Surgeon's mate
Encyclopedia
A surgeon's mate was a rank in the Royal Navy
for a medically trained assistant to the ship's surgeon. The rank was renamed assistant surgeon in 1805, and was considered equivalent to the rank of master's mate
/mate. In 1807, first-rate
would have three, a third-rate
two, and frigate
s and sloop
s one.
A surgeon's mate was responsible for visiting patients in the sick bay and attending to their needs. Along with the surgeon, he would examine patients during morning sick call. He would make daily rounds of men already in the sick bay
, while the loblolly boy
would feed, wash and shave bedridden patients. The mate would prepare and administer medicines in the sick-bay, dress wounds and skin ulcers, and bleeding men who needed it. He was responsible for maintaining the ship's surgical instruments, for keeping accurate records of medicines and expenditures, for inspecting the cook's pots and pans, and for supervising the loblolly boy.
Surgeon mates had a similar shipboard status to midshipmen
and master's mate
s, and were berthed with them in the gunroom
. However, they were comparatively very well paid, earning £9 2s per month in 1815, equivalent to a lieutenant on a flagship and three times as much as a master's mate.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
for a medically trained assistant to the ship's surgeon. The rank was renamed assistant surgeon in 1805, and was considered equivalent to the rank of master's mate
Master's mate
Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master...
/mate. In 1807, first-rate
First-rate
First rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line. While the size and establishment of guns and men changed over the 250 years that the rating system held sway, from the early years of the eighteenth century the first rates comprised those ships mounting 100...
would have three, a third-rate
Third-rate
In the British Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks . Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability , firepower, and cost...
two, and frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s and sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
s one.
A surgeon's mate was responsible for visiting patients in the sick bay and attending to their needs. Along with the surgeon, he would examine patients during morning sick call. He would make daily rounds of men already in the sick bay
Sick bay
A sick bay is a compartment in a ship used for medical purposes — the ship's hospital.The sick bay will contain the ship's medicine chest which may be divided into separate cabinets such as a refrigerator for medicines which require cold storage and a locked cabinet for controlled substances...
, while the loblolly boy
Loblolly boy
A loblolly boy on a warship was a non-professional assistant to the ship's surgeon. In Tobias Smollett's 1748 novel The Adventures of Roderick Random, the first to describe Royal Navy life in detail, the protagonist Random was made a loblolly boy upon entering the Royal Navy, and ultimately...
would feed, wash and shave bedridden patients. The mate would prepare and administer medicines in the sick-bay, dress wounds and skin ulcers, and bleeding men who needed it. He was responsible for maintaining the ship's surgical instruments, for keeping accurate records of medicines and expenditures, for inspecting the cook's pots and pans, and for supervising the loblolly boy.
Surgeon mates had a similar shipboard status to midshipmen
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
and master's mate
Master's mate
Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master...
s, and were berthed with them in the gunroom
Gunroom
A gunroom is the junior officers' mess on a naval vessel. It was occupied by the officers below the rank of lieutenant, but who are not warrant officers of the class of the boatswain, gunner or carpenter. In the wooden sailing ships it was on the lower deck, and was originally the quarters of the...
. However, they were comparatively very well paid, earning £9 2s per month in 1815, equivalent to a lieutenant on a flagship and three times as much as a master's mate.