History Main / FrontierDoctor

* Creator/JamesHerriot [[KindlyVet sort of counts]], working in a fairly remote and rural part of Yorkshire with sometimes limited resources.

* In ''Series/HecRamsey'', Doc Coogan is the town doctor for New Prospect. Because, as he puts it, "folks are so damn healthy", he doubles as TheBarber. He is a good doctor, but a terrible barber. Hec eventually ropes him as TheCoroner.

* Dr. Leonard [=McCoy=] in the aptly titled ''Leonard [=McCoy=]: Frontier Doctor''. Set between the original ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' series and ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'', the series follows a bearded Dr. [=McCoy=] as he works with the Starfleet frontier doctors program.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Simon Tam of ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' is a Frontier Doctor InSpace, down to having once worked in a HospitalParadiso on a Core World and being driven to the Frontier by a conflict with the law.
** A couple of episodes show more traditional versions ([[{{Dissimile}} traditional, that is, apart from being on alien planets 500 years in the future]]).

** In the first episode of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Bashir comments about his new post saying this, and offending Major Kira in the process. (This is her home, and it doesn't seem like a distant frontier to THIS restless native.) On the other hand, he does go about occasionally making house-calls to neighboring planets, (including Bajor a time or two).
*** Bashir later meets a classmate who took a prestige assignment with a starship, and she complains how boring her own assignment was as opposed to his own (the writers also uses this as a jab against ''The Next Generation'' and ''Voyager'''s problem of the week episodes compared to the arcs in ''Deep Space Nine''). Keep in mind that Bashir said that he was thrilled to be assigned to [=DS9=] for the excitement of working on the frontier, and that even if he hypothetically had a choice of any posting it's still the one he would have picked.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The Emergency Medical Hologram (aka The Doctor) also could be considered a frontier doctor as he is the only one serving ''Voyager'', which was a very remote and isolated Federation community in a part of the galaxy where no Federation starship had been, dealing with illnesses and injuries that his creator Doctor Louis Zimmerman never even thought of when programming The Doctor.

* Dr. [=McCoy=] in ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' is perhaps Trek's outstanding example of a FrontierDoctor--resourceful in the face of alien ailments, preferring simple homespun methods when possible, but cantankerous, eccentric, and not entirely happy with his lot (he fled to space on the heels of a divorce). ''Franchise/StarTrek'' was pretty much [[WagonTrainToTheStars the original]] SpaceWestern, after all, and actor [=DeForest=] Kelley had an extensive background in westerns.
* In the first episode of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Bashir comments about his new post saying this, and offending Major Kira in the process. (This is her home, and it doesn't seem like a distant frontier to THIS restless native.) On the other hand, he does go about occasionally making house-calls to neighboring planets, (including Bajor a time or two).
** Bashir later meets a classmate who took a prestige assignment with a starship, and she complains how boring her own assignment was as opposed to his own (the writers also uses this as a jab against ''The Next Generation'' and ''Voyager'''s problem of the week episodes compared to the arcs in ''Deep Space Nine''). Keep in mind that Bashir said that he was thrilled to be assigned to [=DS9=] for the excitement of working on the frontier, and that even if he hypothetically had a choice of any posting it's still the one he would have picked.

A physician who works in a isolated or remote community.

While the inhabitants of TheWildWest were tougher than case-hardened nails, they still could get hurt and sick. So there was a need for doctors, and the FrontierDoctor came west to fill that need. The frontier doctor needed to be tough and resourceful, since supplies were scarce, and the latest equipment was seldom at hand. He'd often be called upon to travel long distances at any hour of the day or night, and might even treat sick animals if no veterinarian was handy (the opposite - [[OpenHeartDentistry veterinarian instead of a doctor]] - is usually PlayedForLaughs). The frontier doctor may be a [[Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman woman]].

With all that said, anyone who'd leave the soft, prosperous life of a doctor in the East had to have a pretty good reason. In fiction, the Frontier Doctor is often flawed. Perhaps he is [[TheAlcoholic an alcoholic]] (so he's taking nips from a flask while sewing you up), or [[DarkAndTroubledPast once killed a man back East]], or is a WideEyedIdealist who volunteered to come west without thinking it through. Which isn't to say that the characters in a {{Western}} aren't grateful that he's there to patch up their bullet holes, sew them up and cure any pox.

Not limited to the WildWest; may also occur in an [[BleakBorderBase isolated military outpost]] or space colony.

