Medical Person in Charge

[Capt. Lee]

I recently attended Medical Care Provider which rolled into the Medical Person in Charge at MPT in Fort Lauderdale. I have to admit that I was not looking forward to this class, but it ended up being one of the best courses that I have ever taken. We learned basic first aid of course. CPR, AED, injections, catheters, IV's, sutures, blood pressure, stopping blood loss, warning signs to different illnesses, stabilizing patients. Bernie Sutherland was the instructor. He did a really good job staying on topic and making the course fun. The class was so interesting. We had to look in each others ears, take each others BP. We practiced log rolls. The high light of the course was the two days we spent in the Broward County General. I had to work in the triage area processing patients with an RN. What a trip. 90 % of the people that came into the emergency room did not belong there. You should have seen the prescriptions that people were taking. One guy with HIV had a page and a half of crap he was taking. Another problem was language. A couple of people came in that spoke Creole. They had to have an interpreter on staff. The best was the Trauma. This one guy got ran over by a car by this lady. She accidentally hit him twice by hitting the gas instead of the brakes. His hip was broken and he had a hug gash in his left thigh. I had to clean out his wound with saline and betadine solution. He is screaming the whole time I am doing it. I had to take gauze and clean it out. The Doctor was setting up the sterile field to put the stitches in. He asked me if I had ever put in stitches. I said no. He asked if I wanted to do it. I said yes, but my instructor said NO!! I was like shit. Anyway I got to watch him stitch this guy up. A 96 year old man ran his three wheel bicycle into a car. I got to witness several cat scans. A 15 year old boy was hit by a Broward County Sheriff. He broke his femur and his humerus. His leg was screwed up bad. We had to hook up this traction device to relieve the pain on his leg. It was incredible. For anyone that sails internationally or if your company will pay for this course, I would highly recommend taking it. This class could help an individual save someone's life one day.

[Shellback]

We always suspected you were a sick man Lee, but this proves it...lol..

Naw just kidding, nice report... It sounds like you got a lot out of it and a great experience...Too bad that Dr didn't let you stitch that guy up, that would have been cool...

It sure beat my week... I had 5 days of Rules of the Road .. At least the instructor was cute, that helped...

[c.captain]

I have never quite understood the STCW requirement for Medical PIC & Medical Provider. I have been fortunate that I have not been required to be a Medical PIC on any of the ships I've served in the past 5 years including my present ship but I thought it was a required course for management level STCW certificates. What is the straight scoop on this? I might be able to get my present employer to send me to the course or at least, it would be worth a try;-)

[New Orleans Lady]

It's truely unrealistic, to think you can take a course,,,and implement what you have learned, unless you practise it day to day, with the exception of a applying a bandaid,,,and kissing the boe, boe to make it all better,,,stick to your day job. Real emergencies, require, an automatic response,,,and taking the course, does not make one reliable.

[Capt. Lee]

C-Captain,

They should send you. It is not a requirement for me either and they sent me. There was a Chief Mate off the Jim Day in there with me, too. The other guy was the Chief Mate off the UFC owner's personal yacht. I feel like it was worth my time. Especially since I got to experience some real trauma and participate in their care. That is one thing that can not be planned though. You are just at the mercy of the day. If things happen that day in the ER then it enhances the experience of the class.

[Capt. Lee]

It's truely is unrealistic, to think you can take a course,,,and implement what you have learned, unless you practise it day to day, with the exception of a applying a bandaid,,,and kissing the boe, boe to make it all better,,,stick to your day job. Real emergencies, require, an automatic response,,,and taking the course, does not make one reliable.

New Orleans Lady,

When you are in the middle of the Pacific or Atlantic or where ever you may be, traditionally it is the Chief Officer that will be administering first aid or immediate medical treatment at the direction of a doctor on land. It is all you have. Medivac is not always immediately possible and even when it is possible if the guy is dead from blood loss, airway obstruction or heart failure when the chopper arrives it isn't going to do much good. Having medical training to be able to deal with these situations when they occur could make the difference if someone lives or dies. Treatment of shock, immobilizing fractures, stopping the bleeding, CPR are all things that will not always wait for "qualified " medical professionals. Every course and qualification that improves my knowledge on whatever subject will improve my performance when the real thing comes my way. Whether or not the class makes me reliable I don't know, but our here there is no 911, the guy next to you may be the one who saves your life. You obviously don't have a clue what you are talking about.

