November 19, 2024 • 51 mins
What if you could transform lives while navigating the open seas? Join us as we chat with Kimberly Ames, an inspiring recruiter at Mercy Ships, who turned her dream of making a global health impact into reality. Our conversation journeys through Kimberly’s incredible path from a health science student to her pivotal role in an organization that conquers challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic to continue providing life-saving medical care aboard the Africa Mercy and Global Mercy ships. Discover how this unique medical missionary, supported by a large and diverse volunteer crew, brings critical healthcare to underserved communities with unwavering dedication and faith.
Kimberly offers a fascinating look at what it takes to recruit and bring together a global cohort of 3,700 volunteers from over 50 nations, emphasizing Mercy Ships' inclusive and faith-based foundation. She shares the behind-the-scenes efforts of recruiting healthcare professionals and other essential volunteers, highlighting how Mercy Ships stands out with its welcoming approach for short-term volunteers regardless of their backgrounds. We also explore the vibrant cultural life aboard these floating hospitals, from festive celebrations to forming lifelong bonds, making every day an enriching experience for the volunteers on board.
Thinking about volunteering or curious about how you can contribute? Kimberly provides insights into the varied commitment lengths for volunteers, the selection of countries for service, and the crucial role of local translators in ensuring effective aid delivery. She walks us through the application process, emphasizing dedication and offering guidance for those eager to join this noble cause. Even if volunteering isn’t an option, Kimberly shares how you can support Mercy Ships in other meaningful ways. Tune in for a heartwarming episode filled with stories of hope, connection, and the profound impact of serving aboard Mercy Ships.
We are immensely grateful to our partners— College of Biomedical Equipment Technology, A.M. BICKFORD, INC., UptimeServices, PM BIOMEDICAL, FSI and Talent Exclusive—for their support in making this podcast possible. Their dedication to advancing the Healthcare Technology Management industry is truly commendable. For more information about their contributions and services, please visit their websites.
For more podcast episodes, motivational videos, blogs, and newsletters, make sure to visit our website at htmontheline.com. We look forward to connecting with you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome back to HTM on the Line, the podcast that is
for HTM by HTM.
I'm your host, brian Hawkins Sr.
And we have an extraordinaryguest joining us today.
Kimberly Ames, a recruiter forthe world-renowned Mercy Ships,
is here to share her incrediblejourney the life-changing work
(00:24):
of Mercy Ships and how thisfloating hospital transforms
lives globally.
From managing complex logisticsduring a pandemic to recruiting
volunteers from across theglobe, kimberly's passion for
her mission is inspiring.
We'll hear about the challenges, achievements and opportunities
(00:46):
to be part of something trulylife-changing.
Whether you're in HTMhealthcare or just looking for a
story that moves you, this isone episode you don't want to
miss.
But before we get started,let's take a moment to hear from
our sponsors, who make thispodcast possible.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Today's podcast is brought to you by FSI.
Optimize your hospital'sfacilities and healthcare
technology management operationswith FSI's CMMS platform.
They're comprehensive,cloud-based maintenance
management software isstandardized, scalable and
designed to empower your teamwith accurate, practical and
(01:31):
impactful data.
Now let's jump into this week'spodcast.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Kimberly Ames.
Am I saying that right or is ita mess?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
No, you're right.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Kimberly Ames.
How you doing, Kimberly?
Welcome to HTM On the Line.
Glad to finally get you on theshow.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Yeah, I'm super excited to be here, and thanks
for the invite.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Let's just get right into it, because there's a lot
of things I want to cover.
But before we get started,first off, just if you don't
mind sharing a little backgroundabout yourself and how you come
to work with the Mercy Ship.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Yeah, I would love to .
I have a bachelor's of sciencedegree in health science and
when I was in university, Ispecialized in global health,
and so my global healthprofessor was from Kenya and
when we got to our Africa unit,she actually taught about Mercy
Ships in our global health class.
And so I remember being acollege student sitting in a
(02:47):
classroom thinking like that'swhat I want to do when I grow up
.
I want to work for Mercy Shipsand make my dreams come true.
And so I graduated and lifehappens and I got into
recruitment, really specializingin like health care recruitment
.
So I worked for a local hospital, finished up my degree and then
(03:10):
I kind of dabbled in some HRand recruiting and I just found
like that's really where mypassions lie.
And so in 2020, early 2020,before COVID hit, I came across
an opportunity to work at MercyShips and I just jumped on that
opportunity because, like Imentioned, I said that's what I
(03:31):
wanted to do when I grew up, andso when an opening came about,
I took it and it has been almostfive years later and I tell
people that I have my dream job.
So I'm excited to share todaythat I'm five years into my
career at Mercy Ships and I'mstill living in my honeymoon
phase.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Oh, that's awesome.
Now you mentioned you startedin early 2020.
