Medicine (Fallout: New Vegas)

Medicine is a skill in Fallout: New Vegas, replacing the First Aid and Doctor skills from Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics.

This skill determines the effectiveness of stimpaks, super stimpaks, Rad-X and RadAway.

Initial level

 * $$\text{Initial level}=2+(2\times\text{Intelligence})+\left\lceil\frac{\text{Luck}}{2}\right\rceil$$

Example: A starting Intelligence of 5 and Luck of 5.


 * $$2+(2\times5)+\left\lceil\frac{5}{2}\right\rceil=15$$

The higher one's Medicine skill, the more Hit Points they will replenish when using a stimpak and the more effective they are at using any other medicinal item such as Rad-X or RadAway.

The exact effect of the Medicine skill on such items is determined by the formula:


 * $$\text{Effect} =\text{Base} \times (1 + \frac{Medicine}{50})$$

In basic terms, medical items become twice as effective with a Medicine skill of 50, and three times as effective with a Medicine skill of 100. This progression is linear, meaning at a skill level of 75 medical items are 2.5x as effective.

Ways to increase Medicine

 * Permanent
 * Leveling up (up to +15 or +17 with Educated)
 * D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine (+3 or +4 with Comprehension)
 * Good Natured (+5)
 * Skilled (+5)
 * Temporary
 * Wasteland doctor fatigues (+5)
 * Today's Physician (+10 or +20 with Comprehension)
 * Followers lab coat (+10)
 * Daniel's outfit (+5)

Interactions that require Medicine skill

 * 20 Medicine to convince Dr. Richards that you have "some medical experience."
 * 30 Medicine or 30 Speech to convince Doc Mitchell to give three stimpaks before initially leaving his house. Passing both will result in five stimpaks rather than six, and Medicine will always be the first choice (worth 3).
 * 30 Medicine to effectively examine the bodies of the thugs in G.I. Blues.
 * 30 Medicine to heal the mole rat named Snuffles in Sloan.
 * 30 Medicine to realize that Troike's story about blacking out doesn't add up in How Little We Know.
 * 30 Medicine to sterilize the Medical Supply Kit with alcohol during Tourist Trap.
 * 35 Medicine to convince Dazzle that you know the right dose for her and they can safely just "split a Med-X and have some fun" for free at the Gomorrah.
 * 35 Medicine to inspect dead hooker's body in How Little We Know.
 * 40 Medicine to convince Betsy to seek psychiatric help.
 * 45 Medicine to notice Ricky's Psycho addiction.
 * 50 Medicine to ask Hydra use symptoms from Dr. Richards when asked about missing supplies.
 * 50 Medicine to convince Joana to tell her story and trigger the quest Bye Bye Love.
 * 50 Medicine to get away with killing Caesar with the autodoc during Et Tumor, Brute?
 * 50 Medicine to heal Private Halford during Help for Halford without a Doctor's bag.
 * 55 Medicine to find out that your heart, brain and spine were removed.
 * 60 Medicine to heal three injured Boomers at Nellis medical station during Volare! The three Boomers require 40, 50, and 60 Medicine.
 * 75 Medicine to communicate with Christine.
 * 75 Medicine to heal Caesar during Et Tumor, Brute?
 * 75 Medicine to heal all troopers in Camp Forlorn Hope without equipment.
 * 85 Medicine to realize that the components you collected could be used to heal you.

Named Medicine experts

 * Elizabeth Kieran (98) - NCR Major providing aid to NCR squatters living in Freeside.
 * Lady Jane (98) - a caravan merchant living in Freeside.
 * Julie Farkas (98) - leader of the Followers of the Apocalypse operating out of the Old Mormon Fort in Freeside.