Cruise ship nursing

[mandi_91]

Hello everyone!!

I'm currently a 22 yr old nursing student still at a community college for an associates degree. A goal of mine since high school has been to work on royal Caribbean or ANY cruise line as a nurse. It's a dream of mine to work and travel on a cruise ship. I love everything about the company and the atmosphere.

I am still in school so I have a long way to go. I was wondering if anyone has any recommendation of how to get hired or be noticed by HR. they hire from all over the world. What's going to make me stand out from the others?

How do I even get a job like this? Thank you so much!!!

[brillohead, ADN, RN]

Go to the corporate website and look for a "jobs" type of link. That will tell you what you need to know. Some lines hire directly, some use an agency to staff their medical centers, but you can get that information on the corporate website.

Typically you'll need 2-5 years of either ICU or ER experience, plus ALS/PALS at a minimum. Some places are requiring the BSN degree as well.

[robertg330]

I worked as a Lead Nurse aboard a cruise ship back in 2000. Was probably the most fun I have ever had. We were on duty for 24 hours (clinic time and on-call) then back-up call for 24 hours then off duty for 24 hours. We had officer status and were able to go into passenger areas/bars/etc (everywhere except the Casino and the passenger pools). Private cabin with a cabin steward. We required all RNs to be licensed in either the US, UK, Canada or Australia. All RNs were required to maintain BLS and ACLS certification, have previous ICU/ED experience and exceptional customer/guest services skills. We were treated extremely well by the crew and other officers onboard. Sure, we had horrible weeks (our cruises were all 7 night cruises) where we worked our butts off and ran non-stop, but we also had wonderful weeks where nothing went on. You get a wide range of patients onboard (ear aches, sea sickness, MIs, CVAs, traumas, pretty much everything you would see shoreside) and have to be ready, able and comfortable with your abilities to respond and provide care for anything. In addition, you function as primary care for the crew including doing some case management and care coordination with shoreside specialists as needed. The jobs tend to be difficult to find (there are two types of nurses who work cruise lines: one type does it for 1-2 years, doesn't really enjoy it and leaves, the other type makes a career out of it). It is a great way to meet people from all over the world (I have friends who I still am in contact with on every continent of the world).