So was it real challenging todo this job during COVID,
because you came in right beforeCOVID started.
So how was that?
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Yeah, it was such an interesting time, not just for
Mercy Ships but for us globally.
I started, actually, two weeksbefore the pandemic had hit and
so, as a new hire, just showingup for my first day of work, all
excited to dive into the neworganization that I'm working
for, and then I remember, likeyou know, the news coming on and
(04:24):
it's talking about justdifferent challenges that people
were having across the globe,and we just kind of like rolled
with the punches and so we hadto pull out of field service.
We were in Dakar, senegal, atthe time.
The Global Mercy had not yetlaunched, she was still being
built, and so we only had oneship the Africa Mercy was still
(04:45):
being built, and so we only hadone ship, the Africa Mercy, and
we pulled out of field serviceand we just kind of all took a
break as life was happening andduring COVID and you know, as
the world was happening, weweren't really sure what you
know, post COVID was going tolook like or when we were all
going to get back to what wepreviously knew as normal.
And so you know, there were someseasons that Mercy ships that
we had to be creative, so wereally dug into our education,
(05:07):
training and advocacy and, youknow, did some remote things
that we you know how all of uswere transitioning to a remote
time frame, and then it wasreally exciting to celebrate
getting ourselves really backinto field service.
And then we were able to launchthe Global Mercy post, covid,
and yeah.
So we're happy to report thatboth ships are currently in
field service and we're thrivingas an organization and it's
(05:30):
really amazing just thedifferent work that we're able
to provide for our patients.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
It's amazing.
Now, for those unfamiliar, canyou basically explain?
You touched on it somewhat, butcan you explain what Mercy Ship
does and the impact it has onglobal communities?
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Yeah.
So MercyShip operates a fleetof the world's largest charity
hospital ships to bring hope andhealing to those who need it
most.
An estimated 16.9 millionpeople die globally every year
because they just can't accesssafe, affordable or timely
surgical care.
So to meet the significant need, our volunteer crew help to
provide life saving and lifechanging surgery and medical
(06:12):
training in low and middleincome countries.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Wow, that's good.
Now I know she just mentionedvolunteers.
So Mercy Ship, does it rely onvolunteers to do much of the
work or all of the work?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yeah.
So the way that I like toexplain Mercy Ships to people
that are not very familiar withour internal lingo is we're a
medical missionary organization.
So, just like any othermissions organization, we do
rely on our volunteers to makethe magic happen.
So we're donor supported andpowered by our volunteers, and
(06:51):
we utilize thirty seven hundredvolunteers on an annual basis to
power both of our ships.
And the beauty of being aglobal organization is we take
or we have volunteers with usfrom over 50 to 60 different
nations, or we have volunteerswith us from over 50 to 60
different nations.
So it's a beautifulintercultural mixture of a
global organization.
Your roommate could be from theNetherlands or from Canada or
(07:15):
New Zealand, and so it's justreally fun to come together as a
body of Christ really and justbe the hands and feet of Jesus
in the countries that we serveto the underprivileged.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
And it's just really beautiful that, the way that
Mercy Ships operates.
That's great.
And what kind of roles are mostneeded and how do you go about
finding people for thesepositions?
Because you mentioned you getthem from all over the world.
So I guess that's a two partquestion what kind of roles are
most needed and then how do yougo about finding people for
(07:51):
these roles?
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Yeah, that's a great question, depending on who you
ask.
Would depend on where peoplewould say the most need is.
And that's just because youknow our departments or our
hiring managers.
Really it's so personal to them.
And so every we say that everyrole on board mercy ships and
every department is just asimportant as the other.
(08:12):
And so a surgeon cannot do whatthey do without our hospital
support staff, which then can'tdo what they do without our
housekeepers and our galley tofeed us, and we can't do any of
those things without a maritimecrew to power the ship.
And so it's such a loadedquestion, but I would.
(08:33):
I would say that there's such awide variety of roles on board
Mercy ships that if thelisteners out there are
interested in coming to servewith us, we can find something
for everyone.
And coming to serve with us, wecan find something for everyone
.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Great, you're saying a lot about MercyShift, but
there's a number oforganizations out there that's
doing great work in thehealthcare or humanitarian aid
part of the world.
What sets MercyShift apart fromthem?
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Of course I'm biased atMercyShift I am a Mercy Shifts
employee but I would just sharethat.
Just get involved, no matterwhat you do or where you go.
You could say that you can dovolunteer work in your local
neighborhoods.
You don't have to go across theocean to volunteer somewhere.
But the important part is tojust kind of, you know, get
(09:24):
involved and to do something togive back.
And so I think Mercy Ships itsets itself apart from other
humanitarian or other volunteerorganizations just because of
the nature of the work that wedo.
For me, I have always loved thehealthcare industry, and so how
cool is it that we are afloating hospital?
