Marine Medicine Laboratory
The intensive development of society towards the use of marine resources for industry, transport, leisure, etc. raises the requirements for professional competencies and responsibilities of medical professionals working on board a marine facility or on shore. Communication with the marine environment implies specific and varied risks of disability and disease.
The Medical University of Varna is the only one among the five medical universities in Bulgaria, situated in a seaside city and as such develops the interdisciplinary nature of Marine medicine. It enables students in medical specialties to better cope with the specific challenges of the diagnostic, treatment and expertise process related to maritime health issues.
Activities planned:
Research and development require the creation of a specialized medical laboratory with a maritime medical orientation. In it with the capabilities of modern equipment and methods, the problems of marine physiology, hyperbaric medicine, urgency in marine environment and efficiency in the training of marine professionals will be explored. Particular emphasis is to ensure maritime accident safety for both affected and aid workers.
Future users of the Marine Laboratory’s capabilities are all marine industry structures and organizations with employees practicing or staying in the marine environment. For the first users of the laboratory are organizations like BRC, Medical University, training centers and crisis response services. Survey data will be useful to optimize the training of marine professionals, especially those with increased occupational risk – water and marine rescuers, volunteer teams and water sports athletes.