Basic Trope: Doctors don't have specialties, even when they should.
- Straight: Alice is a gynecologist, but is seen running an EKG on Bob.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice is a psychiatrist who actually performs heart surgery on Bob.
- Alice is a Super Doc, who performs surgeries of various different specialties, often in the same day.
- Alice switches places with Carol the Cardiologist for the day.
- Alice is a veterinarian, and has not had a human patient before.
- Downplayed:
- Alice runs a standard physical exam and medical history on each of her patients, in addition to the standard breast and pelvic exams she's expected to perform.
- Alice's specialty within gynecology is obstetrics, but she is more than happy to help patients who are not pregnant or trying to conceive.
- Bob has a heart attack on the subway. Alice can only provide preliminary care while waiting for the ambulance.
- Justified:
- It's After the End, and Alice is the only one in a small group of survivors with any medical knowledge or training.
- Many women see only their OB/GYN for well-visits, even when they really should be seeing a primary-care doctor as well. So in the interest of looking out for her patients, Alice needs to cover all her bases, not just the ones covered by a bikini.
- Carol called in sick that day, and somehow, no one else is able to do this.
- Due to an epidemic lockdown most of the nurses are stuck at home, forcing the doctors to double as nurses.
- Alice has a specialty, but she also has generalized knowledge and training from med school.
- It's part of a very elaborate Twin Switch prank.
- Alice keeps changing specialties.
- Alice is a general practitioner (GP) or primary care physician.
- Alice is a certified genius, and is therefore capable of being well-versed on several medical specialties.
- Alice mentions she did a lot of EKGs during her residency, since it was a small hospital.
- It's a medical emergency, and Alice is the only person with any medical knowledge nearby. She's just trying to make sure that Bob can survive long enough for emergency services to arrive.
- Inverted:
- Doctors are portrayed as even more specialized than they are in real life.
- Doctors Alice, Bob, Claire, and Daniel are a True Companions, thus perform surgeries together that would not require multiple surgeons in real life.
- Subverted:
- Alice attempts cardiology but botches the surgery.
- When Carol is grievously injured, Alice walks in seemingly ready to perform life-saving surgery, but then walks out immediately, saying she wasn't trained for this.
- Double Subverted: The surgery goes through a few close calls but Alice ultimately pulls through.
- Parodied:
- Alice is The Millstone of the Medical Drama.
- A nurse asks Alice why she keeps changing jobs.
- A Delegation Relay takes place.
- Zig Zagged: Alice's specialty or lack thereof changes all the time, Depending on the Writer.
- Averted: Alice sticks to her specialty.
- Enforced:
- Lampshaded: "I'm not a cardiologist, but I'll definitely do an EKG for you."
- Invoked: When Bob has a heart attack on the subway, Alice thinks of the characters on TV who do things outside their specialties and gears up to provide first aid.
- Exploited: Someone pressures Alice to do something that would cause her to lose her license, and to face a malpractice suit, in order to ruin her career.
- Defied: Alice does nothing, because she's afraid she'll screw it up. After all, it's been years since she's done anything heart-related, or had a male patient.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Deconstructed: Because she is a gynecologist and isn't trained in cardiology, Alice botches an EKG thus dooming her patient.
I'm not a gynecologist, but I'll take a look.
