cabinet of medical curiosity

For those in USA using a different way to write the date, I’ll explain- today is the 17/01 of 2021, or the same as the USS Enterprise NCC 1701.

As a sci fi geek, I have found a way to combine my love of medical history with being a geek – become a Star Trek doctor!

(did look at Star Wars, as was my first love, but not as easy to find unless portraying a robot!)

I decided to nice to myself and spend more on the accessories, than sewing an outfit and found something that worked online. Have also been able to get a few tricorders and hyposprays for running around with!

Decided on the time period of TOS Star Trek for starters, due to both the historical aspect of how people saw what medicine could be in the future, and also as more flattering to my shape!

With my best friend as the science officer, we went to our first Con in cosplay (only geeky t-shirts prior to that) and were able to get photos with Dr Beverly Crusher herself, Gate McFadden! She was lovely and seemed to love that we were using props as well.

I have now acquired a small collection of tribbles (all safely sterilised for now) and took my tamest one along for the trip – it only made a few objections now and then, to the shock of people standing near!

So, have been doing some reading around the futurism of Star Trek medicine and there are some cool articles out there, and certainly inspiration from Star Trek, with people trying to invent the real life equivalent to the hypospray and full body scanner.

https://treknews.net/2017/03/28/star-trek-healthcare/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_in_Star_Trek#:~:text=The%20hypospray%20has%20been%20featured,to%20give%20injections%20of%20medications.&text=The%20U.S.%20Food%20and%20Drug,without%20the%20use%20of%20needles.

After being interested in Victorian medicine for a long time, but knowing needed to refine any portrayal I wanted to do, to a much smaller defined time than the whole 63 years that that encompasses, I ahve finally made a decision on what to do!

One of my favourite buildings in my home town of Brisbane, is the Old Queensland Museum. https://www.oldmuseum.org/

I am old enough to have very fond memories running around the display cases as a child, admiring the specimens, and have also been privileged to see around the building in recent years when its been used for community groups and music rehearsals and shows.

The building was opened in 1891 for the Queensland National Agricultural and Industrial Association, and it situated next to the Royal National Agriculture showgrounds. It has been many things over the years but was the state museum for the longest and is remembered as that in its name now.

So I began looking at what was happening in medicine in Australia around 1890, and found it was amazing!

In 1890, Constance Stone become the first woman to register with the Medical Board of Victoria. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/stone-emma-constance-8676

Also in my home state of Queensland, Lilian Cooper became the first woman doctor registered in the state in 1891. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cooper-lilian-violet-5770

Plus, looking at some of the costuming from that era of the 1890’s seemed a little more achievable for someone with my limited sewing ability (prefer to repair a perineal hernia any day!) Though will be asking for a lot of help and paying someone for the more complex components to get them right.

So keep watching as I try to post the bits of pieces of my late Victorian woman doctor in Australia!

It was also a time when public health was still being developed and germ theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germ_theory_of_disease not always agreed with by the medical fraternity (and being a woman could lead to some difficult times)

So will have plenty to read and then post about that!!!!

Ah – this is my first post!!!

I am currently busy getting sorted with what to wear for a Roman female doctor.

I’ve been asked to help out a friend with the medical side for some events for the Queensland Museum for a gladiator display. While the medical side is only a little different from what I do already, the clothing is a whole other side! I need to try and get what a female who was practising medicine would be likely to wear. And then make it! (Give me a diaphragmatic hernia repair any day!)

So Ill try and keep you up to date with what I am going to wear plus add in photos of the night!

http://www.gladiators.qm.qld.gov.au/

Also post a few pictures of what I am using for documentation as well as what I’ve been reading to ensure I’m Romanised and not 12th century!