History Main / DoctorsOrders

* In ''WebComic/SchlockMercenary'' Doctor Bunnigus knows that Tagon will ignore her orders to rest up while he heals so she [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2010-02-14 opts to keep him sedated and put Lt. Cmdr Shodan in command]].

-->'''Doctor Bunnigus''' : Pi, would you explain your rank relative to mine to Doctor Cikitsaka here?\\
'''Pibald''' : Yes Ma'am. We're both lieutenants without assigned troops. I do [[DemolitionsExpert explosives]], she does medical. I got [[TheParanoiac medical issues]], so she's usually bossing me around.

[[quoteright:185:[[Webcomic/GirlGenius https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/GirlGenius_DoctorsOrders_6871.JPG]]]]
[[caption-width-right:185:[-Some patients...-] ]]

** Such as in the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "The Tholian Web", where Spock tells Bones to do it if he believes it proper.
** In "The Doomsday Machine", [[DeathSeeker Commodore Decker]] takes advantage of Kirk being stuck on his crippled ship to take command of the ''Enterprise'' and go after the Planet Killer to [[MobySchtick avenge his lost crew]]. Bones tries, but can't relieve him because Decker refuses to submit to an evaluation, and holds Bones and Spock to regulations that allow him pull rank. Kirk and Spock risk a court martial to finally force Decker to stand down and proceed to sickbay for his evaluation, but it never gets that far as Decker gets away from his [[RedShirt security escort]] and [[TakingYouWithMe pilots a shuttlecraft into the maw of the machine]].
** In "Allegiance" from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' it's shown that mere suspicion isn't enough. If you don't have some hard evidence, you could be risking being charged with mutiny. Since Crusher can't find anything medically wrong with the doppelganger impersonating Picard, the crew's options are limited.

Well, he's your doctor. By which we mean, he ''is'' [[NotThatKindOfDoctor that kind of doctor.]] Unless, of course, he's the [[HealingHands healer]], the midwife, the nurse, TheMedic, or any other member of the healing profession. And he is quite certain that you must obey [[TropeNamer The Doctor's Orders]].

* Comes up on ''{{Series/Merlin}}''. Gaius is one of the few people who can often give Uther direction without getting in trouble, although Uther still tends to yell a lot. Granted, his advice has gone outside the medical realm a few times, again mostly to Uther telling him to get lost.

* A plot point in the ''Series/HoratioHornblower'' MadeForTVMovie ''[[TheMutiny Mutiny]]'' involved the officers of the HMS ''Renown'' having to convince the ship's doctor to declare Captain Sawyer medically unfit to command due to his slipping sanity. Further complicating the issue was the fact that the doctor and Sawyer were longtime friends.

* Happens all the time in Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series. Healers commands are more or less absolute.

* Comes up on ''{{Series/Merlin}}''. Gaius is one of the few people who can often give Uther direction without getting in trouble, although Uther still tends to yell a lot. Granted,his advice has gone outside the medical realm a few times, again mostly to Uther telling him to get lost.

* TruthInTelevision for YanksWithTanks. If a patient of ''any'' rank defies medical orders and makes his illness or injury worse, he can be charged with willfully damaging government property (himself). Even during [[TrainingFromHell Basic Training or Boot Camp]] drill instructors can't order a recruit to do any activity that violates a medical profile.

* ''WesternAnimaton/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS2E10TheDeserter "The Deserter"]], Captain Rex gets shot in the chest while on patrol. When he wakes up, he insists that Kix, the medic, just patch him up so they can get back to business. In response:
-->'''Kix:''' Sir, as the team medic, when it comes to the health of the men -- including you -- I outrank everyone. So I respectfully order you, sir, to get some-- ''[interrupted by someone entering the room]''

* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' fic ''Fanfic/WhyandWere'', Assassin Johanna Smith-Rhodes is patched up in the field by an Igor and ignores his advice not to put any strain on a broken forearm. She concludes her contract by firing a powerful crossbow, and the recoil and stress re-breaks the arm. The Guild's Matron Igorina is suitably sarcastic and acerbic.