[New Orleans Lady]

Well, in that case, everyone, should be required,to take the course,,because, that way,,,you can team up, and put your knowledge together,,,apparently,,captlee. you are an exception to the rule, and , I congratulate, you for that.,,,Just speaking from my own personal experience,,,"excuse me, if I ruffled your feathers, dear.''

[New Orleans Lady]

best practise, would be to have a medic on board.,Or, a RN, like me.

[CaptAndrew]

I don't have PIC, just Medical 1st Aid, but I really appreciate the value. I used to work in Alaska where the help might be several hours away if the chopper had to come from Anchorage. I never used all that I learned but I used some of it. The patient never got to tell me but I think they appreciated it. And truth to tell I probably made a bigger impact on a traffic accident until the EMT 's arrived. At least I had bleeding stopped, though even basic 1st aid would do that. I cannot recommend the classes enough.

[Capt. Lee]

Well, in that case, everyone, should be required,to take the course,,because, that way,,,you can team up, and put your knowledge together,,,apparently,,captlee. you are an exception to the rule, and , I congratulate, you for that.,,,Just speaking from my own personal experience,,,"excuse me, if I ruffled your feathers, dear.''

A person in this position is not running a clinic, delivering babies or removing appendixes. Most care will be given at the direction of a shoreside service that has a doctor on the line or video. Drugs do have to be administered. IV's do have to be put in. Symptoms and vital signs do have to be taken and passed on to the shoreside provider. I am not the exception. This is the way it is. I happen to work on a rig and these duties thankfully are not my responsibility, "BUT" having this training will definitely help me provide assistance if needed to our onboard paramedic. I have spoken with our medic onboard and I am able to communicate with him a little better about first responder actions and scenarios better today than before the course. I agree that more people should be required to take the course. Especially if you are on the emergency response team responsible for first aid. I do not do medical treatment on a day to day basis and obviously won't be as proficient as someone who works in a hospital or the back of an ambulance, but I do have some basic knowledge from taking the course that I did not have beforehand that makes me better equipped to deal with situations. I can tell you that I can now administer Lidocaine and put in stitches. I can put in a catheter, an IV, give an injection, take blood, clean a wound, set up a sterile field, take blood pressures and actually know what they mean. I was not able to do that beforehand. Of course I learned more than that, but these are just examples. Do you think I am better suited before the course or after the course to deal with these situations? Maybe not reliable, but I am definitely better prepared today for having completed the course. Ruffle my feathers all you want. I have been peeing standing up for a long time.

[Capt. Lee]

I don't have PIC, just Medical 1st Aid, but I really appreciate the value. I used to work in Alaska where the help might be several hours away if the chopper had to come from Anchorage. I never used all that I learned but I used some of it. The patient never got to tell me but I think they appreciated it. And truth to tell I probably made a bigger impact on a traffic accident until the EMT 's arrived. At least I had bleeding stopped, though even basic 1st aid would do that. I cannot recommend the classes enough.

That is exactly what I am talking about Capt Andrew and exactly how I feel. I look at things differently now than I did before. The first three days of the PIC course are Medical Care Provider. The remaining seven are the PIC.

