I'm basing it on her age, and that she's never once mentioned working at any other hospital or facility, much less in the senior position.
And that's exactly my point. You're assuming she doesn't have that experience based only on the fact that she looks young and she doesn't talk about where she gets her experience from. I don't mean to pick, but that's absoluately ridiculous. Of *course* she has that experience. Surgical talent isn't something you're naturally gifted at; there is *no such thing* as being naturally gifted at surgery. That's about as realistic a statement as saying you can cure someone with pixie dust. Surgery, especially neurosurgery, is something you have to be trained to do. You don't get given a saw and told, "hey, you look like you have a steady hand, go ahead and cut into that patient's brain, will you?" That argument makes absolutely no sense.
She HAS to have that experience. There's no "maybe" in that statement. She has it because she does it. Elizabeth made her chief of medicine; she didn't tell her she could now do neurosurgery. If she didn't have that experience, she wouldn't be cutting into Elizabeth's brain in that episode--she would have delegated that responsibility to someone else. You have to accept that, practically, she has all the experience to pull off that kind of surgery. If she didn't, she COULD NOT DO IT.
As for why make her chief? Because, as Elizabeth says, everyone in the infirmary looks up to her. They respect her to lead. And that is ALL YOU NEED. If her staff didn't respect her, if the nurses and doctors said she couldn't handle the position, they would have said so. Instead, Elizabeth clearly states that they think Keller is doing a great job (which directly counters you're statement that the writers didn't give us a reason why Elizabeth trusts her. THAT'S why she trusts her). The only one who isn't sure is Keller herself. You can not take Keller's own personal self-doubt expressed in a private moment with a friend and make that the end all be all of whether she can handle the position. Demonstrably, she handles the position brilliantly.
And speaking of brilliant, that's another assumption. You said the show hasn't implied that she is brilliant. First off, being on Atlantis? HUGE implication. They're not shipping mediocre people to this base. Second? RODNEY in Adrift calls her brilliant. Has he ever said that about anyone other than Carter? No. He doesn't say that lightly, and he called her brilliant. I'm not sure you can get a greater implication of her level of intelligence than that.
And it is not insulting to real doctors, any more than in any other profession, to have someone younger put in charge, ESPECIALLY, since that role requires more than just a medical or clinical background. That role requires being able to lead and administer, and most scientists (in fact, all scientists I have ever met) hate the idea. But it always goes back to the crux--the Jennifer runs that infirmary extremely well and her people respect her. That's all you need to know to determine how good a chief of medicine she is.
(By the by, I don't know why this argument is getting my blood boiling, but I hope you're having fun with it, since that's why I keep responding...I'm really getting a kick out of this, and I hope you and gnine aren't taking it personally. I sort of love arguing.)
Re: second part
And that's exactly my point. You're assuming she doesn't have that experience based only on the fact that she looks young and she doesn't talk about where she gets her experience from. I don't mean to pick, but that's absoluately ridiculous. Of *course* she has that experience. Surgical talent isn't something you're naturally gifted at; there is *no such thing* as being naturally gifted at surgery. That's about as realistic a statement as saying you can cure someone with pixie dust. Surgery, especially neurosurgery, is something you have to be trained to do. You don't get given a saw and told, "hey, you look like you have a steady hand, go ahead and cut into that patient's brain, will you?" That argument makes absolutely no sense.
She HAS to have that experience. There's no "maybe" in that statement. She has it because she does it. Elizabeth made her chief of medicine; she didn't tell her she could now do neurosurgery. If she didn't have that experience, she wouldn't be cutting into Elizabeth's brain in that episode--she would have delegated that responsibility to someone else. You have to accept that, practically, she has all the experience to pull off that kind of surgery. If she didn't, she COULD NOT DO IT.
As for why make her chief? Because, as Elizabeth says, everyone in the infirmary looks up to her. They respect her to lead. And that is ALL YOU NEED. If her staff didn't respect her, if the nurses and doctors said she couldn't handle the position, they would have said so. Instead, Elizabeth clearly states that they think Keller is doing a great job (which directly counters you're statement that the writers didn't give us a reason why Elizabeth trusts her. THAT'S why she trusts her). The only one who isn't sure is Keller herself. You can not take Keller's own personal self-doubt expressed in a private moment with a friend and make that the end all be all of whether she can handle the position. Demonstrably, she handles the position brilliantly.
And speaking of brilliant, that's another assumption. You said the show hasn't implied that she is brilliant. First off, being on Atlantis? HUGE implication. They're not shipping mediocre people to this base. Second? RODNEY in Adrift calls her brilliant. Has he ever said that about anyone other than Carter? No. He doesn't say that lightly, and he called her brilliant. I'm not sure you can get a greater implication of her level of intelligence than that.
And it is not insulting to real doctors, any more than in any other profession, to have someone younger put in charge, ESPECIALLY, since that role requires more than just a medical or clinical background. That role requires being able to lead and administer, and most scientists (in fact, all scientists I have ever met) hate the idea. But it always goes back to the crux--the Jennifer runs that infirmary extremely well and her people respect her. That's all you need to know to determine how good a chief of medicine she is.
(By the by, I don't know why this argument is getting my blood boiling, but I hope you're having fun with it, since that's why I keep responding...I'm really getting a kick out of this, and I hope you and gnine aren't taking it personally. I sort of love arguing.)