subject: 4 Principal Responsibilities Of An Offshore Oil Rig Medic [print this page] The medic is a responsible and key person belonging to the auxiliary staff support system of an offshore oil rig. Their pay at $70,000 a year shows how important they are even if they are not qualified doctors and have worked as paramedics in on land jobs previously. In order to be a successful oil rig medic you need to have the following qualities:
*Upkeep and maintenance of the rig's sick bay is your principal responsibility and you must be forever ready to accept and treat sick workers as and when they come in. Injures and sicknesses are common in oil rigs and there is always a heavy traffic of incoming and outgoing patients. Cleanliness and sterility must always be ensured at any cost.
*You may be required to function also as a pharmacist with good record-keeping skills. This is required to maintain stocks of medicines ready to be disbursed at any moment and to keep track of who is consuming what and how much.
*You should be in a position to immediately judge when a patient can't be treated on the rig in cases of severe injury or illness and make arrangements to transfer him to a land hospital immediately. However, till the patient is airlifted to the desired hospital, you will have to accept full responsibility of his treatment.
*Mental alertness is one of the major qualities of a good medic and he is on call 24 X 7 because accidents and injuries can happen at any time of the day or night. Moreover, you will have to assess yearly medical evaluations of workers and inform the management should anything be amiss.
A medic usually needs about one to two years of training before he is able to join an offshore oil rig while paramedics need to undergo about four months to one year training. Moreover, he has to complete practical training of 1500 clinical hours in the emergency room of a hospital to get hands on experience in dealing with burn or orthopedic injuries that are so common to offshore oil rigs. Paramedics working in offshore oil rigs usually have prior experience with ambulance or rescue teams, with a pay of $10-20 dollars per hour as beginners.
However, with a little experience they can hope to join a rig at an annual pay package of $45-50,000 per annum. You get three weeks off for every three weeks' work and with a little more seniority, the pay also rises. The greatest advantage is that you will never be unemployed as there is a dearth of trained professionals in this sphere.