With all that said, anyone who'd leave the soft, prosperous life of a doctor in the East had to have a pretty good reason. In fiction, the Frontier Doctor is often flawed. Perhaps he is an alcoholic, or killed a man, or is a WideEyedIdealist who volunteered to come west without thinking it through. Which isn't to say that the characters in a {{Western}} aren't grateful that he's there to patch up their bullet holes and cure their pox.

As the territory becomes more civilized, this character becomes "the town doctor", with better access to equipment and supplies, but not much more rest as he or she's still basically the only physician for miles.

A physician who works in a frontier community.

While the inhabitants of TheWildWest were tougher than case-hardened nails, they still could get hurt and sick. So there was a need for doctors, and the FrontierDoctor came west to fill that need. The frontier doctor needed to be tough and resourceful, since supplies were scarce, and the latest equipment was seldom at hand. He'd often be called upon to travel long distances at any hour of the day or night, and might even treat sick animals if no veterinarian was handy (the opposite - [[OpenHeartDentistry veterinarian instead of a doctor]] - is usually PlayedForLaughs).

* The Government of Canada gives incentives to medical students who choose to work in rural communities when they get their degrees.

* Eccentric assistant Callum from later series of ''Series/AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall'' left to become a Frontier Vet, motivated not by any lack of skill but by his vast sense of adventure. For a while he practiced in Nova Scotia, then when it became too soft and civilised for him there he took himself off to Papua New Guinea instead.

* A Film/TheThreeStooges short has the boys becoming these, at the urgings of the professor of their medical school.

%%* Dr. Michaela Quinn of ''Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman''.

* Music/TheBeatles: "Rocky Raccoon":

* Partially, ActionGirl and TeamMom Sally Po in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Wing]]''.

* Doc Velie in ''Film/BadDayAtBlackRock''.

* In ''Film/TheManFromColorado'', Judge Owen Devereaux's uncle Doc Merriam is town's doctor, and the only authority figure trusted by everyone in town.

* Don Knotts plays a dental version of one of these in ''Film/TheShakiestGunInTheWest''.

* Dr. Michaela Quinn of ''Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman''.
* Most of the Diagnosans in ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' tend to occupy this kind of role.

* Dr. Bill Baxter of the obviously-named ''Series/FrontierDoctor'' series.

* Archie Campbell played one on ''Series/HeeHaw''.
* Hiram Baker from ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie''.

[[folder:Music]]
* Music/SinceILeftYou by Music/TheAvalanches has a song called 'Frontier Psychiatrist,' based on a Wayne & Shuster skit.

-->Now the doctor came in stinking of gin
-->And proceeded to lie on the table
[[/folder]]

* Tex Rorschach, the Frontier Psychiatrist, from ''Series/WayneAndShuster'', [[SampledUp made famous by]] Music/TheAvalanches.

* ''VideoGame/FreddyPharkasFrontierPharmacist''

* Levi Mosley is the only doctor in town in ''ComicBook/{{Copperhead}}''. Considering how many alien species are in the population he must be quite knowledgeable - even more so for successfully treating patients while staggeringly drunk.

* Dr. Lazarus in ''Film/{{Outland}}''. In a fairly hard sci-fi SpaceWestern, she starts off as largely jaded, acknowledging that doctor aboard a mining colony is one spaceflight away from a malpractice suit. She does eventually come around and provide vital aid to the film's hero, Marshall O'Niel.
* Don Knotts plays a dental version of one of these in ''Film/TheShakiestGunInTheWest''.
* A Film/TheThreeStooges short has the boys becoming these, at the urgings of the professor of their medical school.

* ''Film/TheQuickAndTheDead'': Redemption has one whose main function is to examine the fallen competitors and declare "This man is dead!". Spotted Horse turns out to be NotQuiteDead. Later, he plays a vital role when he keeps the scavengers away from the Lady's body [[spoiler:as she is FakingTheDead]].
* In ''Film/DeadAgainInTombstone'', Dr. Goldsworthy is the town doctor in Silver River. He first appears when he pulls Guerrero out of the river and saves his life. However, he turns out to be [[AngelUnaware far more than a simple frontier doctor]].
* Abigail in ''Film/HighPlainsInvaders'' is actually a nurse, but she runs the town infirmary and fulfills the role of doctor.

* In ''Film/CurseOfTheUndead'', Doc Carter is a typical frontier doctor dealing with a strange wasting disease killing young women in the town. His chances of finding a cure are hampered because the disease does not have a natural cause. Even so, his interference gets him killed by the vampire responsible, both to halt his investigation and to stir up trouble between Doc's daughter and the neighboring CattleBaron.
* ''Film/GingerSnapsBackTheBeginning'': Doc Murphy, the forts physician, is the only doctor in thousands of miles, and patches up Bridgette's hurt foot and tests people for signs of werewolf infection by seeing how they react to leeches.