(09:44):
I've never seen a hospital shipbefore.
I worked for Mercy Ships and gotthe privilege to go on board
the Global Mercy, and so seeingit in action and just seeing
something walking down thehallways of the hospital in the
Global Mercy was exactly likewalking down the hospital in
Texas where I worked previouslyto Mercy Ships, and so taking a
(10:06):
hospital in the Western worldand putting it on a ship to make
it like accessible to peopleand nations that might not get
that help, it just blew my mind,to be honest with you, and so I
really appreciate that MercyShips is a faith-based
organization, so I do love thatthey keep Christ at the center.
But my favorite part about MercyShips is that you do not have
(10:28):
to be of Christian background inorder to volunteer with us.
If you are serving 11 months orbelow, you can come as you are,
which I feel like is the mostimportant part of the gospel,
and the most important partabout being a Christian is that
you know we're going to love you, no matter what your background
is or no matter what youbelieve in.
It's just we're here for ourpatients and we're coexisting
(10:50):
together to get the job done,and so I think that is my
favorite part of Mercy Ships andjust the uniqueness of the
multi backgrounds amulticultural, multi country
just the difference.
It's just it's not about whereyou're from, but it's about what
you know and how you canutilize your skills to, yeah,
(11:11):
just help on board the ships,and so I think it's a beautiful
thing.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Yes, now let's just talk a little bit about your
recruiting duties.
I mean, it's challenging rightnow to recruit individuals in
the healthcare industry.
Now you're trying to recruitindividuals in the health care
industry.
Now you're trying to recruitindividuals to, like you
mentioned, travel across theocean.
So what are some of thechallenges you may face as a
recruiter trying to get peopleto come work on the Mercy Ship?
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Yeah, it's.
It's actually funny because Isay that I have job security
because it's just there's alwaysrecruiting to be done.
So at Mercy Ships we definerecruitment as attracting new
talent, and so my teams and Iare responsible for lead
generation and so going out andtalking with people who might
(12:00):
not have ever heard of MercyShips before and just really
like explaining the mission andthe vision behind what the
organization does and the mostbeautiful thing about Mercy
Ships is it really sells itself.
I don't have to convince youhow amazing Mercy Ships is,
because Mercy Ships does apretty good job of explaining
that itself through the videosand the photography and just the
(12:23):
stories that come out of MercyShips.
It's just, it does a good jobof capturing your heart and
bringing that inspiration withinitself.
My job as a recruiter is to helpyou match your skillset to
where the need is on board.
So I have a really big passionfor helping people and one of my
favorite things aboutrecruiting is when I was doing
it in, you know, corporateAmerica was, I was helping
(12:46):
people provide for theirfamilies, and now that I recruit
volunteers, it's really justdigging in and helping people
understand the benefits ofvolunteering.
So, statistically speaking, forthose of you that have
volunteer experience on yourresume and it doesn't have to be
Mercy Ships experience but ifyou volunteer in some kind of
(13:08):
capacity, statistically provenyou are going to get a job over
somebody else, and the reasonbehind that is is that your
hiring manager can trust you.
You're, overall, a good personbecause you are doing something
outside of self, and so it'sstatistically proven that if you
have volunteer work on yourresume, that it sets you apart
(13:29):
from somebody that doesn't havethat volunteer work on their
resume.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Can you share a success story about someone
maybe, that you recruited to gointo the Mercy Ship that they
may have had when they servedthe community where the ship was
docked?
Do you have a success story youcan share with us?
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Yeah, absolutely.
But before I answer thatquestion, kind of going back to
like part of what motivatespeople and inspiration, I also
want to touch on the skills andexperiences that you gain on
Mercy Ships is completelydifferent than what you would
gain at home, and the reasonbeing is because we're going to
see surgical cases insub-Saharan Africa that we'll
never see in the Western world.
We would take care of things atyou know, at birth or when we
(14:13):
were younger.
It would never get to the sizeof the tumors that they get on
Mercy Ships, or it's just thingsthat our primary health
provider would take care ofbefore it got as bad as it does
at Mercy Ships, and so you'regoing to see surgical cases in
different levels of difficultyon board of Mercy Ships than
you'd ever see in the Westernworld.
(14:34):
So you're going to come backfor Mercy Ships like gaining
experiences that you would neverhave the opportunity of
learning by living in the US.
So I also want to add thatperspective to that as well and
then to share a story.
It's just so hard to pick onebecause each person that we
encounter at Mercy Ships hassuch a unique story, and all of
our crew members and our alumniand our incoming crew members
(14:58):
each have a personal story ofhow they heard about Mercy Ships
and why did they decide to, youknow, give up their financial
gain to go over to Sierra Leoneor Madagascar or whichever
country that we're serving foran extended period of time on
Mercy Ships, and so I would justshare that.
