Shipboard Medical Inspections

Department of the Navy
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

The following mission statement of an Aegis cruiser was posted in the Combat Information Center (CIC): "To maintain a state of readiness in order to execute an order from higher authority." The only way to maintain readiness is through training. The tried and true method of evaluating medical readiness in the fleet is the medical readiness assessment (MRA).

Medical readiness

This involves not only how the members of the Medical Department are maintaining their own skills and spaces (i.e., equipment supplies, credentialing, health records, etc.) but also how well the ship as a whole has participated in medical readiness (e.g., cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) drills, stretcher bearer training, mass casualty drills, etc.).

The department head of the Medical Department is responsible for the medical training programs on board the ship. A valuable resource for the various medical training requirements is the leading chief petty officer, an independent duty corpsman (IDC), or the medical administrative technician (MAT). Coordination of topics, especially regarding inservice training, is encouraged between the GMO and the training petty officer. The Shipboard Medical Procedures Manual (COMNAVSURFLANT/PAC 6000.1) is a good starting point for references regarding training and may well serve as the basis for minimum training requirements. A copy of this manual will be given to surface medical officers at the Surface Warefare Medical Officer Indoctrination Course (SWMOIC) and this is also available on the Virtual Naval Hospital CD-ROM and website (www.vnh.org).

While the medical readiness assessment (MRA) is the major inspection assessing the capabilities of the medical department, medical personnel are involved in many varied shipboard inspections. These range in scope from inspections related mostly to medical (environmental health, industrial health), to those regarding primarily personnel in another department (e.g., the various engineering exams). A coordinated training program, producing well-rounded personnel, will result in satisfactory completion of the medical department's role in any shipboard inspection gaining the credibility of the chain of command. The group or squadron corpsman can be instrumental in verifying the capabilities of the medical department regarding inspections using technical assist visits (TAV). Descriptions of most inspections affecting the medical department may be found in the Shipboard Medical Procedures Manual (COMNAVSURFLANT/PAC 6000.1). "Let no man's ghost haunt me for lack of training, for the more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war."