Guest Blog - Jordan Lin

At Red Square Medical, we’re keen to support those who have a passion for maritime medicine. While we can’t provide placements for everyone, occasionally a request pops up at just the right time and we can provide some experience and insight into our unique and specialised world. Last year we were contacted by Jordan Lin, a medical student with a love of the ocean. This is his story…

When I was a boy, my dad and I used to go fishing with a local fisherman off the Norfolk coast. I absolutely loved being on the sea and so for quite a long time, I wanted to be a fisherman. When I got a bit older I kind of forgot about this and think I may have been slightly put off by watching the TV series ‘World’s Deadliest Catch’! But I have always loved being on the water and spent a lot of time sailing dinghies; I was also a swimming teacher for children back in high school and college.

Later, I decided to study medicine and I’m now a final year medical student at the University of Bristol where I completed an intercalated degree; a Masters in Health Sciences Research. I’m now looking forward to starting work as a qualified Doctor in August. Though having spent 6 years training, my next 2 years will be spent working for the required two foundation training years that must be completed before being able to work independently as a Doctor in the UK. 

At university, I joined the VITA network which is a group dedicated to developing a health and public health approach at the heart of any response to human trafficking and exploitation. I became the blog coordinator for the organisation and you can read the blogs, including those that I have written, here: https://vita-network.com/blog/

In my spare time, I have been involved with the Bristol University Hot Air Ballooning Society and trained through the society to get my Balloon pilots licence. So, I often spend weekends during the summer flying in a leisurely fashion over Bristol and the surrounding area!

While at university, I also gained my Basic Life Support (BLS) instructor qualification and have used this to teach BLS to medical students and the public. 


Growing up in Norfolk and often being close to the sea, plus some offshore experience means that now I'm nearing the end of my studies, I am looking at ways that I might be able to combine the medical skill set that I have gained with a career in the maritime sector. 


Most of my recent time at sea has been spent onboard the tall ship Tenacious, a square rigged, 3 masted barque that takes on a crew of mixed abilities. I have volunteered as a watch leader and Bosun’s mate, so securing a placement on a luxury cruise ship was something completely different. I also helped the medical Purser, but thankfully it wasn’t too busy from a medical perspective and mostly involved managing seasickness and sorting out a few cuts and scrapes!


While organising my elective placements from medical school (where the student chooses and arranges their own placements), I contacted Red Square Medical to see if they might have any opportunities. I was delighted when they said they would try to find a placement onboard a ship, along with some STCW training experience.

 During my placement a typical day onboard Scenic Eclipse with the medical team would involve daily clinics with the Doctor and Nurse on board. Clinics run in the morning from 08.00 to 10.00 and in the afternoon from 16.00 to 18.00 and the medical team see both passengers and crew. Outside these hours, the medical team is on call 24/7 and must cover emergencies as well as clinic hours. 


The most common conditions treated onboard were sore throats and sea sickness. However, there was a case of abdominal pain in a young male. With the wide differential that these symptoms could mean, we had to make sure that we ruled out anything potentially serious or life threatening. In this case thankfully we were reassured by our questioning and thorough examination. But, we made sure that the patient came and checked in with the medical team the next day and had advice for what to do if any symptoms worsened. 


Sometimes there would be required safety drills, organised by the Safety Officer, and the medical team were often involved if the drill included medical scenarios. But I was also lucky enough to have some free time to go ashore and to enjoy the ship. 


I love being able to see the range of patients onboard. Before this experience, I only really thought that the medical staff were there for the passengers; I’d overlooked the fact that of course, the crew can be onboard the ship for many months at a time, and so the medical team is their main point of contact for medical care.


I realised that building up good relationships and getting on with the crew is vital, as if the crew don’t trust you, there is a chance that they may not come to see you about their medical concerns. As there is only one Doctor and one Nurse onboard, it could cause huge problems for the ship in terms of infection control and health of the crew, which can of course impact on safe operations. 


I was also surprised by the considerable amount of paperwork needed. From patient report forms, to medical reporting, checks and controls, medical disembarkation and medevac’s, stock management and the health declarations which must be completed for every port visited. 


