Work Info
The passenger ship industry has moved from “exclusive” to “mainstream” in the past 2 decades, and continues to grow unabated at pace. Ships are increasingly bigger, and offer more and more services on board, including ice skating rinks and cabaret shows. The number of smaller ships was initially in decline, but now shows signs of a welcome return to offer guests a more quiet intimate experience. With small – think the Titanic – a ship of just over 30 000 tons. With big, think 150 000 tons!
Passenger ships carry between 200 and 4000 guests, and if you add the crew of up to a 1000, you have a self contained city at sea. Medical Staff on ships consists of 1 to 2 doctors and 2 to 3 nurses, depending on the ship’s size. In general the doctors come from a General Practitioner background, and the nurses from ICU. Both groups have completed ACLS training.
The profile of patients that attend the ship’s infirmary is similar to that of a low key ER – about 95% GP cases, and the rest are true emergencies. The latter can be anything from an unstable myocardial infarct, to a dislocated shoulder or a sprained ankle. It is certainly an interesting mix of pathology, and the infirmary is geared to cope with almost all emergencies (except blood transfusions) – it is off course not a replacement for a shoreside facility, but at least patients can get decent care until shore side care becomes available. Lab diagnostics (basic XR, electrolytes, cardiac panel etc.) and all modern treatment modalitiess (such as ventilators, AED’s, IVAC’s etc.) are available on board. No surgery is performed, except e.g. removal of a mole or suturing of a laceration.
Truly sick patients are evacuated at the earliest opportunity possible. This can be immediate (if you are in a port with good hospital facilities) or take up to 3 days if you are out of helicopter assistance range. Some companies do provide a means to contact a shore side specialist for telephonic support, and often Internet is available to the Medical Team. Resources on the Internet, especially on Infectious Diseases, can be excellent.
A typical day would include 2 clinics of 3 to 4 hours each and then on call for urgent cases. In between clinics you may have meetings to attend or training lectures to give (e.g. CPR for crew). The work fluctuates from easy to very hard, but you seldom reach the point of complete exhaustion – you mostly have time to recover well from e.g. a night with an ICU patient. Administrative duties have become a major part of our job profile - proficiency in computers and sound practice management principles are essential.
You are at sea / on the ship for the full period of your contract. On port days you can go ashore on your off days / in between clinics (one doctor ships). Ship routes vary, but you are in port on most days of the week from 8am to 5pm. Cabins are single berth, have private restroom and shower facility, and often have a TV and HI – FI as well.
The crew forms a small closed community – everyone is in the same boat literally and figuratively and you quickly make friends and find ways to spend your leisure time. And there are many ways to have fun, including sport activities and social events for the crew.