​Maritime medicine is a special area. Maritime medicine is not a regular medical specialty, but includes special knowledge in a host of different medical areas and in addition thorough knowledge of the industry and the way it operates is necessary. Certification of maritime workers, providing medical advice to the maritime industry and to seafarers requires a kind of knowledge and knowhow that is not a part of standard medical curricula. Physicians who want to serve within maritime medicine must supplement their knowledge and skills by attending appropriate courses.

Course for Seafarer’s doctors

We offer a basic course in maritime medicine for physicians. The aim of the course is twofold – general introduction to maritime medicine and education as certified seafarer’s doctor.
Following a recent review, a single course is offered to seafarer’s doctors practicing outside of Norway. This course is a combination of the previous basic and refresher courses and meets the requirements of the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA). In accordance with the Norwegian Regulations of 5 June 2014 No. 805 On the medical examination of employees on Norwegian ships and mobile offshore units, Section 7, prior to approval by the NMA, a seafarer’s doctor must successfully complete an approved course in maritime medicine. The course provided by the Norwegian Centre of Maritime and Diving Medicine is approved by the NMA. The new Regulations of 2014 increase the authority and the obligations of the certified seafarer’s doctors, and the course is regarded as important for professional reasons in addition to being a requirement according to the Regulations.

Course information

The duration of the course is three days. Attendance at all of the lectures is compulsory in order to successfully complete the course. The course fee includes lunch and coffee breaks for the entire course. Accommodation is not included and must be booked individually. Distance learning of approximately 11 hours must be completed prior to attendance on the course. This includes the preparation of two clinical cases for discussion during the course. A pretest multiple choice examination must also be passed before attending the taught course. The taught course is 20 hours. A final course test must be passed. The course compendium, clinical cases for preparation prior to attendance at the course and the pre-test will be sent on e-mail as soon as registration is received.

Obtaining approval as an NMA certified seafarer’s doctor

All doctors are welcome to attend this course whether or not they wish to seek approval as a seafarer’s doctors from the NMA. It must be noted that attendance and successful completion of this course does not guarantee approval as an NMA certified seafarer’s doctor. The approval process starts with an assessment of the needs for another doctor to be approved in the country or region of concern. If this is considered necessary, a doctor will be approved, provided necessary competence is documented – including the successful completion of a mandatory course. If the Norwegian Embassy does not regard an additional doctor necessary, approval cannot be guaranteed, even if the course is passed. We recommend that any doctor who seeks approval as an NMA certified seafarer’s doctor contacts the relevant Norwegian Embassy to explore whether he or she can expect approval.

More information

More information can be obtained from course coordinator Anne Gurd Lindrup including attendance fee, date and location for planned courses. anne.gurd.lindrup@helse-bergen.no

Basic Course for Petroleum Doctors

We offer a basic course in petroleum medicine for physicians. The aim of the course is twofold – general introduction to petroleum medicine and education as certified petroleum doctor.

The Basic Course for Petroleum Doctors shall provide necessary competence to be certified and work as a petroleum doctor pursuant to Regulations of 20 December 2010 No 1780 regarding health requirements for persons working on installations in petroleum activities offshore. The course is in accordance with the national curriculum laid down by the Norwegian Directorate of Health. The Norwegian Directorate of Health also approves the course.
The duration of the course is two days. Attendance at all of the lectures is compulsory in order to successfully complete the course. The course fee includes lunch and coffee breaks for the entire course. Accommodation is not included and must be booked individually. Prior to attending the taught course distant learning of approximately 14 hours must be completed, a multiple choice pretest passed and some clinical cases must be prepared as a basis for discussion later in the course. The course participants must be prepared to present the clinical cases orally. The taught course is 14 hours. A final course test must be passed. The course compendium, clinical cases for preparation prior to attendance at the course and the pre-test will be sent on e-mail as soon as registration is received.

More information

More information can be obtained from course coordinator Anne Gurd Lindrup including attendance fee, date and location for planned courses. anne.gurd.lindrup@helse-bergen.no

Refresher Course for Petroleum Doctors

For re-approval as a petroleum doctor, participation in a refresher course and passing the course test is necessary. The training aims to maintaining the necessary competence for the continued work as a petroleum doctor in accordance with the Regulations of 20 December 2010 No 1780 regarding health requirements for persons working on installations in petroleum activities offshore. The course is in accordance with the national curriculum laid down by the Norwegian Directorate of Health. The Norwegian Directorate of Health also approves the course.
The duration of the course is one day. Attendance at all of the lectures is compulsory in order to successfully complete the course. Prior to attending the taught course distant learning of approximately 10 hours must be completed, a multiple choice pretest passed and some clinical cases must be prepared as a basis for discussion later in the course. The course participants must be prepared to present the clinical cases orally. The taught course is 9 hours. A final course test must be passed.

We are in dialogue with the Norwegian Directorate of Health to look at the possibility to provide one course suitable for both doctors applying for approval for the first time and for those requiring a refresher course. We do the same for seafarers' doctors and that works very well. The Norwegian Directorate of Health has given us positive feedback to merge these two courses and we will start this work this autumn (2022). Our plan is to arrange the first course August 2023. . If your approval expires before that, you can apply for an extension of the current approval until you have been on the course. The application is sent to advisor Senad Krpo by email: fmroskr@statsforvalteren.no    

More information

More information can be obtained from course coordinator Anne Gurd Lindrup including attendance fee, date and location for planned courses. anne.gurd.lindrup@helse-bergen.no ​