I have not encountered not oneperson that did not have an
(15:21):
inspiring story or didn't have astory where they were able to
impact somebody, like a patientor a caregiver or something like
that.
I will share, though, that wehave an overwhelming amount of
people that come home from oursea ships and tell us that by
going on board our ships, theyactually gained more from it
(15:44):
than what, they, like, havegiven, and so when we think
about going on a medicalmissionary trip, we think of the
things that we can provide ashealthcare professionals to the
organization, but we never thinkabout how it impacts us
individually, and so I thinkthat's another part that's so
beautiful about volunteer workis that you gain so much
(16:06):
personally from you know.
They just inspire you to be abetter person, to be a better
health care provider, and itreally just reminds you of like
why you wanted to be in thehealth care industry in the
first place.
And so really digging into likewhy did you decide to be you
know a nurse or a surgeon or youknow, in the biomedical
industry when you were a child?
Like, why did you decide to bea nurse or a surgeon or in the
biomedical industry when youwere a child, and why did you go
(16:29):
through all of these years ofeducation and gain all this
experience to get to where youare today?
And so I just always find it tobe like such an inspiring thing
.
And so I just have I have nevermet one person that didn't have
like an inspiring story.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
What can a volunteer okay, I'm volunteering to come
on the Mercy Ship.
What can I expect when I walkon the Mercy Ship, Both in terms
, I guess, of daily life and abroader experience?
What's the daily life like onthe Mercy Ship for a 40-hour
work?
Speaker 3 (17:04):
week so your shifts can look, you know, depending on
what department that you'reserving in.
So, because we are afaith-based organization, we
don't do any surgeries onSundays.
So we do have a church serviceon Sunday evening and then we do
encourage you to experience alocal church to really
(17:27):
understand the culture of thecountry that we're in.
So it's encouraged to go tochurch on a Sunday morning, but
after when you're off ship oroff shift, your time is your
time.
So we are like docked in a port, like right by the ocean, so
there's beach experiences andmajority of the country that
(17:49):
we're serving, so lots ofexcursions that take place.
We eat a lot so Mercy Shipsfeeds you three meals a day in
our galley but you're definitely, you know, able to go and enjoy
like local cuisine.
My time in Sierra Leone wasspent dining out at, you know,
(18:09):
at dinner with like friends thatI met on board that will
forever be lifelong friends ofmine.
I had the opportunity to have abeach day so I got to see the
beautiful beaches of Freetown,sierra Leone.
Yeah, we just drove through thetown and really saw the land
like there's lots of hills inFreetown and so got to really
(18:29):
experience the beauty of theland.
It was the end of rainy season,so everything was green and
beautiful and the people ofSierra Leone are so friendly and
they're just so welcoming and Inever had security concerns
while I was there.
I'd been on two other missiontrips prior to my time at Mercy
(18:50):
Ships and I will say that thelevel of security that Mercy
Ships takes into account was, Ifelt, very safe while I was
traveling with them.
And so, yeah, you, just yourfree time is your free time.
Ship life is really cool.
I like to describe it as livingin a dorm room, because when
you live in community, you'reeating meals together, you're
(19:13):
working together, there's lotsof game nights and movie nights
and, yeah, just people kind ofhang out and get to know each
other.
There are people that knit onboard just whatever you want to
do to pass your time.
You're you know you're insub-Saharan Africa, so just make
the best of it.
And it's like going on a wholeadventure.
(19:35):
So it's kind of like going on avacation, but not really because
you're working, but on yourfree time you can go off the
ship and experience, you know,whatever you're most comfortable
with.
So I like to tell people thatyour time on board is what you
make it.
If you're if you just want tocome to work your shifts and
then eat some really good foodand then go to bed, that's what
(19:57):
you can do.
If you want to stay up reallylate and hang out with really
cool people and make lifelongfriends, it's just what you
personally make it.
But there's severalopportunities to do things on
and off ship, greatopportunities to meet lifelong
friends.
So it's kind of like living ina dorm room.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Wow, now I did a little research before our
podcast and I saw this one video, a picture where it looked like
each crew member dressed up intheir cultural uniform not
uniform, but cultural dress.
What was that all about?
Where they had, like, I guess,each nationality they had on
what they would wear in theirhome country, and it's like
(20:39):
there was some type ofcelebration going on.
Are you familiar with that, oram I just?
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Yeah, so we really love to celebrate things at
Mercy Ships and so, being in amulticultural, multi-nation
environment, we celebrate everyholiday.
So if you're on board and it'sJuly 4th, we're celebrating it.
If you're on board and it'sSierra Leone's Independent Day,
we're celebrating SierraLeoneans.
We're celebrating all of ourEuropean holidays and really
(21:11):
honoring the cultures andholidays of our shipmates, our
crewmates.