->'''[=McCoy=]''': I would like to remedy that situation.\\
'''Spock''': If you believe I have acted irregularly, then relieve me of duty. That is your prerogative as medical officer of this ship.

'''Teal'c''': ''*not changing expression*'' Dr. Fraiser is usually correct in such matters.

* In JimButcher's Literature/TheDresdenFiles novel ''Literature/ColdDays'', Butters gives them to Harry, who takes them more seriously than he usually takes orders, but not seriously enough for Butters's taste.

* Invoked in ''{{Series/Firefly}}''. When [[TokenEvilTeamMate Jayne]] tries to make a power play when Mal and Zoe get themselves (possibly) caught by the Feds, nobody wants to go along with it, but they're not strong enough to ''stop'' him. [[NonSequiturThud Then he starts talking nonsense and falls flat on his face.]] Turns out that Doctor Tam, when giving him a painkiller for a gunshot wound, [[GenreSavvy gave him considerably more than was necessary to stop him from doing anything.]] Ironically, he only gave Jayne the painkillers because Jayne [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor ordered him to]].

* Invoked in a series of ads for Dr. Pepper where various people ([[Series/{{Frasier}} Kelsey Grammer]], [[Music/{{KISS}} Gene Simmons]], DrDre, etc.) who are known in pop culture for being or having the nickname "doctor" shill for Dr. Pepper saying, "[[TrustMeImAnX trust me, I'm a doctor]]."

-->'''Kix:''' As the team medic, when it comes to the health of the men, I outrank everyone. So I respectfully order you, sir, to get some-- ''[interrupted by someone entering the room]''

Not to be confused with the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' novel, ''Doctor's Orders'', although the title is a pun on this trope.

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* In ''Comicbook/DoctorStrange: The Oath'', another physician pulls this on Strange a few times. Justified since he's genuinely injured; though if he hadn't been somewhat taken with her he probably wouldn't have listened.

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* Comes up sometimes in ''Franchise/StarTrek,'' where the ship's doctor has the authority to relieve the captain of command if the doctor believes the captain is physically or mentally unfit for duty.
** Such as in the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "The Tholian Web", where Spock tells Bones to do it if he believes it proper.
** In "Allegiance" from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' it's shown that mere suspicion isn't enough. If you don't have some hard evidence, you could be risking being charged with mutiny. Since Crusher can't find anything medically wrong with the doppelganger impersonating Picard, the crew's options are limited.
** In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', it's also pointed out that not even the commanding officer of a ship or station has the power to override the judgment of the Chief Medical Officer regarding medical matters.
** For ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' an additional wrinkle was thrown in: due to personnel losses in the first episode, the ship's doctor is a hologram. As such, the captain ''could'' just shut him down if she doesn't want to follow his orders -- or even reprogram him, as happened to his counterpart on the ''Equinox''. The problem, as touched upon in [[ResetButton one episode that didn't actually happen in the end]], is that while Janeway is ''usually'' sane enough to keep her rebellions against doctor's order to small things like dragging her feet about having check-ups, there's nothing saying that will still be the case when she is unhealthy enough that she ''should'' be relieved of command.

* A plot point in the ''Series/HoratioHornblower'' MadeForTVMovie ''[[TheMutiny Mutiny]]'' involved the officers of the HMS ''Renown'' having to convince the ship's doctor to declare Captain Sawyer medically unfit to command due to his slipping sanity. Further complicating the issue was the fact that the doctor and Sawyer were longtime friends.

