????Question about the Ship Doctor????

[carribeansol]

My husband and I were talking about the ship's Doctor and just ho much care he can provide. We have never had to use the ships doctor so have not even seen the offices. This made us curious as to just what kind of care can they give?

 

Can they:

 

Set a broken bone?

 

Do simple blood work like a CBC?

 

Give a blood transfusion?

 

Treat the common cold or Flu?

 

Stitch up a major cut?

 

Has anyone had any experiences?

 

I think I only met one Ship's Doctor and it was on the beach in a lepard bikini. He was hot....I was young.....I dreamed......Nothing happened:eek: But he was a playboy on the beach. It made me laugh as it was so "Love Boat".

[Krazy Kruizers]

My husband and I were talking about the ship's Doctor and just ho much care he can provide. We have never had to use the ships doctor so have not even seen the offices. This made us curious as to just what kind of care can they give?

 

Can they:

 

Set a broken bone? Yes - if it is a minor break -- there are some breaks that may require surgery which he can;t do on the ship.

 

Do simple blood work like a CBC? Don't know

 

Give a blood transfusion? No

 

Treat the common cold or Flu? Yes

 

Stitch up a major cut? Yes

 

Has anyone had any experiences? Yes

 

I think I only met one Ship's Doctor and it was on the beach in a lepard bikini. He was hot....I was young.....I dreamed......Nothing happened:eek: But he was a playboy on the beach. It made me laugh as it was so "Love Boat".

 

A few years ago I had a bad fall on HMC. The ship's doctor was not available but the crew doctor was. She took exrays of my knee and leg to make certain that nothing major had been broken.

[Boytjie]

My ship doctor experiences has all been related to ear problems and scuba diving - and on both cruises I saw the same doctor! He was also on our last cruise. :D The second time I saw him he correctly diagnosed minor trauma and advised me to see my own ENT when I got home. He also had good advice to prevent future problmes. His diagnosis and advice was confirmed by my own ENT. On the last cruise after boarding I ran into him and joked that I might seem him again for my ears but this time around I had no issues.

[Randyk47]

I think I've met and chatted with just about every ship's doctor on our cruises. I don't remember each and every one of them but the vast majority were board certified emergency/trauma specialists. As such they can do a lot of things from surgery to relatively routine care. The last one on the Veendam was the head of emergency medicine at a major Chicago hospital and a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Chicago. I'm often contacted once on board as I'm listed as "Dr" but I'm a clinical psychologist with a PhD so not much help to the ship's doctor.

 

My ex and I did participate in a "bright star" on the Ryndam back in 1995. My ex was a nurse administrator and a certified emergency room nurse. Even though I'm a PhD shrink I do have advanced training in advanced cardiac life support. Purely by chance we happened to be waiting to get on an elevator and when the door opened a gentleman literally fell out of elevator. My ex and I started life support and were quickly replaced by the doctor and staff. Unfortunately the gentleman did not make it.

[Himself]

The Ship Doctor is always a certified Dr. In my roll I have met many of them. There is usually a crew Doctor from the Philipines and I have met most of them. The ship Doctor that the PAX see is on like the priest and is only on for one or two voyages.

[xxoocruiser]

The Ship Doctor is always a certified Dr. In my roll I have met many of them. There is usually a crew Doctor from the Philipines and I have met most of them. The ship Doctor that the PAX see is on like the priest and is only on for one or two voyages.

 

If by "CERTIFIED" you mean Board Certified, this is not CORRECT. Cruise Ship doctors are independent contractors hired for the cruise line by an outside service. The main requirement is that they hold a medical degree from a known international or USA college or university , a current valid international or USA medical and have fluency in English. Having a medical license does not mean the doctor is board certified. Board certification is a whole accredidation process that is not required in most countries oustide of the USA. In general most cruise ship doctors have their medical degrees from non-USA medical schools and are not board certified. However on occassion you finr a a USA Board Ceritified Doctor and from a very well know USA medical institution.

The cruise line doctor and infirmary are most equiped to handle the basic emergencies, suchs a sea sickness, cold, flu, sprain or broken bone. In a major emergency they are generally equiped to stablisze the passenger before transporting to the nearest Hospital. That's why it's important that passengers have travel insurance which includeds medical and evacution coverage.

[oliverbc]

I have visited the clinic twice and found the staff very professional and skilled. They have all been north american. I have been on cruises where emergencies have taken place and passengers have been removed once by boat after we turned around from a port and once by air. Talking to family after everything was handled very well with good results. Feel comfortable that your care is in good hands but as the last person wrote always carry travel health insurance.

[Love Cruises]

On our 33 day cruise on the msROTTERDAM in January I caught the horrible respiratory cold that was going around. Some of us called it the "CRUISE CRUD". I went to the doctor and he was extremely professional as well as his nurse. The nurse told me ahead of time that he was not a doctor who liked to prescribe antibiotics but treated the ailment in another way. He prescribed steroids and gave me an inhaler since the cold was giving me asthmatic systems. This was one of the worst colds I have ever had and glad I am finally over it. I hope others on the cruise after us didn't get it!

