. "Yeah. Context is important. I brought some diagnostic uploads on flash drives for both of you, but I figured I'd go over the basics in case you have questions." Doc digs into a bin and pulls out a giant three-D cross-section of skin. "Now for the fun part: wounds!" she laughs. "In the field you'll deal with a lot of soft tissue injuries - do Transformers even have the equivalent of soft tissues, like muscles and fat and skin?"'''

'''"Yes.." She'd get up and point at her armor. "This is our armor, but.." She'd move her hand down to the black metal that was exposed. "This.. This, while still durable all things considered, is a lot softer all things considered, the wiring underneath is also mode of a kind of...I guess what you would call 'alien' plastic." She'd muse as she came back over. "Some call it a protoform, which is wrong because that is what a... eventually, a baby, or young transformer, when the living metal hasn't cooled, or their less then 5,000 years old." She'd explain. '''

'''Starlock would pause a moment before continuing. "It's also called Mesh, proto-skin.. Really depends on whom you talk to." She'd nod. "As for muscles.. Depending on whom it is, we having hydraulics integrated with our skeletons..And yes we do have skeletal structures... One could also akin our lower writing as muscle tissue."'''

'''Scales hmms. "Depends on the build? There's mechs with gearage and mechs with a hydraulics equivalent. Heavy sensor areas tend to have a more comprehensive fueling system built within to maintain the tech's energy levels." She shrugs. "Most I've met don't bother with looking too organic, but you do get some that need cushioning to withstand the shocks of what they do. That's often oil and sometimes air held in with seals, depending on weather rating."'''

'''Doc watches Starlock carefully and listens to her explanation. She then turns and listens to Scales's point of view as well. "Interesting. Yes, you'll have to give me more of a lesson on those things next time I'm here. I'm infinitely fascinated." Holding up her 3D skin model, she says, "Well, in humans, we have skin and fat and muscle - those make up the soft tissues. An injury to the soft tissues is called a wound." '''

'''Doc uses the remote to pull up pictures of the different types of wounds. "Any time the soft tissues are damaged or torn the body is threatened. Closed wounds can vary between simple bruises to internal injuries. Open wounds look more dramatic, but internal bleeding can be just as dangerous." She puts up a slide of signs of internal injuries. "For these, you really just need to get them to a hospital fast."'''

'''Starlock/Astra nods to Scales. "I've always been told these are called 'Frame types' and we have to study a few of them to get an idea of how everything works, regardless of of frame, and we can ID where a problem could possible be." She'd tac on, before watching the slide, and nodded, cringing as she remembered seeing what happened to Lori.'''

'''Scales huffs. "Oh, yeah, there's a whole list of standard frames in the archives. It's a good thing new medics can look 'em up rather than having to memorize 'em." She studies the images from the slides carefully. "I know what blood smells like, but can you smell bruises? Or do you have to go entirely by visual cues?"'''

'''Doc misses Starlock's Lori-related cringe as she nods in response to Scales's question. "Not just visual clues. I'm not sure how your touch sensors work, but if they're delicate enough you can sometimes feel a lump beneath the skin. If the abdomen is tender, swollen, or feels hard, you could have severe internal bleeding. If the skin that feels cool or moist when it shouldn't - can your sensors detect skin temperature to that degree of sensitivity?" she asks.'''

'''Astra nods at Scales and then to Doc. "Oh! Forged medics have sensors that snestive." She'd frown and look down at her own hands. "...Mine aren't though, I had to get special equipment, but their pretty sensitive all things considered, so they maybe a bit more useful in regards to a human then a another giant bot with a lot of metal to get through." She'd chuckle. "What about you Scales?"'''

'''Scales retracts her claws again and turns over the paw. "Well, yeah, I gotta have a light touch- in case I end up workin' in the dark and hafta go by feel. Temperature's a bit harder. I've got a pretty good sense of human body temperature since I run hotter than most of our kind, but if it's really important to know exactly I use infrared." She blinks her optics and there's a subtle shift, the colors changing to a paler, washed out look before she blinks again and they go back to normal.'''

'''Doc raises her delicate eyebrows at the mention of 'forged' Transformers but saves the questions for another time. Her eyes do widen slightly as Scales activates her infrared. "Now, open wounds are where you can do the most good while waiting for or in transit to a hospital," Doc says. "You first need to control bleeding, which we covered earlier but might require more than simple pressure. For severe bleeding you may need to use a bandage compress." Doc opens one and demonstrates their use. "If you need to maintain continuous pressure, you also might use an elastic roller bandage." She demonstrates this as well, and then has both Autobots apply them to the dummies. She then spends the rest of the evening showing the Autobots different types of soft tissue wounds and how to dress and treat them.'''

Log session ending at 00:05:27 on Friday, 24 January 2020.