 I really enjoyed being able to see the range of patients onboard. The crew and passengers were incredibly multicultural, and I enjoyed seeing such a range of people in the medical centre. It was great to learn about the differences in how conditions are managed onboard with the supplies and equipment available, compared to my usual environment in a hospital on land. Though I was surprised at the amount of equipment and tests that were available onboard and things that could be done before thinking about when to medevac a patient.  


Working on Scenic Eclipse was a great opportunity to see some of the reality of working as a medic at sea. As a medical student I also realised the isolation of being on a ship and how you can’t just walk down the hospital corridor and find another doctor to discuss things with. This made me appreciate that having a lot more experience of managing a wide range of conditions and medical emergencies would be vital before I would want to take on the responsibility of being a ship's doctor. 


I really enjoyed my time onboard and this placement did help me get a sense of the reality of working at sea but then it was time for the next challenge!

I spent 2 weeks helping to teach the STCW Medical First Aid and Proficiency in Medical Care at UKSA on the Isle of Wight, together with two of the RSM instructors. I have previously taught basic life support and quite enjoy teaching and sharing my medical knowledge so I was looking forward to finding out more about training in this area. 


The course delegates were seafarers from a range of vessels and positions, from superyachts to bulk carriers and Captain’s to deckhands. We taught about a range of medical emergencies and how to manage these onboard, so we had lots of kit to help keep the lessons very practical. It’s so important for delegates to practise using some of the medical devices before they may need them in a real-life situation. This meant that we had stretchers, tourniquets, cannulas, examination equipment and of course, many mannequins and AEDs to practise CPR. 


I enjoyed getting to hear about the different ships that the delegates were working on and then discussing how they might have to deal with different medical scenarios depending on what the condition was, what equipment they had onboard and how far offshore they were. 


My previous teaching of basic life support has been to medical students, who are then surrounded by medicine once they have been taught these skills. Teaching on the STCW course is different, in that medicine will form (hopefully) only a small aspect of the delegates day to day duties. I think that this makes it even more important that they are taught well as these courses could mean that they then become the most experienced medic onboard. If they are taught well then hopefully, they will be able to manage any medical situations that may come their way.


Teaching these courses has given me an awareness of what is expected to be known of those working at sea and the medical knowledge that they should at least be aware of. 

 I’m really into music and find that listening, playing, or singing music really helps me to reset and relax, so it won’t surprise you to find out that the best advice I can recommend for going to sea is… a good sea shanty. I just love a good sea shanty, and there’s nothing like singing a hearty round of ‘Haul away Joe’, while out on the water. If you don’t know any, maybe take along some lyrics and a speaker!


Finally, I’d like to say thank you so much to Liz and Rachel at Red Square Medical for being so welcoming and helping me to organise these placements for my elective. Plus the medical team onboard Scenic Eclipse and the students that I met at UKSA. I certainly won’t forget the time I spent on board and teaching and hope to be back on the water very soon.

Footnote from the Red Square Medical team: Jordan was an absolute pleasure to work with and really inspired us. It is so great to get to work directly with the future of medicine and see how they do things. Thanks Jordan for enhancing our experiences and of all those that were fortunate enough to benefit from the sharing of your knowledge.


We wish you all the best for your future and hope that you will remain a part of our team for many years to come!

Chest pain

by Rachel Smith • 12 February 2025
In this month's blog, as aching hearts aren’t just related to Valentines Day, we’re taking a look at chest pain! Chest pain is a common reason for calls for an ambulance or to shoreside, and frequently it’s not actually due to cardiac (heart) issues. But you will often hear Paramedics tell their patients that they have done the right thing; they would genuinely prefer to get to a patient and find the chest pain is a minor issue, than it being cardiac, and too late! Last year, we wrote this blog about 20 causes of chest pain (plus a bonus one!). Some of the conditions described are acute (sudden onset), some are chronic (long term), some need urgent attention, others not so much. But we should always take chest pain seriously and make sure a full assessment is done at the earliest opportunity to rule out anything life threatening. Typical symptoms of cardiac chest pain and/or a heart attack are:

