Cruise Medicine

[braverepub]

I've seen a few threads on this, but they are all pretty old and do not answer my questions.

Most cruises want EM-trained physicians, so naturally I'm posting this here. I have several questions, and if you can answer them, that is great. Answer whatever you can please!

1. Many ship doctors get paid from $8,000-$12,000 a month. After room and board and free entertainment, how much do you speculate you've earned/saved?

2. Do you actually see traumas onboard? Or is all you really do is manage hypertension and just do sutures?

3. How many hours are you working a week on these cruises?

4. Do you get a private cabin; and how spacious is it?

5. Are you a high ranking officer on the ship?


Thanks everybody. I'm career planning right now, and since I'm getting out of residency soon, I've started thinking about my future. I plan on maybe doing cruise medicine for a month during the summer. Hey, getting paid to go on a cruise 🙂

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[deleted109597]

There is a maritime medicine section of ACEP that may be able to get you the answers you are seeking.
1. Each ship is different so some you get free room and board, others require you to pay for it. You're never going to have a good room (unless you pay for it, even on the free ships) as they would like for paying customers to get the outboard rooms with views.
2. Traumas are pretty rare. Sunburns, motion sickness, food poisoning, and simple cuts/sprains are common. You're also in the odd position to force quarantine on sick guests, as you don't want the whole ship to come with with Norwalk Virus.
3. You are pretty much on call 24/7. When the ship docks at a port, often you aren't allowed to go out and explore like everyone else as they need to find you at any given time.
4. Ship dependent
5. No, you're a contractor, from what I've read.

 

[EM_Rebuilder]

I agree that on first thought of this whole concept, it sounds like an awesome idea... in reality, as far as I understand, Dr McNinja hit most of it on the head. Its not going to be a vacation for you and expect to work hard and see the same thing over and over and over and over...

In reality, you would be better off financially even to work a few extra shifts one month, take a few weeks off the next month and just go on a cruise in a big fancy cabin. It would be much more pleasurable I think...

If you just want to do it for the experience and something to talk about at cocktail parties, I think it would be great. I just think having a focus on money/vacation is a poor reason to do it. I may be ignorant in my reponse as I know little other than some small chats with some cruise lines at ACEP...

 

[Dwindlin]

This is entirely anecdotal but I actually got sit down and chat with the doc on board my cruise ship last time I took one. It was a Carnival boat. He took the gig after he retired. He is the only doc on the boat with 3 or 4 NPs. He said he works 6months at sea, 6months home. He told me that he was currently 5months into his current stretch and had officially seen about a dozen patients, he said the overwhelming majority opt to see the NP because they are cheaper. He said the patients he did see were legitimately sick and all of them had to flown back to PR (he was in the south caribbean) when they hit a port. The leaving boat stuff is true, he said he was allowed to leave the boat one port a week (though he said he rarely does since it is the same cruise weekly for 6 months).

Again, 2nd hand from a ships doc.

 

[EctopicFetus]

http://www.cruiseshipjob.com/cruise-ship-doctor-jobs.htm

Cruise Ship Physician salary range: $6400-9200 U.S. per month, depending on the cruise line and accumulated experience with the company. Possibilities for promotion from Cruise Ship Doctor to Cruise Ship Chief Doctor position.

 

[deleted6669]

I know a few docs, pa's, and np's who have done this. often the pa/np and doc alternate call on port days so one is always on board and one can go ashore.
a doc friend of mine who did this(IM/EM) said he saw plenty of significant cardiac/cva type pathology as a lot of folks opt to go for "the cruise of a lifetime" near the end of that lifetime. he said his boat had a morgue and most cruises ended up with someone in it, many of the "found dead in their bed" variety.