JOB DETAILS
London Wellness Academy provides all the training for you to become a successful acupuncturist at sea prior to joining your ship. The training takes place in Los Angeles, California (USA) under the direction of Stephanie Kimber, Manager of the Oriental Medicine Programme, OneSpaWorld, and a licensed acupuncturist in California.
During training and once on board, you will be expected to have excellent communication skills and be able to provide acupuncture treatments safely and effectively to address the concerns of your patients. This is an exciting opportunity to meet new people every day and to learn about new cultures, all whilst managing your very own acupuncture practice at sea.
Position Requirements
To be considered for an acupuncturist position on board a cruise ship, candidates must meet all of the following requirements:
- Acupuncturists must hold a nationally recognized Certificate or License in Traditional Chinese Medicine by State or County legislation
- A minimum of 2,000 hours
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Ability to successfully provide acupuncture treatments
- Ability to manage multiple treatment rooms simultaneously
- Ability to conduct an initial consultation and treatment in under 20 minutes
- Ability to conduct 10-minute consultations about acupuncture and Chinese herbs
- Ability to publicly speak on Traditional Chinese Medicine topics
- Enjoy working with people and possess a friendly and outgoing personality
- Comfortable working in a sales-oriented job (sales training will be provided)
- Strong communication and listening skills
- Must be a team player
- Basic computer knowledge
- Fluency in English required
Pre-requisites for Contracts
- US citizens must have a valid passport (within 6 months of expiry from contract end date)
- If you are not authorized to work in the US, you must be eligible for issue of a United States C1/D Visa (non-immigrant transit visa)
- Completion of Maritime medical exam and be declared fit to work
- Successful completion of training course
Summary of Responsibilities
- Meeting new people daily
- Conducting patient consultations whereby you effectively inform and educate your clients about specific concerns
- Having strong, friendly follow-up necessary post-treatment with clients to ensure desired results
- Managing clients in unsupervised situations
- Developing friendly relations with the spa team and your clients
- Understanding the problems and concerns of your clients
- Recommending acupuncture treatments and providing outstanding guest service
- Presenting yourself professionally in front of new groups of people
- Being a patient, sympathetic listener
- Assuring compliance with standards and regulations, including company policies and protocols
- Being responsible for the quality of work
- Maintaining complete and accurate medical records
- Maintaining inventory and keeping waste to a minimum
- Being on time for work, prompt for each appointment
A detailed job description is available upon request.
Top 10 Reasons to Work On Board a Cruise Ship
There are many reasons to work on board, but here are the reasons most often cited by acupuncturists who work for OneSpaWorld.
- The ability to practise acupuncture without investing in the overhead normally associated with starting a practice.
- You get a jumpstart on your student loans. With no overhead on board, you will be better positioned to get ahead on your student loans. You have virtually no living expenses – food and boarding are all factored in.
- Cruise line guests come from all over the world, and many have not been exposed to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which affords onboard acupuncturists an opportunity to educate the public about TCM and how it can improve their quality of life.
- As guests are on vacation, they have the time to explore new treatments and ideas. This means that acupuncturists working on board a cruise ship can be extremely busy. Results are often seen immediately as the guests are more relaxed whilst on vacation, so healing is greatly improved in this environment.
- Even though acupuncturists are part of a much larger spa team, running your column on board is very much like running your own business. You will give talks, seminars and can introduce as many guests to acupuncture as possible on any given day.
- The working environment on board luxury cruise ships is extremely clean and professional, making it much easier for you to gain the confidence of guests.
- Less downtime: As you live and work on board the cruise ship, you do not have to factor in travel time to and from work. No cleaning, no grocery shopping, no everyday mundane activities.
- An obvious huge perk is travel. Depending on your itinerary, you could explore the islands of the Caribbean, the Alaskan glaciers, or even the Mediterranean.
- Meet and mix with the diverse cultures as embodied by the crew and the guests. Make friends from all over the world.
- Save money. You are in a unique position where you could actually save every penny you make as your fundamental needs are taken care of on board.