Chief Medical Officer

From Federation Space - Official Wiki
(Redirected from Chief medical officer)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Doctor Beverly Crusher, the CMO of the USS Enterprise-D.

The chief medical officer (or CMO) is a senior staff-level position who must hold the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade or higher, and who is a Medical Doctor.

Chief medical officers were also referred to as the "ship's surgeon" in the 23rd century.

Typical ranks

Chief medical officers have been seen with a variety of ranks. They can hold any rank in the Lieutenant grades, but are quite often seen as Lieutenant Commanders. Chief medical officers are eligible to take the Bridge Officer's Test for promotion to full Commander. At this point, they are considered capable of assuming command of a starship.

Specific duties

CMOs aboard a starship or starbase are directly in charge of the Sickbay or Infirmary, commanding medical department personnel and activities. The CMOs' primary duties are the oversight and maintenance of the overall health and physical fitness of crew and passengers. They are also responsible for managing medical department personnel, including things like department schedules, training, and promotions. They are also responsible for overseeing the Counseling department and the Medical Research department.

Officers likely to be assigned as the CMO over long-duration missions of exploration have scientific training in disciplines outside of medicine, allowing them to take on major extended research projects, or to better participate in a wider variety of encounters.

Medical authority

In addition to the normal duties of an officer, the CMO also has the power to relieve an officer or crewman, including a superior one, of their duties if, in the Chief Medical Officer's professional judgment, he or she is medically unfit. Typically, the CMO is expected to have the support of a senior command officer or detailed medical documentation to justify this course of action.

Acting Chief Medical Officer

When an medical officer temporarily assumes the responsibilities of a higher level position, requiring greater professional responsibility and competence, the officer has assumed an acting appointment. In this case, the role assumed is that of the Chief Medical Officer, who is directly in charge of the Sickbay or Infirmary. The chief medical officer (commonly known as the "CMO") is a senior staff-level position who must hold the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade or higher, and who is a Medical Doctor. In the case of Acting CMO, exceptions can be made, but the role must always be filled by a medical officer.

Like the CMO, the Acting CMO is directly in charge of the Sickbay or Infirmary, commanding medical department personnel and activities. The Acting CMO is also responsible for overseeing the Counseling department and the Medical Research department. This role differs from the Emergency Medical Hologram ("EMH") in that an EMH is not meant for long term circumstances, and cannot officially take on the role of Acting CMO in the actual sense.


List of Chief Medical Officers

Chief Medical Officers



Star Fleet Positions
Crew Positions Tactical OfficerEngineering OfficerSecurity OfficerMedical OfficerScience Officer United Federation of Planets logo.png
Star Fleet command emblem.png
Officer Positions Chief Tactical OfficerChief EngineerChief of SecurityChief Medical OfficerChief Science OfficerFirst OfficerCommanding Officer
Flag Positions Group CommanderDivision CommanderCommander in Chief
Academy Positions Academy InstructorAdmissions OfficerTesting OfficerEvaluations OfficerCommandant (Academy)Superintendent (Academy)
Other Positions Game ModeratorGame Moderator AdministratorInspector GeneralCreative DirectorContent ManagerPresident