Medical training of seafarers: International Maritime Health Foundation (IMHF) Expert Panel Consensus Statement

Abstract

Background: Medical emergencies and on-going medical conditions on board may seriously impair seafarers' health and safety, and also negatively impact on future work prospects for seafarers. When a seafarer gets ill or injured on a ship, medical treatment often relies on the competences on his colleagues on board. The aim of this project was to establish a consensus-based minimum standard for medical education for seafarers, in order to ensure competency for adequate management of ill-health on board. Materials and methods: International Maritime Health Foundation (IMHF) conducted a workshop on medical training of seafarers. A research-based approach to gain consensus on core learning outcomes/competences developed by the Tuning Project, has been used. This method was used by Tuning (Medicine) to gain consensus on core learning outcomes for primary medical degrees (Master of Medicine) across Europe. Results: The result of the project is a set of learning outcomes/competences in medical training for merchant seafarers. Conclusions: The project resulted in a set of learning outcomes/competences on medical training of the seafarers that will be submitted to the relevant bodies of International Maritime Organization (IMO) in the process of the development of model courses 1.13, 1.14 and 1.15.