Cruise Ship Jobs
Doctors are primarily responsible for providing individualized outpatient, inpatient and ICU care for guests and crew. Doctors consult both crew and guests, providing timely, safe and evidence-based assessments, formulating differential diagnoses and treatment plans, performing clinical interventions and procedures, and coordinating logistics of referrals and evacuations.
1. “What’s it like working as a Cruise Ship Physician?”
The medical team that will be working on board with you is based on the size of the ship and itinerary, the majority of the ships have 2 doctors, small ships have 1 doctor and the biggest ships have 3 doctors. We have from 2 to 4 nurses depending on the size of the vessel and some of the biggest ships have 2 paramedics on the team as well.
Every day, the whole team needs to attend two clinic times, about two to three hours in the morning and again in the afternoon. It is similar to a walk-in clinic or a small emergent/urgent care unit. The doctors split on-call shifts of 12 hours, either days or nights. When they’re on-call they are not allowed to disembark the ship at ports of call, but they rotate and arrangements can be made between them. Outside of clinic hours, only the on-call physician is required to be available for calls. If there is an emergency call, the whole team should assist, regardless of who is on call and what time of the day it is. This is invariable through the weekdays and goes on for four months while they are on board.
Nurses and paramedics cover 24/7 first responder duties and doctors take turns being first on-call or the doctor role.
The clinical hours in most of the ships are 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon when the ship is at sea. When the ship is in port clinics are usually 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon.
“How long does the recruitment process take?”
Once you accept your offer of employment the time to become ready to board your first vessel can vary depending on how quickly you can attend the required certificates and immigration documents in your country. The average time it takes to complete is between 1 to 3 months.
“What about salary and benefits?”
Compensation Package:
- USD $10K monthly (tax-free *)
- Medical protection
- Flights to and from the ship from home country
- Accommodation (Single cabin with private bathroom)
- Food on board
- Access to ships’ amenities and entertainment
- Free gym access and crew welfare program
- Cruise benefits
- Laundry
- Stewarding services
- Discounted prices onboard shops and SPA.
The contract length is 8 months. You will be working 4 months and then will have 4-8 weeks off (unpaid) in your home country, then 4 months working and another 4-8 weeks off (unpaid) back to your home country and so on.
Please note: You must commit to completing at least two four-month contracts within twelve months
“ What experience and qualifications do I need to apply?”
Doctor applicants must hold a Medical Degree and current registration and licensing with an appropriate governmental or national regulatory body.
Applicants must have at least three years post graduate clinical experience in emergency medicine, acute care or ICU, and most recent work experience should be in a clinical setting.
Experience and certification in point of care ultrasound is preferred. Additional requirements include:
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- A valid accredited ALS/ACLS certificate prior to joining a vessel
- PALS and ATLS certifications may be required before completing the first year of employment
- A Valid passport
- Fluency in English, both conversational and technical
- Additional training in advanced airway management, ICU, Primary Emergency Care, Immediate Medical Care, ECG, Advanced Trauma Life Support and Advanced Paediatric Life Support is highly recommended, and experience working in private healthcare settings is preferred.
Interested? Start your journey by clicking HERE for the initial application form. Send your completed form to Juliana.mendes@matchmedics.com
Juliana Mendes manages our Cruise Ship hiring campaigns and Juliana will be delighted to answer any questions you have.
Juliana Mendes
Cruise Ship Recruitment
Juliana Mendes manages our Cruise Ship hiring campaigns and Juliana will be delighted to answer any questions you have.