Imechapishwa: 01.12.2019
Now it has been almost 3 weeks that I have been here and it feels like 3 days. Time goes by so quickly here and it feels really normal now. Every morning starts with the crew briefing, where all crew members can come if they are sick. We are responsible for getting them fit for duty again, they have to report sick and inform the bosses. If crew members are absent for a longer period of time due to illness, they have to medically descend to be able to recover better at home! Afterwards, they are allowed to ascend again if they feel better. We also have to organize it when someone needs a special doctor's appointment (dentist, ophthalmologist, CT, MRI) to go shoreside. Then a transport for there and back to the doctor's office or hospital is needed. It is very important here that the crew members are well and we take care of their health. Then of course the guests come. Many of them are typically seasick, so they stay with us for a few hours and we rebuild them with infusion therapy, but there are also general things like flu, back pain, patients who have forgotten their medication at home or have fallen. We have a lot of treatment options here, from blood tests, X-rays to infusion treatments, plaster casts and a large supply of medication (which has to be well planned in advance!) We also have 4 ward rooms and 1 intensive care bed available. Emergencies here are immediately taken off the ship as soon as possible. We then have to consult with the captain to determine the fastest way to bring the patient safely and stably to land. If you're lucky, the ship is in port. There is just so much to learn, especially about organization. So far, I'm having a great time! And it was definitely the right decision! Then there's lunch break, the highlight of the day! You have so many options, for example going out and lying on the beach, shopping in the city, hiking, cycling, taking a nap, wellness oasis, fitness studio, etc. You can do so much here, even in the evening we reopen the hospital and then it starts again with the crew briefing and afterwards for the guests. In the evening, we usually go out for dinner. We have our mess hall, which is only for crew members. But we can also use the guest restaurants at certain times, depending on how busy they are, because guests always come first!!!! Here on the Stella, there is a sushi bar, burger restaurant, steakhouse, Italian restaurant, the market restaurant and a gourmet restaurant. There are also shows and parties that we can attend, but always with name tags, of course. The Black and White Party and the silent party are my favorites. But we also like to relax in the crew bar, where you can sit down, watch TV, play games or just have a after-work beer. There are so many possibilities here, just like in a small town! But in the evening, I always fall into bed exhausted. So that was a little summary of my new everyday life! More to come....