Textbook of Maritime Medicine

Ideally, a maritime physician should have sailed with a ship. He has to feel, hear and smell life on board. He should see the way seafarers live on board and the way they work. Experience the psychological strain of watch systems, feel the physical strain of some work on board and the monotony in other tasks. The elements that build stress on board, the short passages between ports, the numerous tasks to be done while in port etc…

At least the maritime physician should have a good idea about the different tasks on board ship. He should have insight in the functional demands of each task. A seafarer’s physician must have a profile of each function on board and must know particular hazards for health and wellbeing in each of these jobs.