So we're always celebratingsomething on Fridays.
It's a really fun time on MercyShips.
It's called Crazy Scrub Day, andso you're you're able to wear
something outside of the MercyShips scrub uniform, so a lot of
people wear beautiful Africanprints.
(21:32):
I personally like purchased aheadband while I was there and I
had a skirt like tailored to meand some beautiful African
fabric, and so if you're likereally enjoy having like a fun
time or you really enjoycelebrating things, mercy Ships
is the perfect place for you.
I like to joke that it's aholiday, like every other week
(21:53):
on board, and so that's probablysomething that you saw with
some kind of celebration.
Or I will say that when wearrive in a country, it's such,
it's a beautiful thing, and sowe have a parade, lots of
African celebrations, and sowe're doing a lot of dancing and
everyone stands out on deck 10of the global mercy and waves
(22:15):
their flag from where they'refrom, and it's just such a
beautiful experience, and MercyShips does such a great job in
honoring each person, no matterwhere they're from or what their
background is, and that, justto me, like makes it so much
more beautiful to work for MercyShips, just because no one is
ever overlooked and everyone iscelebrated, no matter where they
(22:36):
come from.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Right Now, what is the typical length of a
volunteer's commitment on theMercy Ship?
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Yeah, our time commitments are going to vary
depending on the department thatyou're serving in.
Everything will be between twoweeks and two years.
So our two week timecommitments are more reserved
for our operating room team.
So surgeons, anesthesiaprofessionals, or and PACU are
all looking at the two weektimeframe.
It does go up from there.
Our ward team comes for 12weeks, so you're looking at
(23:10):
three months.
Our biomedical technicians comefor six months.
All of our hospital leadershipor any team leaders are looking
at two years.
And that's just because it'sreally hard to overturn a
leadership team every two weeksor every few months.
We really like for leadershipto be there for two years.
(23:30):
So I will say that it's not afull two years on board.
It's not that you'll never comehome in that two years.
We do 10-month build servicesat a time and then we have to
shipyard for maritime law andregulations.
So a lot of our crew memberscome home during that time frame
as an LOA, a leave of absence,and our hospital is closed
(23:53):
during the annual maintenanceperiod and then you just go back
to the ship during the nextfield service and do your
another 10 months and then youkind of come home and your two
years are up.
I will say that when I was onMercy Ships it was almost like
dog years.
I was there for such a shortperiod of time but I felt like
I'd been on the ship like forthree months and that I was only
(24:15):
there for one week.
The time just flew by and Iwill admit on this podcast right
now that I cried like a littlebaby when I had to come home,
because I just had such a greattime on board and just the send
off was so emotional I didn'twant to leave.
And so between me and you, I amdefinitely trying to figure out
(24:35):
how I can get back on that shipbecause I just I lived my best
life and I enjoyed my time thereso much that I cannot wait to
go back.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Well, it's between me and you and the many listeners,
but just don't tell my bosseverybody many listeners, but
just don't tell my boss.
Everybody.
Now families can families orcouples volunteer together on
the Mercy Ship, or is it singleones only?
How does that work?
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Yeah, that's a great question.
We do have couples on board.
We have couples cabins.
We also have families on board.
I will say, though, that,although there are many great
things about operating ahospital ship, space is one of
the you know things that limitsus.
So we only have a certainamount of family cabins, we only
have a certain amount of crewcouples cabins, and then we only
(25:24):
have a certain amount of crewcabins.
And so, although families areeligible to come and we actually
have a Christian accreditedAcademy, k through 12.
So your children can actuallygo to school while you're
volunteering on Mercy Ships, ourfamily cabins are prioritized
based on, like, the level oftime commitment you're coming.
(25:45):
So if you're coming for a yearor more, you're going to get the
family cabin.
For a year or more, you'regoing to get the family cabin.
Our shorter term positions donot qualify for a family cabin
just because you're not comingfor such a long period of time
as our long-term crew membersare coming for.
So we really like to reserveour family cabins and our crew
(26:05):
cabins for long-term crew.
Also, we don't want to disturbthe children's academy year, so
we're really not wanting todisrupt the kids and their
school schedules.
It is a big decision to youknow.
Uproot of these things intoconsideration while we're having
that conversation, for is MercyShips the right fit for you and
your family?
That's great.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Now, since we're talking about coming volunteer
now, currently, which regionsare countries on the Mercy Ships
currently serving, countries onthe Mercy Ships currently
serving?
And also, I mean, I guess, howdo you go about picking a
location?
Speaker 3 (26:58):
or country?
Yeah, that's a great question.
The African Mercy is currentlydocked in Madagascar, so we will
be in Madagascar until the endof 2025.
And then we're not yet sure.
We have not yet revealed wherewe're going to next.
So definitely follow Mercy Shipsocial media to stay up to date
on our next country for AfricaMercy.
