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Crew will bring you meals, drinks and anti-nausea medication, but you are not to leave, even if you're feeling better. Each cruise has a designated medical-operations manager available 24/7 based in the health center in Miami. While they can advise on how to handle a specific case, the small team on the boat has to deliver. Since my first contract, I've only been taking short contracts to fill any gaps in cruise schedules. The adventures, experiences, and financial opportunities this lifestyle offered piqued my interest.
Cruise ship doctor job description
In 2013 I began searching for ways I could change my career to reduce my workload, but not give up medicine altogether. During that time I took a cruise and looked at various jobs I could do on a cruise ship. One of the jobs I was qualified for, I thought, was to be a Cruise Ship Doctor. Overall, life as a doctor on a cruise ship can be both demanding and rewarding. Doctors get to travel to different countries while providing quality medical care, get to work in an environment with plenty of amenities and benefits, and are compensated generously for their hard work.
Life as a Cruise Ship Doctor
You would start by filing a claim with your personal insurance carrier to recoup what's covered by your health policy. Travel insurance, which usually costs between 5 and 8 percent of the total cost of the trip, would cover the rest. In addition to medical costs, you can buy trip insurance policies that cover a wide range of trip interruption and cancellation situations, as well as evacuation and repatriation of remains should the unthinkable occur. When I'm not sailing I work at Hungarian hospitals, but the good pay on the cruises means I can spend more time with my family in Hungary. We try to get people with serious conditions to land safely and on time, but sometimes it's not possible. On board, there are consultation rooms, a reception area, a waiting room, an ER, an ICU room, ward rooms, X-ray machines, laboratory equipment, and a pharmacy.
How Much Do Cruise Ship Doctors Make?
Passengers think the medical center on board a ship is maybe a Band-Aid station. In a passenger area or in an elevator, a passenger would look at my nametag [which says] “Ship’s Physician.” And it’s like, “So what do you do? Credentialing guidelines for cruise ship doctors require extensive experience and expertise in primary care, including emergency medicine. Make sure you have up-to-date insurance and any contact information for your carrier and primary care physician available, in case you're faced with an emergency. As a cruise ship doctor, you will be working closely with other medical staff, your colleagues and a team of nurses under your supervision.
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Generally with two doctors on a ship, one is working during port visits while the other is free to explore, so you’ll be able to see half of the ports on a typical cruise. It varies by cruise line, experience, and by the size of the ship you’re working on. But it’s important to note that contracts generally only last for around four months at a time, with two contracts permitted every year. There are normally two levels of doctor on a cruise ship – with senior doctors earning from $10,000 to $15,000 per month, averaging around $12,000. Junior doctors will make between $7,500 and $10,000 per month, averaging around $8,500. Cruise ship medical facilities must adhere to the standards set by the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Life
Factors such as previous ship experience, years of practice and certifications may be taken into consideration when determining the starting salary. Doctors on cruise ships are classified as emergency physicians. This means they are trained in emergency care, but they will also cover family and internal medicine. Ships that allow children will also employ doctors certified in pediatric care. Sending a patient to a local hospital is not easy and many patients don’t want to leave the ship for medical treatment.
Moreover, cardiovascular events and other medical emergencies can arise unexpectedly, necessitating quick and precise interventions. As a cruise ship doctor, being well-prepared to handle these common emergencies ensures the well-being and safety of everyone onboard, fostering a sense of confidence and trust among the ship’s community. At the end of each four months, you will take two months off before heading back out to sea to begin a new contract. It is worth noting that you must be willing to commit to a minimum of two contracts. If you want to become a cruise ship doctor, you’re going to need at least three years’ experience as a doctor, including experience working in primary and emergency care, with some anaesthetics experience too.
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The medical center is an onboard hospital, because we have to be prepared for everything. They also asked about the Hungarian healthcare system, as they were more familiar with the UK one. For this reason, having a UK medical license at the time helped my journey immensely. I'd paid a fee to swap my Hungarian license for a British one when I arrived in the UK. If you just need seasickness tablets, you can get these from the medical centre on board. There may be a small change, but in rough seas, the seasickness medication is usually given out free of charge.
Leaving the ship is very challenging, especially for elderly couples, or those traveling alone, thus, some patients prefer to remain on the ship and have the ship doctor take care of them. After talking with the ship’s doctor to find out what it was like to be the doctor on a ship, I realized that I would enjoy that life. When I arrived back home I sent in an application to a cruise line. I was promptly informed that general surgeons were not qualified to be a ship’s doctor. They only accept physicians who practice emergency medicine, family practice, or internal medicine. But you might be qualified and enjoy the change of pace, so here is what I learned about being a cruise ship doctor.
They are trained in emergency care but also need to be qualified in family and internal medicine. Equipment in shipboard medical centers includes defibrillators, cardiac monitors, external cardiac pacing capability, a ventilator, oxygen tanks, x-ray machines and lab equipment. Some lines add technology; for example, select Carnival ships have thrombolytic therapy (to break down blood clots) and pulse oximetry (to test oxygen levels). Cruise ship medical centers usually are located on a lower deck, set apart from crowded areas and close to the back-of-the-house crew facilities.
The nurse will then decide whether it requires urgent attention or give them an appointment to come within office hours. Medical treatments on cruise ships can be costly – if you need an x-ray, it will likely cost between $100 and $150. The ships will have a medical area but it will be one or two rooms at most. If a guest is seriously injured, they will be airlifted off the ship to be transported to a hospital. The requirements also state that medical care must be available 24/7 and that the medical staff must be proficient in the dominant language spoken on the ship. If you do own your own home and want to work as a cruise ship doctor, consider renting out your house (and car) for the times you are away to cover your mortgage payments.
As a medical student in Hungary in the early 2000s, I heard plenty of stories from young people who'd worked on cruises. Doctors working on this cruise line are offered a permanent contract with 12 weeks on/6 weeks off rotation pattern. They are unique in the cruise line world as they operate as a GMC-designated body, which lets you revalidate your medical license and maintain your registration. While varying sources differ on which cruise line is the best to work for, Royal Caribbean International comes out on top of several lists.
This is the fourth cruise line bought by Carnival (the others are Holland America Lines and Windstar Sale Cruises). The Royal Caribbean International fleet currently has 27 ships and sails to six of the seven continents. Look back at some of the most famous doctors in history, highlighting their accomplishments.
There’s a lot that can happen at sea, and you might be a few days’ travel from the nearest hospital. But you can’t be expected to be airlifted to land for a minor to medium injury – that’s only for patients whose life is at risk. The length of time [we’re at sea is] anywhere from three days to a week.
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