[New Orleans Lady]

I stand corrected Capt Lee,,,,sounds like a fabulous course. Btw, Most men have to stand to void. Anyways,,,,good for you, and I m sure, it will make a big difference, in the field. Pardon my arrogance,as that was a knee jerk response on my part.....<my mistake, your error>

[Flyer69]

I stand corrected Capt Lee,,,,sounds like a fabulous course. Btw, Most men have to stand to void. Anyways,,,,good for you, and I m sure, it will make a big difference, in the field. Pardon my arrogance,as that was a knee jerk response on my part.....<my mistake, your error>

LOL I had to laugh at your knee jerk response.
I am taking the MPIC course at MPT in December. Not because my job requires it, but to better myself and to be better positioned in the job market.
I have been an EMT 15 years, have seen all the blood and gore and I gotta tell ya, NO Lady, when someone is hurt or sick a little knowledge is better than none at all. Not every boat can afford to hire an RN to sit around on board in case someone needs some medical response.
Do you work on boats?
Because to echo Capt. Lee's assessment, I concur that you obviously dont have a clue what you are talking about.

[Capt. Lee]

I stand corrected Capt Lee,,,,sounds like a fabulous course. Btw, Most men have to stand to void. Anyways,,,,good for you, and I m sure, it will make a big difference, in the field. Pardon my arrogance,as that was a knee jerk response on my part.....<my mistake, your error>

Thanks New Orleans Lady,

Sorry if I came across the wrong way. I am just so proud of myself for not having to squat anymore.

[Capt. Fran]

It's truely unrealistic, to think you can take a course,,,and implement what you have learned, unless you practise it day to day, with the exception of a applying a bandaid,,,and kissing the boe, boe to make it all better,,,stick to your day job. Real emergencies, require, an automatic response,,,and taking the course, does not make one reliable.

Wow. I see that further down the thread you apologize for your 'knee jerk reaction', but I'm hoping that the larger lesson isn't being lost on you here. By your logic, mariners shouldn't take firefighting training, GMDSS training, hell, why even bother with collision avoidance training since most times we all just alter course to starboard anyway. None of those skills are needed every day, right, so why bother? In a perfect world, every ship would have an emergency room nurse and doctor, a general physician, a pharmacist, a police officer, a fire station, etc. Not going to happen.
The thing about being a mariner, that no land lubber will ever understand, is that we are alone out there. Let me capitalize that for you. ALONE. And I can guarantee you that sticking our heads in the sand and avoiding potentially life-saving training because we won't have the opportunity to 'practice it every day' would be a recipe for disaster. I've personally been involved in at least a dozen or so medical emergencies, which had a happy ending because me and my team put into practice the training that we received at a MED-PRO/PIC course. So, if you think mariners take a class and forget about the training we received, quit insulting us.
And finally, as much as I think Capt. Lee is a big 'ole stud, he is let me assure you, not an exception. Mariners train all the time for worst case scenarios. We talk about it, we draw up plans, we do live and tabletop drills, and we are constantly making sure our teams are trained to respond without thinking should an emergency occur.

[anchorman]

Hell Lee, now you can check your prostate with the proper training, and not just for pure fun.

[Capt. Lee]

Hell Lee, now you can check your prostate with the proper training, and not just for pure fun.

Are you asking for a checkup? If you feel both my hands on your back...That ain't my finger!

[anchorman]

Are you asking for a checkup? If you feel both my hands on your back...That ain't my finger!

Damn, talking about coming out waiving a flag!

[seadog6608]

Thanks for starting this thread Captain Lee! I am scheduled for Med PIC in January at MITAGS and can't wait.
New Orleans Lady. A number of years ago I was on a ship where a stevedore on the dock got backed over by an 18 wheeler. Hid legs were broken in at least 6 places, he had massive trauma, ligiment and tendon damage and more than one compound fracture.. His legs were so bad I couldn't even put the air splints on them. While you are right that our training is a poor substitute for daily practice, we are 911. This happened on a dock in the US. It took about 15 minutes for the FD and Paramedics to arrive.
At least I had enough training to put a C-collar on the man and have someone fetch a couple of blankets and pillows to help guard against shock.

[jdcavo]

Medical PIC is a requirement for the vessel, not on any individual, it's not required to get a management level STCW. The person in charge of medical care, whoever it is, on a vessel needs to have it. The person i8n charge doesn't have to be formally designated such, as in an ISM program. It can be by practice alone, e.g. who has the key to the medical locker? Who gets called when someone is hurt? etc.