This past week, I undergone a mandatory seaman medical exam as required by my company. As usual, it is needed for deployment for my next contract. I expected it to be a normal medical exam with no glitch but i was totally wrong. Almost every test turns out the way I never expected it to be. But its fine since I do not have an urgency to embark as early as possible.
Few reminders I like to point out. First, seaman under 40 years of age will undergo medical exam once every 2 years. And seaman over 40 years of age will undergo a yearly medical exam before deployment. So given this time frame, one shall prepare for a thorough medical examination once due.
Preparing for seaman medical exam
Some say we should not be preparing for anything when undergoing medical exam. I disagree to this. There can be implications if one will not prepare for this one. Sure healthy lifestyle is very very rare practice, we shall attempt to be as healthy as possible. However, I understand very well that foods we eat onboard can sometimes be very unhealthy. Events like Christmas, Birthdays and the occasional Sabado nights are all but unhealthy foods. As a result, it is your duty to refrain or to minimize unhealthy food intakes while under contract. Consider long term effects of eating unhealthy foods together with some sleepless nights due to ship operations or bad weather.
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If we cannot attain a healthy lifestyle while we are onboard, we shall at least attempt to be healthy here on land. On vacation we can sleep well, we can eat what we want, we can exercise at our own free will. So therefore, the best time to prepare for seaman medical exam is if we’re on vacation.
Discipline is key. If your dreams are too big, you cannot allow yourself to fail. And this seaman medical exam is part of our path to success. Not medically fit means no employment. So we have to prepare for this. On the bright side, we can monitor the status of our health once we undergo medical exams. However, some clinics cannot be trusted and therefore the need of third opinion is needed to validate their result.
What tests exams are needed to be done:
- Laboratory Tests: Urine, stool samples, blood, blood chemistry and composition.
- X-ray and Ultrasound Tests: condition of internal organs including liver, gallbladder, lungs and heart.
- Audiometry: Ability to identify sounds in different decibels.
- Optical: Eye condition including Ishihara test. If you have spectacles (glasses) already, bring it.
- ECG Test: to determine heart rhythm if it is still in normal range.
- Basic medical exam tests: Includes blood pressure, height, weight measurement, speech, etc.
- Physical Exam: Patients overall physical condition.
- Dental Exam: Condition of patients teeth.
- Psychological Exam: Mental health condition of the patient.
There can be more tests needed as required by your company or principal. Normally, seaman medical exam can be done in 2 days if all goes well. If not, make sure to prepare extra cash as medicines and/or operation might be needed to clear you from any glitch found during your exam. Also, brace for delays in releasing your medical exam result as clinics will not declare you fit if everything is not cleared.
Some of the glitch that a seaman will most likely to encounter:
- Laboratory – high SGPT levels or commonly known as fatty lever.
- Ultrasound – gallbladder polyp/stone. (0.9cm below needs no removal, 1cm up requires removal/surgery)
- Optical – near/far sighted. You will be given correctional glasses.
- ECG – abnormal heart rhythm.
- Dental Exam – cleaning / pasta / removal of teeth.
Make sure to monitor your food intake, sleep and mental health. You can enroll into fitness gyms to help you with your diet/physical exercise or you can do it yourself. It is important to keep our health a top priority because if not, we might not be able to get onboard ship for our next deployment.