Fnopi: "On the Vespucci ship, the nursing profession is increasingly specialized"

Di Tuccio (Fnopi): "It does not allow helicopters to land, so during long crossings there is a need for personnel ready to deal with any emergency"

Twenty years later, on the eve of June 2nd - Republic Day - and the conclusion of the round-the-world trip of the historic sailing ship of the Navy, Sandro Di Tuccio, a nurse, 53 years old, member of the Fnopi Nurses' Register Commission and president of the Order of Macerata, tells what it means to be a military nurse and, above all, what it means to practice the profession on a ship that travels the globe and has very little contact with dry land. Having enlisted in 1991, after finishing high school, Di Tuccio graduated as a nurse and immediately began his experience of sailing until, in 2001, he boarded the training ship Amerigo Vespucci, within the healthcare team composed of four nurses and three doctors, including a surgeon and an anesthetist.

"The round-the-world trip lasted a year. There were about 450 people on board. I was in charge of both the nursing and clinical pathology departments, because - the nurse says - each of us had a double specialization. The Amerigo Vespucci is a ship that does not allow helicopters to land, so on long crossings you need personnel ready to deal with any emergency. On the crossing from Honolulu to Polynesia, we spent 47 days in the Pacific Ocean: here no one could reach you for 10 hours. Inside the sailing ship, there is an operating room, a radiology studio and a clinical pathology studio. I happened to have to manage the beginning of appendicitis and a small surgical operation with my colleagues, but the ordinary activity was daily focused on trauma, suturing and plaster casts, given that the crew was constantly engaged in manual activities".

Among the indelible memories, Di Tuccio places "certainly the departure, it is heartbreaking. It is a beautiful but very difficult experience. In my case I left my small children and in some periods of navigation I spent 40 days without being able to communicate, not even with satellite: I was in the middle of the sea and I lived in limbo". An aspect, this, that can divert towards other professional careers. Together with other critical issues. "The biggest - explains Di Tuccio -, to date, is represented by the lack of recognition of the rank of officer, to which, for example, pharmacists and psychologists are entitled. We have nurses with degrees and with a PhD anchored to the role of marshal, even though they are recognized as officers all over the world. It is a problem that must be solved because it clearly discourages colleagues from starting the career or pushes them to leave it. And it is truly a shame, because it can give you so much, both humanly and professionally".

"Being part of the crew of the most beautiful ship in the world is a huge privilege and makes you proud of what you do every day. Here, fraternal friendships and unbreakable bonds were born and I lived experiences that today characterize my approach to the profession. I bring with me a deep sense of duty and the ability to always find a solution, even when you are alone" he concludes.