April 2005

I've had a very busy first few weeks. There is an amazing amount to assimilate in such a short time however the nurses and senior doctor have been wonderful and extremely patient with me. From the medical point of view, medicine is the same world wide, but it is how you deal with it that is different.

Communication is paramount and I spent much of my time learning how to contact all the appropriate personnel for shipboard processes. For example, you have to write to the port agents, medical clinics, the heads of departments of a patient and crew pursers to refer a crew member for disembarkation for a specialist opinion. This doesn't include the actual referral letter and disembarkation permission letters. The good thing is that once you've learnt it, things do speed up and I'm sure I'll be whizzing off referrals by the end of my contract.

Aside from the medical induction, there is lots to learn from the ship point of view. I'm fortunate that having been on a ship before, I have some idea of what things like port and starboard mean! I have attended three important induction courses which focus on ship safety including life boat drills, safety doors, muster stations, crew alert stations, what the sirens stand for, etc. Everyone has a specific role and it's no surprise that I'm in the medical stretcher party.

Other induction talks include environmental waste and disposal, norovirus, how to behave with guests, rules and regulations, conduct and behavior. As you can see, my brain was swelling by the end of week one. In some ways it's much harder than a first day in a new job in the NHS. At least if there is a fire in hospital you don't have to worry about it sinking!!

Then there's the social induction, like where and when to eat, what to wear, how to ring home, who to ask for money, how to get toiletries, and so on. I don't actually mind this as it is similar to when you move to a new house/town. Instead of Blockbuster it's the crew video library between 8-11pm! Again the nurses and senior doctor have been brilliant at helping me out here - they've all been there before. Finding my way around is amusing too. You have this feeling that as an officer you're supposed to know what you're doing, however, humbly asking a crew member is much better than walking round aimlessly and looking stupid.

In terms of destinations, so far this week we've been to Princess Cays, St.Thomas, St.Kitts, Barbados, Antigua, and St.Maarten. I've managed to get off the ship for a few hours at St.Thomas, Antigua, and St.Maarten. I rode a bike around Antigua which is a great way to see the island in a small amount of time, and took part in a crew event in St. Maarten - a 12 metre yacht race! (Unfortunately beaten by passenger yacht, but I'd like to think it was all part of the customer service to make them feel special!)

We've got two days at sea now and will be back in Port Everglades, Florida to drop off and pick up new passengers and start all over again. At least this time when I see the new guys it'll be me that can smile and think "phew, I survived my first few weeks and wasn't even sea sick!"