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Most ships don’t carry a doctor, which means that when someone is injured or falls ill, a crew member has to talk to a doctor only by radio or satellite link — through the Radio Medical Advice system (TMAS). How accurately and clearly the symptoms are described determines what treatment the shore-based doctor prescribes. Let’s go through how to structure that conversation in English.
Why it’s critical
The doctor ashore can’t see the patient and relies entirely on the words of whoever is relaying the information — usually the captain or the person assigned responsibility for medical care. A vague or incomplete description of symptoms can lead to the wrong diagnosis and a decision not to divert the ship when diversion was actually necessary.
Structure of a symptom report
A medical report follows a clear structure rather than a free-form account.
- Onset — “The pain started two hours ago”
- Location — “The pain is in the lower right abdomen”
- Severity — “The pain is severe / moderate / mild”
- Duration — “It comes and goes” / “It’s constant”
Key medical terms
- Fever — an elevated body temperature
- Nausea / vomiting — feeling sick / being sick
- Bleeding — loss of blood
- Swelling — an area that has become larger and puffy
- Fracture — a broken bone
- Unconscious — not awake, unresponsive
The radio medical consultation
The TMAS doctor usually asks a set of standard follow-up questions: “Can the patient walk?”, “What is the body temperature?”, “Is there any known allergy?”. Answer briefly and factually — don’t try to guess a diagnosis yourself.
The medicine chest
The ship’s medicine chest is labelled in English, so it helps to be confident with the main categories: painkiller, antibiotic, antiseptic, bandage, splint (used to immobilise a limb).
How to train this English
- Learn the contents of your ship’s medicine chest in English ahead of time, not in the middle of an emergency.
- Practise symptom reports using the onset — location — severity — duration structure on a range of hypothetical cases.
- Get comfortable with numbers and units in English — temperature, pulse, and blood pressure need to come out fast and without hesitation.
- Take first-aid training where the instruction and terminology are delivered in English.
Conclusion
Medical English on board isn’t about eloquence — it’s about the ability to pass on information quickly and accurately when someone’s health may depend on it. At Sea Service, we drill this vocabulary as its own module, so a sailor never gets lost for words exactly when every minute counts.