SAN DIEGO — The Surface Warfare Medical Institute (SWMI) here, helps Navy Medicine increase awareness of preventable health problems and encourages early detection and treatment of disease among female Sailors serving on Navy ships. Female Sailors underway or in port can get advice or early treatment from their ship’s surface independent duty corpsman (IDC) or surface medical officer.

Women comprise more than 16 percent of U.S. Navy, and 6 percent of Marine Corps personnel respectively, making their health essential to force readiness. This also makes women’s health a critical readiness component of any shipboard medical department. SWMI helps ensure shipboard female Sailors are fit and ready to deploy so they can do their important work of keeping sea lanes free. SWMI trains and prepares surface IDCs and surface medical officers to serve on ships at sea.

Navy Medicine treats and prevents women’s health issues around the world, including ships at sea, using innovative technology and research,. The fleet ensures that its ships are equipped to support basic women’s health needs. While the depth of resources depends on the size and mission of each ship, all are equipped with emergency and routine birth control options, basic testing for sexually transmitted infections, equipment for well-woman exams and sick call examinations, and most importantly a professionally trained medical provider.

Independent duty corpsman students at SWMI are professionally trained in women’s health exams and counseling and are tested on these skills through multiple patient-simulated scenarios to ensure they are prepared to provide medical care to women in the fleet. Just as important, these shipboard healthcare providers know when certain health issues may require a higher level of care, and are trained to get those women who need a higher level of care to the right facility as soon as possible.

Navy Medicine encourages women to be proactive instead of reactive in screening for and preventing health issues. Many of the health issues women face are preventable and treatable. SWMI teaches  surface IDCs to provide women’s health education services in basic feminine care, and the frequency and need for preventative exams such as PAP smears or mammograms.

Sexual Assault is another area where surface IDCs and surface medical officers are prepared to provide support and ensure proper care. In the event of a sexual assault, each surface force medical department follows strict protocols. All IDCs on small Navy ships have the contact information of a certified sexual assault forensic exam provider. These specialized exams are available only onboard aircraft carriers, large deck amphibious ships and shore based hospitals.

Providing women’s health care can be challenging in the fleet, particularly in a deployed environment where external resources are often not available. SWMI ensures IDCs and other medical providers have been well trained to handle the vast majority of women’s health issues.

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