 

I have to share this cute story... while waiting to meet with the doctor a very young Indonesian waiter came in to see the doctor for a "pimple" on his face. The nurse/doctor looked at it in the waiting room and jokingly asked the boy "didn't he ever had a pimple before?" and the waiter responded "no". The doctor insured him it was just an acne problem and gave him some cream to apply to it. OH TO BE SO YOUNG AGAIN !

[xxoocruiser]

I have visited the clinic twice and found the staff very professional and skilled. They have all been north american. I have been on cruises where emergencies have taken place and passengers have been removed once by boat after we turned around from a port and once by air. Talking to family after everything was handled very well with good results. Feel comfortable that your care is in good hands but as the last person wrote always carry travel health insurance.

 

Just because the doctor may be from North America, it shouldn't be assumed that that their medical degree is from a USA medical college/university or are board certifiied, as being North American covers a broad spectrum. It's also should not to be assumed that just becuase a doctor may have been educated and licensed outside of north america that they're not a good doctor.

[Jemima]

xxoocruiser, Your statements don't match what has been reported on this board in the past. They also don't match the requirements listed for passenger physician on a HAL ship.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I don't know if the HAL infirmary can do a complete blood count (CBC), but I do know they can provide INR testing for patients on blood thinners.

[whogo]

MEDICAL FACILITIES & SERVICES

Each Holland America Line ship has an onboard Medical

Center staffed by licensed physicians and critical care nurses.

While not a full-service hospital, the Medical Center is well

equipped to handle most emergencies, as well as routine

medical procedures.

A customary fee will be charged for services and medications

dispensed (with the exception of meclizine for seasickness,

Tylenol® and aspirin, which may also be dispensed at the

Front Office). If you become ill or injured during the voyage

and your diagnostic and/or care requirements exceed the

capabilities of the Medical Center, you will be transferred to

medical facilities ashore. Please note that Medicare and many

health insurance plans DO NOT cover the cost of medical

care at sea, in foreign countries, or for air evacuation. For

this reason, guests are encouraged to obtain travel medical

insurance prior to travel.

If you have a chronic medical condition, please bring a recent

 

From my 2009 HAL cruise brochure.

[IRL_Joanie]

My husband and I were talking about the ship's Doctor and just ho much care he can provide. We have never had to use the ships doctor so have not even seen the offices. This made us curious as to just what kind of care can they give?

 

Can they:

 

Set a broken bone?

 

Do simple blood work like a CBC?

 

Give a blood transfusion?

 

Treat the common cold or Flu?

 

Stitch up a major cut?

 

Has anyone had any experiences?

 

I think I only met one Ship's Doctor and it was on the beach in a lepard bikini. He was hot....I was young.....I dreamed......Nothing happened:eek: But he was a playboy on the beach. It made me laugh as it was so "Love Boat".

 

 

I can talk with personal experience over the course of 10 days seeing the Ship Passenger Doctor on the Westerdam beginning on 9 February 2010 through 19 February 2010.

 

I accidentally let the verandah door (300+ pounds, spring loaded) slam shut with my left hand latched into the door. Stateroom Stewards responded quite beautifully and took me by wheel chair to the ship's Medical center where I was met with a very efficient nurse who reassured me of the excellent qualifications of both the Passenger Doctor and the Crew Doctor. Passenger Doctor was a Trauma Specialist and Crew Doctor was an Emergency Room Specialist.

 

Doctor had xrays taken there in the medical center, then she put 6 stitches into the second finger of my left hand (after local injections and blocks). She also prescribed an appropriate antibiotic (cipro (yes, the same one used for anthrax) and tested my INR (blood levels) every other day to insure that my coumadin (blood thinner) levels stayed in their range.

 

She did say that if I'd had to have the finger amputated they would have had to evacuate me off the ship to a hospital.

 

But as to all the other questions you asked for, in anything but the worst case scenario (severe bone break, amputations, etc.,) yes, the ship doctors will be able to take care of you!!

 

I was not charged for any of the medical care that I received because the injury, though totally my fault, happened aboard the ship.

 

Joanie

[carribeansol]

Thanks for all the replys!

 

We have cruised many times and never gave it a thought. Seeing the doctor is not something that I antcipate happening. I know emergencies happen and be prepared with insurance.

 

IRL_Joanie- I hope your finger has healed. I went back and read your review. It sounds like they treated you very well.

[docksider21]

I visited the Volendam infirmary.

Was seen by the crew physician and

the ship's physician.

 

All went rather well. Very good bedside manner.

[Typhoon1]

IRL_Joanie- I hope your finger has healed. I went back and read your review. It sounds like they treated you very well.

 

The best part, she never was charged anything.

[TMWeddle]

We visited the ship's doctor on the Zuiderdam in February. He was an emergency room doctor from New York. We were very impressed by him and by the three nurses with which we came in contact - they were all great!

[galipemi]

Just because the doctor may be from North America, it shouldn't be assumed that that their medical degree is from a USA medical college/university or are board certifiied, as being North American covers a broad spectrum. It's also should not to be assumed that just becuase a doctor may have been educated and licensed outside of north america that they're not a good doctor.

