Mass Effect 3 serves as the culmination of every choice made in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. There are plenty of choices to be made in the final game that ultimately decide the fate of much of the main cast. Some choices seem to bear more significance than others, however. One choice in Mass Effect 3 that seems like it might make a lot of difference is which doctor to leave on the Citadel.
Both Doctors Chakwas and Michel play supporting roles throughout the entirety of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Dr. Chakwas is the doctor who's stationed in the med bay on the Normandy and Dr. Michel runs into Shepard and crew several times on the Citadel throughout the series. When it comes time to choose someone to stay behind on the Citadel, players are faced with a seemingly tough choice.
Dr. Chakwas or Dr. Michel?
While it might seem like a pretty hefty choice, in the end, choosing which doctor to take aboard the Normandy doesn't actually have much weight. It's worth noting that Shepard only has to make the choice if Dr. Chakwas survives the suicide mission in Mass Effect 2. The real difference between the two picks doesn't have much to do with the overarching story, but slightly changes certain healing items for Shepard's use.
Choosing Dr. Chakwas to stay aboard the Normandy upgrades the efficiency of Medi-Gel healing for more HP. Choosing Dr. Michel upgrades Shepard's Medi-Gel carrying capacity by one. Additionally, if Dr. Chakwas is left behind to work on the Citadel, she slightly improves the galactic readiness rating for the fight against the Reapers at the end of the game.
It's also worth noting that both doctors have specific missions to give to Commander Shepard once brought onboard the Normandy. Other than the differences listed above, there isn't much difference between which character is picked. At the end of the day, besides the slight differences to Medi-Gel and the small bump in galactic readiness, the choice is primarily a preference one.
If the player prefers the character of one doctor over the other that can play a part as well. In terms of which character would prefer working aboard the Normandy, Dr. Chakwas has always expressed her interest in doing her part to serve on the front lines for the Alliance whereas Dr. Michel feels bound to medicine as a result of her family's history in it and prefers to work on civilians over soldiers.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.