Chief medical officer (Star Trek)

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For similar non-fictional positions, see chief medical officer.

In the fictional Star Trek universe, the chief medical officer (CMO) is a medical professional, typically a physician who is the highest ranking member of a Starfleet installation or vessel's medical staff.

This officer occupies a unique position, having complete authority over any patient in placed in his or her care even when it is a superior officer until deemed fit for duty. In addition, if in his or her professional judgement the CMO deems a person in the officer's assigned area or vessel as medically unfit, that officer can remove even a superior officer from duty until that person's condition improves.

Notable CMOs include Leonard McCoy, Beverly Crusher, and Julian Bashir. On more recent vessels and installations, the CMO is supported by – or, in the case of the starship Voyager, replaced by – an Emergency Medical Hologram.