Cruise Ship Jobs – Chief Medical Officer or Ship’s Doctor
Cruise Ship Doctor
Known as the Chief Medical Officer, this cruise ship job is the ship’s doctor and heads the Medical Department onboard a cruise ship.
He/she is the supervisor for the entire ship’s medical crew. On most ships, there are medical crews which may include a paramedic, one or two nurses, perhaps a second physician, and in some cases, even a dentist.
Although the head cruise ship doctor supervises the whole medical staff on the ship, as an officer of the ship, the head physician reports directly to the ship’s Captain. In addition, they report to the Fleet Medical Director, or head of the medical staff for the entire cruise line.
What Exactly Does the Cruise Ship Doctor Do?
The chief medical officer or cruise ship doctor is responsible for the health and wellbeing of the ship’s passengers, as well as that of the crew and staff of the ship.
As required, they will take care of the day to day family practice medicine as well as trauma care, and perhaps stitching or other medical procedures.
The cruise ship doctor and the medical staff are responsible for dealing with an array of different medical and health issues such as:
- Ordinary illness such as sea sickness,
- Wound suturing,
- Splinting and casting,
- Basic Life Support (BLS),
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS),
- Incisions and drainage,
- Cardiac care,
- OB/GYN problems,
- Emergency and trauma care.
Educational Requirements for the Cruise Ship Doctor
A cruise ship chief medical officer must have a degree from an accredited medical school, as well as having three years experience or board certification as a Family Practice or Emergency Medical physician.
They must know how to deal with X-rays as well as simple lab tests. They will need to hold a current license and have current BLS, ACLS and other accreditation.
Other cruise ship jobs in medicine may include that of head nurse, RN or LPN, as well as other medical care specialists like paramedics, nurse practitioners or physician’s assistants.
Depending on the size of the ship and the cruise line company, there may be several nurses and other assistants such as nurse practitioners and/or physician’s assistants onboard the cruise ship, all of whom will report to the ship’s chief medical officer.
Current Cruise Ship Vacancies
Cruise Ships Doctor Vacancies – World Cruise Ship Jobs