FleetMed Support - Launch

by Rachel Smith • 29 January 2025
Get ready for something super exciting! After a full year of intense planning and meticulous preparation, we're thrilled to announce the launch of our all-encompassing medical support service — FleetMed Support! Customised Maritime Medical Solutions Whether you have a fleet of ships or a single vessel, managing medical operations can be daunting without dedicated support. This makes FleetMed Support a perfect solution for the cruise, expedition and superyacht sectors. Our approach is simple: We take the burden of medical management off your shoulders, allowing you to focus on the bigger picture. With 24/7 support, we create a customized service level agreement for your fleet, ensuring that every detail is taken care of. So what’s new and why haven’t we done this before? Well, we're not a company that rushes into things. Instead, we take the time to thoroughly research and understand what's needed, ensuring we can deliver to the very high standards we set for ourselves and maintain those standards at all costs. Let's be honest, it's the continuous pursuit of excellence, the commitment to always improve, and the understanding that there's always more to learn that drives us forward each day. This means we are now ready to launch what we believe is a truly great portfolio of customisable services. So, how could this look for your company? Working with us is straightforward and hassle-free. We start by listening carefully to your specific requirements so that we can thoroughly understand your needs, and discuss your current gaps. Once we have a clear picture, we craft a tailored plan to deliver the precise services you require. Our process is marked by clear and concise communication at every step. We believe in total transparency, ensuring that you are kept in the loop throughout the entire process. We pride ourselves on our efficiency and dedication. Once the plan is in place, our experienced team gets to work, executing the agreed-upon services with precision and care. Our goal is to deliver exceptional results without any drama, making your experience as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Vaccinations - A useful overview for seafarers

by Rachel Smith • 15 January 2025
From Flu jabs to far flung destinations… Vaccinations are a hotly debated topic across the globe, particularly after COVID-19 and the rapid response to the need for a vaccination to help reduce the burden on the health services in different countries. While the majority of healthcare workers and the general population support the ‘prevention is better than cure’ line of thinking, and therefore vaccinations, there are others who are determinedly against vaccinations for any disease, whatever the risk of mortality and death may be. In the UK, the BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) vaccination used to be given to all children in their teenage years to protect against tuberculosis. The vaccine has been so successful that TB is virtually eradicated now, and the majority of cases are due to migration. Now it’s only given to those deemed at high risk - babies and children at high risk, those travelling to high risk regions and adults coming into the UK from high risk countries. Depending on your country of origin, you should receive a range of vaccinations as a child or young adult. This will most likely include diphtheria, tetanus, polio and whooping cough, hepatitis and HIB (Influenza type B). Then MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), the pneumococcal vaccine (meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis) and HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) with a variety of boosters along the way. At the other end of the scale, the over 65s can receive vaccines for shingles, pneumococcal vaccine and respiratory syncytial virus along with flu and covid vaccines.

Red Square Medical – End of Year Review

by Rachel Smith • 30 December 2024
Reflection is an essential part of medicine and our regular followers will know that every year, we like to take a look back and assess where we started and how far we’ve come over the last 12 months. So, please join us on our whirlwind recap of 2024 as we get ready for a fabulous 2025… In 2024 we increased the number of STCW training clients to 4 organisations in 6 locations. We delivered STCW training at all levels to over 250 students. We delivered bespoke training to over 75 students onboard Superyachts and cruise ships. We delivered first aid at work or oxygen training to over 40 students, on land and on ships.

The Recovery Position - an STCW refresh

by Rachel Smith • 18 December 2024
Welcome to our December blog, which is all about the recovery position and how to manage an unconscious casualty who is breathing normally. Unconsciousness is a medical emergency as the person is very vulnerable and may not be able to manage their own airway effectively. We also need to think about the cause of unconsciousness. Is it a simple fainting episode due to illness? Is it a massive hemorrhage causing hypovolemic shock? Or is it due to some kind of external factor or injury? This blog looks at how to manage an unconscious casualty. So, if we have a casualty who is unconscious, but who is breathing normally for themselves, and we’re not suspecting a serious injury, the recovery position is the best position to use while monitoring them. The recovery position keeps their airway open and makes sure that vomit or liquid won’t cause them to choke.

