Physiotherapists are responsible for working with people with sports injuries as well as helping people prevent injuries. This health care professional focuses on maximizing movement of the human body along with the body’s function and potential. There are many different settings in which a physiotherapist may find employment. Jobs on cruise ships are one exciting possibility for these health care professionals if they are interested in working with many different people while traveling the world.
Physiotherapists (the term is the UK equivalent of the US physical therapist) must complete several years of training at an approved school to qualify for certification. Once the education requirements are meet, aspiring physiotherapists will need to register with the appropriate health department of their country or state to acquire the necessary certification to practice. Certification requirements vary depending on the location in which a person studies and practice.
Once certified, a physiotherapist can apply for cruise ship employment. Physiotherapist jobs will most likely be part of the Beauty Salon/Spa Department or the more general Cruise Staff Department of a ship. The actual department this cruise job is listed under will vary depending on the cruise line. The attention to fitness activities onboard a ship has grown in recent years and as fitness instructors are part of the cruise staff department, it is likely that this is where a job listing for a physical therapist will be found as well.
Fitness instructors are responsible for creating and running classes for ship guests, running the gym and offer personal training services to guests. Physiotherapists would work with fitness instructors, provide personal training and supervision to guests with pervious sports injuries and possibly provide classes and instruction for guests to learn how to prevent injuries.
They may also work with fitness instructors to assist them in developing classes that focus on exercising in safe manner and learning how to identify areas where individuals may be injured to develop different levels of instruction to meet guest needs. In addition, they would be there to help guests who acquire a sports injury while participating in ship activities.
Cruise line jobs have many benefits including free housing and meals, medical coverage, travel to exotic locations and the ability to meet and work with many different people from around the world. Contracts usually run 3-6 months and can often be renewed if a company and its employees want to continue working together. Working days can be long but time off becomes a truly unique experience when at sea. Average pay range for cruiseline jobs as a physiotherapist ranges from $1,800 to $2,200 U.S. per month.