I was just re-reading Unwired and came across this passage under "Sprites, New Sprite Powers", P.156:
Proficiency
Tutor sprites possess skillsofts that grant them an understanding of one or more Technical, Vehicle, or Knowledge skills, chosen upon compiling. While it can teach these skills to any person, like an instructor or interactive tutorsoft, it can also use this skill to assist a person in AR or VR as some kind of virtual assistant, with a proficiency power similar to a medkit’s autodoc program or an autosoft for humans. When the sprite guides a user through a complex task (not necessarily only the technomancer) who does not possess the skill in question, the character may perform the skill test without any modifiers, counting half the sprite’s rating (round up) as the level of the skill. Since the sprite acts as a kind of smart tutorial and teacher, assisting someone in this manner is usually more time-consuming than the normal test would be, and therefore requires an Extended or Complex Action depending on the situation (gamemaster’s call).
I underlined the passage that caught my eye, because that's not what I remember seeing in the SR4A book OR the older SR4. Now, it always irked me that a 600¥ item (Medkit, Rtg 6) could be superior to a 40,000¥ skillsoft in every way. I mean, who needs a medic? Just put a poor slob in the back of a drone taxi! This answer, while still not as restrictive as I'd like DOES begin to lean in the right direction AND give me some other ideas.
How about the Autodoc program rolls it's [Rating] and the number of hits is the effective "skill" level given? That would make a hell of a lot more sense to me, and be more like "teamwork". That, and it lets a Tutor sprite be superior to a piece of commonly available gear, which is really as it should be if you think about it.
That led me to thinking about what a "Medkit, Rtg 6" is like, relative to a "Medkit, Rtg 1". I mean, an experienced medic doesn't need the Autodoc, but still gets the "bonus" of the improved kit, right? So shouldn't there be more/more varried supplies in the higher rating kit? (read: it's bigger) If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to a first-responder catalog like www.galls.com and look under their medical kits. They have some good pictures like the old 1980's shot of military aircraft with all the ordinance laid out in front of them. The difference between a simple first-response medkit (call it Rtg 3) and a full BLS kit is pretty substandial (overnight bag versus small duffel) and a full ALS kit is pretty dramatic (full duffel with extras). Now, with super-materials, the 02 tank is going to shrink, obviously, but a lot of the other stuff is going to remain fairly substantial, even with future-tech replacing a lot of traditonal stuff. You're not going to find 02, a defibrilator, splints, braces and tracheotomy gear in a Rtg 2 or 3 kit, certainly.
What that would mean is you can't subtly bring a Medkit, Rtg 6 on a 'run. I figure you could sneak up to a Rtg 3 or maybe 4 "kit" into a backpack with other items, but beyond that, the size is going to increase rapidly.
Another aspect is that a larger kit will be better able to deal with more lesser injuries before becoming "depleted". That's a lot more bookkeeping though, and of less material interest to anybody not running a DocWagon™ campaign.
So, if you wanted to compare the RAW in SR4A to the first rule to my proposal, here's what you get:
Unskilled Character (assume Medkit, Rtg 4 for all, LOG 3):
RAW w/o Medkit:
[LOG - 1] = [3 - 1] = 2
RAW w/ Medkit:
[Medkit Rtg + LOG] = [4 + 3] = 7
Unwired:
[(Medkit Rtg ÷ 2) + LOG] = [(2) + 3] = 5 (Extended version of the test here)
Proposal:
[(Medkit Rtg Hits) + LOG] = [(1) + 3] = 4 (Extended version as above)
*Note: this might stabilize a dying character, the most you could really expect from a completely inexperienced person with the right equipment and somebody walking them through it WHILE THE PATIENT BLEEDS OUT.
Skilled (Skill 4) Character:
[First-Aid + LOGic] + [Medkit Rtg] = [4 + 3] + [4] = 11
(If you don't know how to use the supplies in the Medkit to begin with, how can those supplies really provide a bonus to your action? The Medkit's doing its best just to walk you through how to implement the items at all!)
I think the Unwired interpretation makes a real Medic highly valuable, and my proposal would make them the skilled and vital professional first-responder I think they should be (especially if they show up with that mother-huge Rtg 6 kit instead of the Rtg 4 you stuffed in your pack).
Anyhow, that's my thinking. Other people's thoughts?
(Note: I am intentionally NOT resurrecting the whole "how fast first-aid heals damage" or "why bother with hospitals or medicine skill" arguments here - I am just looking at the Autodoc feature of the stock Medkit)