Revisiting our guest blogs

by Rachel Smith • 11 December 2024
All the guest blogs! When we started adding blogs to our website back in early 2021, we did a little feature on each of our instructors of the time. They’re quite a fascinating bunch and the series proved quite popular amongst our followers. In addition to our amazing instructors, we work with some utterly incredible human beings all over the world, and the idea of sharing their stories grew and developed into what eventually became a monthly guest blog. It’s been interesting to find out more about how medical care at sea or in remote locations features in their work, and to discover a few fun facts along the way. This month, we thought that it might be a fun idea to give you a chance to go back into the archives and review all the guest blogs over the last few years! Maybe even let us know which your favourite one is?

Cayman Maritime Report 2023

by Rachel Smith • 27 November 2024
We’ve taken a look at the 2023 Casualty Summary Report from the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands (MACI) to see what kind of incidents and trends their data shows us, even with relatively small data sets, and how this may be able to transfer to our own risk assessments and actual practice. You can find the report here: Cayman Maritime Report 2023 The first thing we noted was the authors note that the data is split out into incidents. This means that one incident may include a number of events. So a collision and any resulting injury is one incident, but is reported as two events, or more, if more than one person is injured. It made us wonder whether this method of reporting by an authority represents how incidents are reported onboard and whether it should be a consideration? Of course, for any set of statistics presented at the moment, we also have to consider the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact this has on trends including that period. While essential shipping continued, the cruise and superyacht sectors reduced activity and staffing, often to a skeleton crew while anchored somewhere. So this will be reflected in the historic data sets that we analyse from 2019 to 2021 and may not accurately reflect increases and decreases during and since then. In some situations, we may need to look further back for accurate data. We also need to consider whether increases in incidents and events is also down to increased reporting - suggesting an improvement in the awareness of reporting requirements and greater engagement from the industry and individual sectors - this can only be a good development. Since 2020, the type of injury has been recorded in 8 different categories, with hand and foot injuries topping the leaderboard, closely followed by head, body, and back injuries. So if you were looking to run drills, or practise medical skills, these would be the key areas to cover. Only one death was an occupational accident, and is being investigated here: MAIB Investigations (search for case #9229607). It relates to a fall down a ventilation shaft on a bulk carrier in a Greek shipyard. The full report was still pending at the time of writing. Merchant ships are heavily regulated by a number of authorities, and the requirements for personal protective equipment and safe systems of work are enforced and applied to reduce accidents and incidents onboard. This has led to a lower reporting of incidents than in the commercial yacht sector. Could there be room for improvement here in this area? We certainly think so. Many of the hand and foot injuries reported can be career ending or life changing, but are preventable. Follow up has shown that there is a link here with injuries being sustained when inappropriate or no PPE was used. The supply and use of appropriate PPE is mandatory on vessels subject to the MLC and it’s worth remembering that some PPE can be produced in styles and designs compatible with the aesthetics of a yacht if required! On a much wider scale, a lack of transparency and standardisation globally can affect the collection of data and the issue of under reporting. While the MACI figures may be accurate, we need other accurate figures to compare them to, in order to build a bigger picture across the world as we have in aviation. From December 2024, the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) will be enforcing an amendment so that seafarer deaths will be recorded and reported annually. The MACI and Cayman Islands Shipping Registry produces a number of safety flyers that are publicly available HERE that may be useful. In summary, analysing data can sometimes result in more questions than answers. But even this can lead to interesting and important developments that result in improved safety and reduced incidents and accidents onboard. Key points to take from this report are: Use the correct PPE for the task. Employ approved systems of work and risk assessments for the task. Reporting is key for safety in the future of our industry. Enjoy a night ashore, but don’t over do the cocktails! As always, if you’d like any input on medical training onboard or ashore, or drills that you can run yourselves, please just get in touch. References: https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1145359/Increase-in-incidents-of-deaths-at-sea