(27:19):
And then our global mercy isDocton Freetown, sierra Leone.
We are.
We.
We came back into Sierra Leonein September and we will be
there through June of 2025.
And we are still trying tofigure out our next location for
the Global Mercy as well.
So I won't reveal too much,because I would love for you all
(27:41):
to follow Mercy Ships and seethe exciting announcements that
we have on our social media.
But how we pick the country thatwe're serving is a really great
question.
But how we pick the country thatwe're serving is a really great
question.
So each country that we servicehas a five-year plan, and so we
have an amazing countryengagement team that works with
the Ministry of Health and thegovernment of each country, and
(28:03):
so we are invited in.
We don't want to come in andcompete with what the local
health care system is doing, sowe are there by invitation and
we agree upon how many surgeriesor what Mercy ships can help
with that help within thatcountry.
Before we the ship arrives, wehave a global patient selection
team that is on the ground doingall of our triaging and just
(28:25):
really getting everythingprepared for us.
We want to make sure that whatwe're committing to we're
actually able to deliver on, andso the ship's arrival in
country is year three of thatfive-year plan, and so a lot of
prep work goes into our shipsarriving in country and then,
even after our ships sail away,there is still some
(28:46):
on-the-ground work that needs tobe done after our ships go to
the next country work that needsto be done after our ships go
to the next country.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
So are there any particular?
I guess I'm going to say thisare there any language
requirements or culturaltraining to prepare to go to
these particular locations?
Speaker 3 (29:06):
For the language.
The working language on boardis English, so everyone has to
be able to read, write and speakEnglish in order to volunteer
on Mercy Ships.
Now you might be wondering, butyou all are going into
countries that English is notthe first language, and you're
absolutely correct.
We work with, we employ localday crew to come in and be
(29:29):
translators for us.
So in Freetown, Sierra Leone,the main language spoken is
Creole, and so, although SierraLeone is an English speaking
nation, their Creole is thenative language, and so English
is taught in their schools, andfor the most part people speak
English and Creole.
But depending on how far ourpatients are coming from, you
(29:52):
know, the bigger, bigger cities,they might not actually speak
English.
And then it's it's if yourEnglish is your second language
or third language or fourthlanguage.
You might not know all of thelike anatomy or the medical
terminology that comes withEnglish, and so we really rely
on our translators to speak toour patients in their native
language, so they're fullyunderstanding what Mercy Ships
(30:14):
is able to provide for them.
And then for Madagascar.
Madagascar is actually more ofa French speaking country, and
so their French is always abonus with Mercy Ships, because
you know just the differentregions that we serve, but
everyone on board has to speakEnglish.
Now if you're hanging out inthe galley on board and you're
(30:36):
kind of walking through ourcoffee shop, you're going to
hear a plethora of languages,and so it's just really cool to
kind of be like in the in thecafe on Mercy Ships and just
kind of overhearing the multilanguages that are spoken on
board.
But everything business relatedis in English.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Okay, now, okay, let's try to put a picture in
the minds of the listeners.
The ship Mercy Ship just pulledup to Madagascar.
What is one of the first thingsyou do when a ship pulls up to
the country the country for theship to come in, or how does it
(31:21):
work?
I mean, I know they don't.
How do they set appointments?
So it's just, they check you atthe beginning.
What's the process of gettinghealthcare to the country when
the boat gets there?
Speaker 3 (31:28):
Yeah.
So the global patient selectionteam has already been on the
ground and has done all of thepatient selection before the
ship arrives.
So for the most part we knowlike the cases or the surgical
specialties that we're going tooffer when the ship arrives and
then everyone is scheduled.
It's all pre-scheduled.
Our pre-op team does all of thepre-op appointments.
(31:49):
They meet with the surgeonsprior to their operation day.
We just do everything that wecan to make it as a comfortable
experience as possible.
It's really scary to have ahospital ship like pull up into
your port and just you have thislike large vessel that's in
your country that you might nothave ever seen a ship before,
(32:10):
you might not have ever seensomebody of light skinned.
So it could be kind of scary,and so we did the best that we
can to really educate and makeour patients as comfortable as
possible, especially thechildren.
I just can't imagine puttingmyself in a patient's shoes,
just like walking up the gangwayand just thinking like, wow,
(32:31):
this vessel is massive and I amjust like this little bitty
child and everyone around me isso big and things can be really
scary and people are talking tome in a language that's not my
first language, and so MercyShips does a really good job
just like we would do here inthe States of making our
(32:52):
patients feel comfortable.
A lot of our like healthcareprofessionals give us the
feedback that we're not flippinghospital beds on mercy shifts.
We like really do have theopportunity to walk our patients
through their entire surgicaljourney, so from start to finish
, and so that's another reasonwhy our time commitments are
kind of lengthy.