* In ''Film/DayOfTheEvilGun'', Warfield and Forbes arrive in a small town where they are hoping to resupply and gather intelligence about the location of the Apache camp. However, the town is in in the the grip of a [[ThePlague cholera outbreak]]. The town doctor is run off his feet not only attending to the sick, but burning the homes and possessions of those who have died.

* In the novel ''{{Literature/Christy}}'', Neil [=MacNeill=] is the doctor of a remote, impoverished Appalachian community in the early 1900s.
* Eccentric assistant Callum from later series of ''Series/AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall'' left to become a Frontier Vet, motivated not by any lack of skill but by his vast sense of adventure. For a while he practiced in Nova Scotia, then when it became too soft and civilised for him there he took himself off to Papua New Guinea instead.
* 'Doc' Leroy in the novels of Creator/JTEdson. 'Doc' was studying medicine when his father's murder caused him to drop out and take work as a cowhand. He spent a lot of time using his medical expertise as a doctor in a ClosestThingWeGot manner. He eventually completed his qualifications in ''Doc Leroy, M.D.''.
* ''Literature/StarWarsKenobi'': Minor character Doc Mell, the physician of the Pika Oasis, is a Mon Calamari. Like a traditional Frontier Doctor, he and his son have left an easy life for a much harder one, in this case because they're members of an aquatic species on a desert planet. They wear special cowls that keep their skin moist.

* Dr. Bill Baxter of the obviously-named ''Series/FrontierDoctor'' series.

* Dr. [=McCoy=] in ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]'' is perhaps Trek's outstanding example of a FrontierDoctor--resourceful in the face of alien ailments, preferring simple homespun methods when possible, but cantankerous, eccentric, and not entirely happy with his lot (he fled to space on the heels of a divorce). ''Franchise/StarTrek'' was pretty much [[WagonTrainToTheStars the original]] SpaceWestern, after all, and actor [=DeForest=] Kelley had an extensive background in westerns.
* Most of the Diagnosans in ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' tend to occupy this kind of role.
* Archie Campbell played one on ''Series/HeeHaw''.
* Hiram Baker from ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie''.
* More of a post-apocalyptic ScavengerWorld than the frontier, but ''Series/{{Defiance}}'' has Doc Yewll, who responds to having a patient threaten her with her own [[LaserCutter force-scalpel]] by threatening to throw them out in the street.
* Frontier doctors feature in two successive episodes of ''Series/FrontierCircus''. In "Dr. Sam", a female doctor from back east temporarily joins the circus as circus doctor, hoping that the circus will grant her more freedom than the straitlaced world back east. In "The Hunter and the Hunted", Tony has to fetch a doctor after Casey is badly injured in an accident, only to find that the doctor is being hunted by a gang of outlaws.
* In ''Series/HecRamsey'', Doc Coogan is the town doctor for New Prospect. Because, as he puts it, "folks are so damn healthy", he doubles as TheBarber. He is a good doctor, but a terrible barber. Hec eventually ropes him as TheCoroner.
* Dr. Galen Adams, usually identified simply as "Doc," on ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}''. The character was dramatically changed for the television series, however; see the Radio folder below.
* ''Series/DeadMansGun'':
** After delivering a baby, Dr. Butler is paid with the gun and it awakens painful memories in "The Healer".
** In "The Oath", a female doctor, who now owns the gun, must overcome the prejudice towards someone in her position to cure an epidemic.

* Music/SinceILeftYou by Music/TheAvalanches has a song called 'Frontier Psychiatrist,' based on a Wayne & Shuster skit.

* Tex Rorschach, the Frontier Psychiatrist, from Series/WayneAndShuster, [[SampledUp made famous by]] Music/TheAvalanches.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* "Doc" Holliday, of RealLife and many, many fictional accounts, was a frontier dentist, but is far better known for his [[TheGambler gambling]] and [[TheGunslinger gunfighting]]. (His consumptive cough apparently tended to scare off clients.)
* Creator/JamesHerriot [[KindlyVet sort of counts]], working in a fairly remote and rural part of Yorkshire with sometimes limited resources.
* The Government of Canada gives incentives to medical students who choose to work in rural communities when they get their degrees.
[[/folder]]

* Dr. Lyle White in ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII Assassin's Creed III]]'' starts a new life in the frontier Homestead, in order to help a couple deliver a baby (and also because the Redcoats were dragging his name through the mud back in Boston).

* ''Series/DeadMansGun'': In "The Oath", a female doctor, who now owns the gun, must overcome the prejudice towards someone in her position to cure an epidemic.