James Griffiths - Guest Blog

by Rachel Smith • 6 November 2024
Welcome to our latest guest blog where we’ve been chatting to James Griffiths, General Manager of Ocean Operations for Scenic Group and finding out more about what happens behind the scenes in order to keep a fleet of luxury expedition ships running. Here’s what James told us… As General Manager of Ocean Operations, I’m responsible for the operations of our fleet which includes four ships in service with around 850 colleagues. I currently live in Mumbles, near Swansea in the UK, but due to the nature of my work I spend a significant amount of time living in Croatia. Prior to this role, I spent many years working at sea and worked up through the ranks to Captain and over the last 15 years, my main focus has been on polar expedition travel. I hold a master mariner certificate of competency in addition to a degree in engineering and a post graduate diploma in law. Part of my job is to work with our medical service provider (Red Square Medical) to ensure that our ships are offering medical services that are appropriate for their deployment, and this can often be to some of the most extreme and remote locations around the world. It’s extremely varied, though during the COVID-19 pandemic, I came ashore when our operations paused for a significant period of time. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to lead the restart of our Ocean Operations, which included setting up everything from a company to manage the ships, to selecting our crewing, medical, helicopter and submarine partners and providers, amongst many other things. Our areas of operation, and the nature of our cruises (expedition), plus having aircraft and submersibles onboard some, do mean additional elements involved in the management of these ships. You could say that this current position is more of a happy coincidence than one that I actually planned for! In some ways this is a great positive - I do think it’s possible to plan a little too much and then be disappointed if things don’t go quite the way you had imagined. But there’s no danger of that here!

Paramedic on tour - Simon Lawton heads to Mexico

by Rachel Smith • 3 October 2024
Back in February 2022, we brought you one of our very first guest blogs from Simon Lawton, a Paramedic who has swapped out his ambulance for a Superyacht! You can read the original blog here: https://www.redsquaremedical.com/superyacht-paramedic-a-guest-blog-from-simon-lawton Over the last 2+ years, we’ve followed Simon’s career, and some of you may even recognise him as he does put a Red Square Medical instructor hat on from time to time. But, as for all healthcare professionals, Simon has to keep his skills up to date. So, we asked him to tell us a bit more about how he juggles this along with a rota onboard. Here’s what he told us… I’m originally from Stoke-on-Trent in the UK and trained as a HCPC registered Paramedic. I’ve spent almost 5 years working at sea now, with almost continuous employment on three different vessels, after leaving the ambulance service in 2019. My first role was as a Paramedic/Deck hand on Superyachts, and I now work as a Medical Officer on a maritime vessel. Even before I applied to become a Paramedic, I intended to complete my studies to help find employment in a remote or offshore environment. I had always been attracted to the idea of being able to travel the world while earning a salary. Working at sea has meant that I have travelled extensively, earnt a higher salary, and have a better work/rest balance than would be possible in a role on land. Note: At the time of writing, a qualified Paramedic’s starting pay in the UK was £28,407 and Simon’s old rota was 2 days, 2 nights (all 12 hours) and 4 days off with very inflexible annual leave. This year I decided to carry out some continual professional development (CPD) at a hospital in Mexico, to keep my skills up to date. I was interested in travelling to find out more about how healthcare services are provided outside the UK and Europe. The CPD activity in Mexico allowed me to do exactly that, while caring for and treating a wide variety of patients who had either self-presented in the emergency department, or been conveyed to hospital by ambulance.

Inequalities in CPR on Women

by Rachel Smith • 25 September 2024
Welcome to our September blog, and as we all start (in the UK at least!) to think about adding a few layers for warmth, we’d like to talk about getting naked! Well, to be more specific, getting bra’s off. Fact: Women are dying because bystanders are less likely to carry out CPR on women than men. Research shows that women are 27% less likely to receive CPR than men and if a defibrillator is used, their chance of survival is affected by bra’s being left on. Most of us have never had the chance to train using a female manikin. The #BraOffDefibOn campaign aims to address the inequality in CPR for women and we’re supporting it.
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