# Who to have on a desert island: nurse, vet, or psychiatrist? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 16, 2015, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-have-on-a-desert-island-nurse-vet-or-psychiatrist/712802 "2015-02-16T09:54:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-have-on-a-desert-island-nurse-vet-or-psychiatrist/712802/21 "2015-02-16T19:41:48Z")
If the appendectomy wasn’t successful, at least the vet could put you down humanely. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-have-on-a-desert-island-nurse-vet-or-psychiatrist/712802/22 "2015-02-16T21:59:40Z")
Probably the vet, unless the nurse is one with surgical experience. Then it might be harder to decide. In the S. M. series starting with _Dies the Fire_ the group called the Bearkillers made do with a vet until they rescued an MD from some bad guys. The vet knew about basic human needs, bones were bones when it came to setting them and so on. In Eric Flint’s _1631_ series a highly skilled nurse(who happened to be the daughter of an MD) had more ability than downtime doctors. She even performed surgery after some extra training from her father. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-have-on-a-desert-island-nurse-vet-or-psychiatrist/712802/23 "2015-02-16T22:09:13Z")
Veterinarian. Probably performed a lot of surgeries. Nurse could probably do the same. Any psychiatrist would be nuttier and more annoying that Fraiser and Niles Crane, so, no. Not unless I was hungry and got the drop on him. ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-have-on-a-desert-island-nurse-vet-or-psychiatrist/712802/24 "2015-02-17T00:26:34Z")
Psychiatrists (as opposed to psychologists) in the U.S. are M.D.s who have completed a psychiatry residency, which generally includes a first year rotation in areas such as internal medicine and surgery. I’d go with the psychiatrist. ---
**Author:** ![Lorene89095](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@Lorene89095](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorene89095)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-have-on-a-desert-island-nurse-vet-or-psychiatrist/712802/25 "2015-02-17T00:47:10Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Probably the vet, unless the nurse is one with surgical experience. Then it might be harder to decide. > > In the S. M. series starting with _Dies the Fire_ the group called the Bearkillers made do with a vet until they rescued an MD from some bad guys. The vet knew about basic human needs, bones were bones when it came to setting them and so on. > > In Eric Flint’s _1631_ series a highly skilled nurse(who happened to be the daughter of an MD) had more ability than downtime doctors. She even performed surgery after some extra training from her father. Love that series! The first book has me scared to death… but now the series seems to have fallen off the rails and down a cliff… Still gonna read on. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-have-on-a-desert-island-nurse-vet-or-psychiatrist/712802/26 "2015-02-17T16:33:49Z")
Using a vet as a substitute MD is a common trope in post-apocalyptic stories. Which is kind of funny, if you think about it. There are many more physicians than vets, so in an end-of-the-world scenario, it is much more likely MDs would be turned into substitute veterinarians. At any rate, I too would vote for the vet. Not just because they could do a decent job tending to human health, but also because if there are domesticated species on the island, you’ll want someone with some animal husbandry training. Vets will also know about zoonotic diseases and parasites that the other professionals might not know about. That said, the absence of drugs and surgical tools really levels the playing field if we’re talking about surgery. Any 3 of those people could diagnose an appendicitis and locate the offending organ part. The trick is performing the surgery without causing an infection and then finding material to suture everything up. Nevermind pain management during and after the surgery. So given this, I’d vote for the vet because at least they won’t rule out euthanasia if the situation is really really dire. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-have-on-a-desert-island-nurse-vet-or-psychiatrist/712802.md?page=1)