(33:14):
I know that three months soundslike a lot, or even 10 months is
like a really big chunk out ofyour life, but, like I mentioned
, it's going to go by so fastand you're just the patients and
their caregivers.
You're going to get to likereally know your patient and see
them from start to finish, andI think that that's really one
of the most inspiring things onMercy Ships is just being able
(33:37):
to walk our patients throughthat entire journey.
And so when the ship actuallyarrives in country, all of the
patients, for the most part, arealready selected.
They've already gotten their,you know, their triaging has
been done and they got theirpre-op appointments to see our
pre-op team and meet with oursurgeons.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
What are the main?
I guess what are the mainmedical services provided on
board?
Speaker 3 (34:02):
if you have to say yeah, so Mercy Ships actually
has two different pillars.
So our direct medical servicesis the surgery that is done on
board our hospital ships, andthen we have a second pillar for
education, training andadvocacy, and this is a lot of
our land-based programs, and soMercy Ships is a type of
(34:23):
organization that's more like,instead of showing a man how to
fish, we're teaching men how tofish, and so Mercy Ships would
love to disciple themselves outof being needed in sub-Saharan
Africa, and the only way thatwe've identified to do that is
not by coming in and doing itourselves and just doing it and
then leaving, but we do and weteach, and so that is also
(34:46):
another.
One of my favorite parts aboutMercy Ships is we're coming into
the local health care systemand we're teaching safe surgery,
we're teaching instrumentsterilization, we're teaching
infant CPR and just thedifferent things that come with
safe surgery.
They do have limited resourcesin their health care systems,
but we're able to come in andprovide knowledge and experience
(35:09):
and things that would beeverlasting for them, just
because we're not coming in anddumping a bunch of equipment on
them that they're never going tobe able to use or they're never
going to be able to fix becausethey can't get the parts or you
know they don't have thesupport needed to phone somebody
to you know, to screen shareand fix the problem, and so.
But we can teach knowledge andwe can provide resources and
(35:34):
courses for them to furthertheir education and strengthen
their healthcare system.
And so it's just such a greatthing that not only is Mercy
Ships providing surgery, butwe're teaching the local health
care systems how they canactually do this themselves.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
Amazing.
Now.
I'm a biomed by heart, so doyou have any biomed positions
aboard Mercy Ships open rightnow?
Speaker 3 (35:59):
We do.
We love our biomed departmenton board Mercy Ships.
So we have three differentroles available in our
biomedical department.
So we have biomedical projectassistants.
They actually come for fourweeks and so if you're thinking
that, wow, six months is areally long time, I don't think
that I can get away for thattime.
I would encourage you to comeas a project assistant first and
(36:22):
what's the project assistantdoes.
Yeah, the biomedical projectassistants are responsible for
development of new medicalequipment and maintenance of
existing medical equipmentduring maintenance periods and
designated process.
So they actually take, they'retasked with the related medical
equipment used in the hospital,including, but not limited to,
(36:45):
radiology, pharmacy or ORs, theclean core, the ICU, simulation
training rooms, pre-op andpost-op rooms, wards, nursing
stations, sterilization roomsand all that good stuff.
So it's basic understanding ofequipment, knowledge of you know
or clinical application isrequired.
So I would say that this ismore of the entry level, Um, but
(37:10):
even if you're overqualified,it's just such a perfect role to
come in to just to taste, testMercy Ships and to see if this
might be something that you wantto do long term.
Our biomedical technicians theydo come for six months, which is
a pretty lengthy time frame, Iknow, but we have been known to
take people for three months.
(37:31):
So if you can make it threemonths, you have a very high
chance of making it.
So I definitely encourage youto apply.
Even if you can't match theminimum time commitment, I still
think it's worth an application, because you never know until
you ask, and so I just wouldencourage you to go through the
(37:52):
application process and, justyou know, show Mercy Ships your
skills through your resume andCVs and just see what happens.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
Well, let's say Biomed HTM professional comes on
the ship, do they offermanufacturer training?
If they take, say they do, acommitment of a year or two
years, how do y'all get trainingfor the Biomed techs?
Speaker 3 (38:15):
Yeah, so we have a senior biomedical technician
that oversees the day-to-dayoperations of the team, and so
our senior biomed is somebodythat is very skilled in being a
biomedical on Mercy Ships, andso the senior biomed really
utilizes those trainingopportunities they provide.
Yeah, really everything thatyour workload would be on a day,
(38:38):
a day to day basis, what yourroutine maintenance would be,
because we would really love tomake sure that we're catching
something before it actuallybreaks down, and we have to, you
know, stop surgeries in orderfor you all to fix it, and so
there's a lot of maintenancethat is involved in that.
And then, of course, you are oncall should something you know
(39:02):
go wrong at the wrong time,because you know equipment likes
to.
