Serve on the field

Each year hundreds of career and short-term volunteers give of their time and skills to serve with Mercy Ships.

Mercy Ships offers a wide variety of opportunities, both in the medical and non-medical fields, for those who want to be involved in a short-term capacity. Over 1000 people each year volunteer their holiday, summer vacation, Christmas, spring break, unpaid leave or retirement to help bring hope and healing to the poor through Mercy Ships.

Note: the minimum commitment of 2 weeks is only for some medical and dental positions (surgeons, anesthesists, dentists, dental assistants, OR and PACU nurses). Some technical positions require a minimum commitment of 1 month. Otherwise most of our positions require a minimum commitment of 2 months or more. 

To serve in a career capacity with Mercy Ships you must first successfully complete a requisite 6-week training program in the United States. At this time, nearly all career positions are self-funded, or non-salaried.

To apply as a volunteer on our hospital-ship or for more information on attending the requisite training program for career service, please contact us:

go[at]mercyships.ch or 021 654 32 10.

Mercy Teams provide short-term outreach opportunities for churches, schools and other groups of individuals. Projects to date have included renovating orphanages, building and painting clinics, schools and homes, teaching community health, assisting in micro-enterprise projects and serving for a few days onboard a Mercy Ship.

For further information, please contact us:

go[at]mercyships.ch or 021 654 32 10

Introduction to Mercy Ships (IMS) is a 3 days long programme over a week-end designed to facilitate the entry of potential staff into Mercy Ships, but is open to those wishing to learn more about Mercy Ships. Our goal is to help potential staff become as informed in their decision making process as possible.

Topics covered include introduction to Mercy Ships, transitioning, community life issues, support raising and an interview process. During a number of sessions, during meals and one-on-one talks, participants will learn almost all there is to learn about working and living on board our hospital ships.

This programme takes place onboard a small passenger ship in the Netherlands. The maximum number of attendees is 25. All lectures will be performed in English.

Next course : 13, 14 and 15 April 2012

For questions about the IMS course and registration, please contact us:

go[at]mercyships.ch or 021 654 32 10