Cruise lines have always staffed medical crews who are held to high standards: American College of Emergency Physician guidelines require onboard staff to be on-call 24/7; physicians must have a minimum of three years of post-graduate experience in general and emergency medicine, or be board-certified in emergency, family, or internal medicine; all staff must be certified in advanced life support.
But today, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the job of being a doctor or nurse at sea calls for more.
“The difference between then and now is not necessarily in the foundational level of medical training, expertise, credentials, or capabilities that our providers have, but rather in an increased focus around recognizing and initiating treatment for potential SARS CoV-2 infections,” says Calvin Johnson, M.D., chief medical officer for Royal Caribbean Group.
A full return to cruising has yet to happen. But there are already big changes in the ways that doctors and nurses on cruise ships do their jobs. There are also big changes in the ways you’ll seek out care if you need it when you're back onboard. Here, a glimpse of what to expect:
Medical staff will be more involved in pre-screening protocols
Pre-COVID, medical teams often collected health information via a verbal or written questionnaire from passengers and crew, mainly in an effort to identify possible sick passengers (those with gastrointestinal complaints or those with chronic illnesses who may need more assistance on-board). Now, that pre-screening process is more rigorous, including temperature checks, assessments about potential COVID-19 symptoms, and a negative test in the days before boarding. “Sometimes, this requires further participation of the physicians in terms of determining whether somebody should enter the vessel fully free to engage in all activities, if they should go into a quarantine period, or if in fact, boarding should be denied,” explains Edward Dees, M.D., fleet doctor for VIKAND. On the medical staff's part, this'll take more effort up front, but it's an important addition to the job. “The more effort we can put forward to be as effective as we can at preventing the virus from ever getting on the ship, the better,” says Dr. Johnson.
Call-aheads, appointments, and in-your-cabin care will replace drop-in visits
If your allergies kicked up or if you felt a bit flu-ish, it used to be that you’d simply drop into a ship’s medical facility. Today? In general, you’d give the medical facility a call first. (Of course, if there’s an emergency or an accident, ships have teams in place to respond ASAP.) For minor issues or standard care, lines like Royal Caribbean are also instituting new formal appointment processes where you can book a time to be seen via phone or app. It’s an effort to mitigate risk, sure, but one that’ll also (hopefully) help people enjoy their vacations more, Dr. Johnson says. (Read: You don't have to take time away from your trip to sit in a waiting room.)