How to become a Doctor / Private Physician
Nobody starts as a Doctor / Private Physician. The usual path starts as a Medical Officer / Yacht Medic, a role people enter from work ashore, and reaches Doctor / Private Physician at about year 1 to 3 of a yacht career.
The pathFrom no experience to Doctor / Private Physician. A typical path, not a rule.
Medical Officer / Yacht Medic
Year 0, after 5+ years in hospital. Pay from about US$6,000 a month. A registered paramedic, nurse or doctor hired aboard a large yacht to give medical care to guests and crew, often far from hospitals.
Doctor / Private Physician
Year 1-3. Pay from about US$9,000 a month. A licensed physician employed aboard a large private yacht to care for the owner, guests and crew, often on remote itineraries far from hospitals.
Before you applyWhat a Medical Officer / Yacht Medic needs, from the Medical Officer / Yacht Medic guide
Must have
- Current professional registration (e.g. HCPC paramedic, NMC nurse, GMC doctor or national equivalent)
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical certificate
- STCW Proficiency in Designated Security Duties (PDSD)
Gets you hired
- Advanced Life Support (ALS) or equivalent
- PHTLS or ITLS trauma course
- Remote, offshore or expedition medicine course
- Dive medicine course or PADI Divemaster
- MCA Proficiency in Medical Care (STCW A-VI/4-2)
Later, for Doctor / Private Physician
- Full medical registration (GMC or equivalent)
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical certificate
- Advanced Life Support (ALS)
- ATLS or equivalent trauma course
Visas
- US B1/B2 visa
- Schengen visa if you are not an EU citizen
What counts instead of yacht experienceOur advice
Captains hire a Medical Officer / Yacht Medic for pre-hospital emergency care, remote and wilderness medicine and medical stores and drug control. With no yacht job behind you, show the same skills from work ashore. For a Medical Officer / Yacht Medic, that means your qualifications and the years you have worked in the profession.
Write each job on your CV as what you did, with numbers: how many guests, how many boats, how many covers. Then list every skill below that you can prove.
- Pre-hospital emergency care
- Remote and wilderness medicine
- Medical stores and drug control
- Crew first aid training
- Dive and diving injury awareness
- Clear telemedical reporting
- Discretion with guest health
Your first stepsIn the order we suggest
Get the tickets a Medical Officer / Yacht Medic must hold
You need Current professional registration (e.g. HCPC paramedic, NMC nurse, GMC doctor), STCW Basic Safety Training, ENG1 medical certificate and STCW Proficiency in Designated Security Duties (PDSD) before a yacht can put you to work as a Medical Officer / Yacht Medic.
STCW and ENG1: what they are and what they cost →Write a first Medical Officer / Yacht Medic CV
Keep it to one page. Put your tickets and your start date at the top, then your qualifications and your work ashore, with dates.
See a Medical Officer / Yacht Medic CV example →Create your crew profile
Upload that CV and we build your profile from it. Your name and contact details stay hidden. Captains and recruiters contact you. It is free.
Create your crew profile →Apply and look for daywork
Apply to open jobs and to crew agencies, and take daywork: a few paid days on a yacht is how most first-time crew get a reference.
Medical Officer / Yacht Medic guide →Step up to Doctor / Private Physician
The usual path puts Doctor / Private Physician at year 1 to 3. Pay starts from about US$9,000 a month.
How to become a Doctor / Private Physician →
QuestionsMore in the green crew guide
Can I become a Doctor / Private Physician with no experience?
Not directly. Doctor / Private Physician is senior work. The usual path starts as a Medical Officer / Yacht Medic, and reaches Doctor / Private Physician at about year 1 to 3.
How long does it take to become a Doctor / Private Physician?
The usual path puts Doctor / Private Physician at about year 1 to 3 of a yacht career, after Medical Officer / Yacht Medic. It is a typical path, not a rule: time on busy yachts and the tickets you pass move it.
What does a Medical Officer / Yacht Medic earn at the start?
From about US$6,000 a month, by our Medical Officer / Yacht Medic guide. Most medical officers work rotation, so you are paid year round for half the time aboard. Charter tips are shared with crew on yachts that charter, but many medic posts are on private yachts where tips are small.
Let the yachts come to you
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