'''O'Neill''': Yeah, whatever. ''*tries to get out of bed, immediately collapses on the floor*''\\

* Invoked in ''{{Series/Firefly}}''. When [[TokenEvilTeamMate Jayne]] tries to make a power play when Mal and Zoe get themselves (possibly) caught by the Feds, nobody wants to go along with it, but they're not strong enough to ''stop'' him. [[NonSequiturThud Then he starts talking nonsense and falls flat on his face.]] Turns out that Doctor Tam, when giving him a painkiller for a gunshot wound, [[GenreSavvy gave him considerably more than was necessary to stop him from doing anything.]] Ironically, he only gave Jayne the painkillers because Jayne [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor ordered him to]].
* Doc Cochrane of ''Series/{{Deadwood}}'', the surly {{Frontier|Doctor}} DrJerk and one of the few people in camp who can shout ''Al Swearengen'' down. Most of his power resides in the fact that the camp bosses are pimps who rely on Doc Conchrane to keep their prostitutes free of disease, and therefore keep the money rolling in.

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** Mama Gkinka also gives Zeetha the whatfor when she finds her up and about after treatment. Zeetha promises she's not fighting. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130125 Later, after she has fought, she dismisses it as Mama's opinion.]]
* In ''Webcomic/ExterminatusNow'', [[http://exterminatusnow.co.uk/2010-11-07/comic/voiding-your-warranty/what-facility/ they cite doctor's orders, knowing even the head of the Inquisition will listen.]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff500/fv00420.htm the vet has one (1) patient who listens to him. He thinks he's ahead of some doctors.]]
* ''Webcomic/DocRat''
** [[http://www.docrat.com.au/default.asp?thisItem=1116 is actually obeyed about travel socks.]]
** [[http://www.docrat.com.au/default.asp?thisItem=1770 Also about "two in the morning" -- though slightly misinterpreted.]]
* In ''Webcomic/DragonMango'', [[http://dragon-mango.com/comic/chapter03/dm03-44.htm the healer's reaction]] is "WHO TOLD YOU IT WAS OKAY TO MOVE AROUND? Now lie down and rest until I tell you you're healed?" -- and a TapOnTheHead. She defends it as "tough love."

--> '''Doctor Bunnigus''' : Pi, would you explain your rank relative to mine to Doctor Cikitsaka here?
--> '''Pibald''' : Yes Ma'am. We're both lieutenants without assigned troops. I do [[DemolitionsExpert explosives]], she does medical. I got [[TheParanoiac medical issues]], so she's usually bossing me around.

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* The HistoryChannel documentary ''It's Good To Be The President'' devoted a good ten or so minutes to the topic of how the leader of the free world is kept in optimal health. During an interview with the Presidential Physician, the narrator/interviewer asks what standard operating procedure is when the President openly defies Doctor's Orders. The doctor gives a smile somewhere between coy and wry before he quips, "In such circumstances it is the medical professional's duty to appeal to a higher power over the patient," {{Beat}}. "so in that case we advise the First Lady."

-->--''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''

* In JohnCWright's ''Literature/CountToATrillion'', Menelaus can talk casually with the effective ruler of Earth. When he must be examined by a doctor, he finds it much harder to assert himself.

* Happens all the time in Creator/MercedesLackey's ''HeraldsOfValdemar'' series. Healers commands are more or less absolute.

* In ''ExterminatusNow'', [[http://exterminatusnow.co.uk/2010-11-07/comic/voiding-your-warranty/what-facility/ they cite doctor's orders, knowing even the head of the Inquisition will listen.]]

--> '''Doctor bunnigus''' : Pi, would you explain your rank relative to mine to Doctor Cikitsaka here?

* In ''{{Discworld}}'' fic ''Fanfic/WhyandWere'', Assassin Johanna Smith-Rhodes is patched up in the field by an Igor and ignores his advice not to put any strain on a broken forearm. She concludes her contract by firing a powerful crossbow, and the recoil and stress re-breaks the arm. The Guild's Matron Igorina is suitably sarcastic and acerbic.

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* In Creator/DorothyLSayers' radio play ''The Man Born To Be King'', she put notes down for King Herod's physician: he must speak with authority, even though he's giving those orders to the king.