 

You're absolutely correct. And for many cruise lines, they do accept internationally accredited physicians. However, HAL will only bring on a passenger doctor (different from the crew doctor) who is licensed in the US or Canada and is currently practicing, normally someone with an ER/Trauma background.

[IRL_Joanie]

Thanks for all the replys!

 

We have cruised many times and never gave it a thought. Seeing the doctor is not something that I antcipate happening. I know emergencies happen and be prepared with insurance.

 

IRL_Joanie- I hope your finger has healed. I went back and read your review. It sounds like they treated you very well.

 

Caribbeansol, yes my finger healed beautifully, thank you for asking. I saw my family physician this past Friday and he cannot believe how good it is doing. He said he had expected nerve damage and was very surprised at the job done by the doctor.

 

By the way for all HAL cruisers, if you do have a medical problem on board a HAL ship, they will send your medical records to your physician if you give them the name and address. I did not know the complete street address, other than the street, city and state, but yet Friday my family physician had ALL the medical reports from my cruise:D

 

Joanie

[peug]

My family doctor told me he had dreams of working on a cruise ship. I checked out the requirements for a "passenger" doctor who is on for a couple of weeks and they are required to have current emergency medicine certification. It didn't say what country it had to be in but I assume it is the doctor's home country.

[funlovin'cruiser]

Passenger doctors are required to be currently practicing in the US or Canada and must be ER or ICU certified. The same is true for the lead medical officers (the head nurse that manages the entire infirmary and all of the staff there - including the doctors). I met the traveling lead medical officer trainer on my last Ryndam cruise. Her name is Linda from Missouri and she had to have at least 5 recent years of either ICU or ER on land and be certified in North America before she came to work for HAL. The LMOs are actually employees of HAL though, not like the passenger doctors who are actually only on for a cruise or two with the same status as the guest entertainers :) The crew doctors are all from the Philippines and also are ER/ICU docs. They will see guests when the passenger doctor is not available but they are extremely busy with crew.

[bob brown]

This is an interesting thread. I was aware of the 'temporary' status of the ship's doctors on short contracts, but i was under the impression that they were also there for the crew. I did not know there was a permanent ship's doctor in addition for the crew.

As mentioned, in emergencies, the doctor will stabilize the patient, and arrange for evacuation if necessary. If I'm not mistaken, years ago, ocean liners like the Cunard Queens, had complete hospitals on board capable of performing almost any emergency surgery, due to their mostly mid ocean location, far from shoreside help.

Recently, there was a case of a teenage girl, stricken with a ruptured appendix on a Princess cruise. The ships doctor thought it best to transfer her to a hospital for the vital surgery, but the ship was located far from a suitable hospital on the Mexican coast. What they did arrange was for the USS Ronald Reagan to rendezvous with the Princess ship and transfer the passenger to its complete hospital. The passenger surgery was performed successfully, and the passenger came out fine.

[pammypoo]

From HAL?Windstar Medical Website:

Our minimum requirements are as follows:

· Resident of North America, with valid passport

· Graduate of accredited school; licensed to practice in U.S. or Canada

· Board certification in emergency medicine (U.S.) or FRCPC or CCFP-EM (Canadian)

preferred; or board certification in internal medicine or family practice with at least 2 years

of recent (within the past 5 years) post-graduate ER experience. Will consider any nonboarded

MD with comparable ER experience.

· Current ACLS or FACEP/ABEM certification. ATLS certification also required for

applicants not board-certified in Emergency Medicine.

· Ability and willingness to give IV thrombolytics to MI patients.

· Strong clinical and procedural skills, including but not limited to: intubation, surgical

airways, central line placement, suturing, conscious sedation, chest tube placement,

EKG, lab and X-ray interpretation, reduction of dislocated hips or shoulders, casting and

splinting of extremity fractures.

[luvcruisn']

The crew doctors are all from the Philippines and also are ER/ICU docs. They will see guests when the passenger doctor is not available but they are extremely busy with crew.

 

Some years ago my brother, who is a physician trained in Canada, worked on several cruises on different HAL ships as one of the ship's physicians. At that time, he served as the crew physician, and also saw passengers. There was also another physician on board who treated the officers, such as doing their annual physicals. My brother said that job was easier than his job, as there were always several crew injuries, and illnesses onboard.

[PROCRUISE]

Thanks for all the replys!

 

We have cruised many times and never gave it a thought. Seeing the doctor is not something that I antcipate happening. I know emergencies happen and be prepared with insurance.

 

IRL_Joanie- I hope your finger has healed. I went back and read your review. It sounds like they treated you very well.

 

As an ER/Trauma RN I have toured the infirmaries on HAL Eurodam and CCL Dream. Rest assured that the doctors and nursing staff are well trained in emergency medicine though not many are American. The doctors and nurses work as a team and can intubate and maintain care on a critically ill or injured passenger until a close port is arrived at or the passenger is air transported off the ship. Speaking for the nursing staff on these ships, they are ACLS and PALS certified and usually CEN or CCRN certified with a ICU or ER backround. If the infirmary has no passengers/crew members waiting to be seen on your next cruise, stop in and say thanks to these medical professionals-you'll be impressed!