Hey community, Is IBD disease disqualify me for Merchant maritime Training?
No. The USCG doesn’t care if you occasionally fill your diapers on watch. Irritable bowel syndrome is a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act for which reasonable accommodations must be made.
I’m sorry but that is terrible advice. Reasonable Accommodation would only come into play if and after a certificate is approved/issued, and it is between the mariner and their employers, not the NMC/CG.
IBD is specifically called out in the Merchant Mariner Medical Manual as a condition subject to further review and “may be determined disqualifying”. If this person is interested in anything involving credentials with STCW this gets disclosed on the medical form and reviewed.
Could be approved, could require a waiver, could be disqualifying…like all reviewable medical conditions it depends on the specific severity and risk.
If your question is related strictly to training, then no, seems like no issue. But if your question is related to actually using that training to get a credential and working on a ship as a merchant mariner, then see above.
Your best course is to check with the NMC first. I have a reviewable condition, and in my case it was reviewed and found not to be “likely to interfere with the ability to perform assigned shipboard functions and meet the physical demands that would reasonably arise during an emergency response” and I have never had any problem getting and renewing my medical cert/credential.
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You might consider going to any doctor (the doctor that diagnosed your IBS would be best) and get a physical exam done and written up on the USCG form 719-K application form. Have the doctor attach a letter explaining why your IBS won’t interfere with your expected duties, or be disqualifying.
The you could consider sending the form in to apply for your Medical Card to get back a definitive answer: yes, no, or maybe if.