In technology, they like tobreak at the most inconvenient
times, and so, yeah, but oursenior biomed technician is
really responsible foroverseeing that training process
.
And then we want to make surethat you're pretty comfortable
in your skills and experiencesas a biomedical professional.
You are in a limited resourceenvironment, and so if you're
(39:23):
just fresh out of training oryou're currently in school to be
a biomedical professional,mercy Ships is not going to be
the best place for you untilyou've gained at least two years
of postgraduate experience.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Yes, ma'am.
So Gildo and Emmanuel, howthey're doing.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
Oh, they're amazing.
Gildo is one of the mostamazing biomedical professionals
I've ever met in my life.
He's native to the Netherlandsand so and then Emmanuel is from
Benin.
So I personally, as a recruiterthat lives in the US, I would
love to see some more USbiomedical professionals on
board.
But I understand that you allare very important in your local
(40:05):
jobs, and so we don't want totake you away from anything that
you're currently doing.
But I would just encourage youthat if Mercy Ships is ever in
your dreams, add it to yourbucket list, add it to your
vision boards.
We've been here since 1978.
We'll been here since 1978.
We'll be here in the future.
So really, it's just wheneverit's most convenient for you.
We'll be here when you're ready.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
Yes, yes.
And how is Mercy Chef's rockstar?
Speaker 3 (40:37):
Deborah, my favorite.
How's she doing?
She's amazing.
I actually just hung out withGuido and her when I was in
Freetown.
We took a little selfie andsent it your way, bryant, but it
was so fun to meet them inperson.
I had worked with Guido foralmost five years now, and so
getting the opportunity to meethim in person, versus chatting
through a screen, was somethingreally amazing.
But they're doing great work onMercy Ships and I know Emmanuel
(40:59):
won the Humanitarian Award lastyear, and so they're just
amazing human beings and justutilizing their skills and
talents to give back in ahumanitarian capacity, it's just
really great.
But also they've learned andthey've gained skills from Mercy
Ships that they would not havegained in their local hospitals
back in the Netherlands or Benin, and so it's kind of a two-way
(41:24):
street really Like.
Mercy Ships obviously benefitsfrom their skills, but they've
gained some tips and tricksalong the way with volunteering
with Mercy Ships, and so it'sjust amazing.
They're amazing people.
Speaker 1 (41:38):
Yes, yes Now you talked a lot about the Mercy
Ship and the great things, canyou?
I mean, I've seen plenty ofpictures of how the Mercy Ship
has transformed people's lives.
Can you share a specificexample or story how you
personally witnessed a patientlife being transformed, or
(42:00):
community, by the assistance ofa Mercy Ship?
Speaker 3 (42:05):
Yeah, mercy Ships does a really great job of
capturing like before and afterpictures and really walking some
patients like they're throughtheir healthcare journey, and so
, if you are a YouTuber, mercyShips has some great content out
there about our patients andtheir stories, and so I would
just share that.
The children are my favorite.
(42:25):
I love me a good cleft lippalate repair before and after
with the most precious babiesthat you will ever see in your
life.
The pediatric orthopedicsspecialty is always tugged at my
heart.
Pediatric orthopedics specialtyhas always tugged at my heart.
So seeing a child with a bowedleg or some kind of you know
orthopedic challenges be able toreturn to their villages and
(42:49):
play soccer with kids at theirown age is really gets my sad on
.
I think I cry on a weekly basisworking for Mercy Ships and I'm
not a crier in my personal life.
It's just so inspiring and it'slike tears of joy because I'm
just celebrating that MercyShips have the opportunity and
the privilege to help a childlike further their life
(43:13):
expectancy, and so, yeah, ifyou're wanting to get your sad
on or cry tears of joy, checkout Mercy Ships YouTube and
you'll just you'll just not wantto look away.
It's such a fun little timepass.
I really enjoy just watchingthe YouTube videos of the before
and afters.
(43:33):
Wow, so so For listeners who maybe interested For the listeners
who may be interested what isthe process for applying to
volunteer or support Mercy Ships?
(43:54):
What's the process?
If I want to apply to volunteer, what would I do?
And then you would see what wecurrently have open and urgent,
and then you would apply throughthe apply link.
I'm going to be honest with allof you because I feel like
we're now really good friends.
The application process is notan easy task If we were really
digging into your skills andexperiences and it's kind of a
(44:16):
lengthy application, but we justreally want to make sure that
that Mercy Ships is a good fitfor you and you're a good fit
for Mercy Ships, and so it'skind of like hazing you.
If you can survive theapplication process.
We know that you're.
You're really dedicated tocoming to Mercy Ships and so but
all jokes aside, as a recruiter, I'm here to personally help
(44:37):
each and every one of you, andso I can.
I'm I can be found on LinkedIn.
My email address is as publicout there.
It's just my first dot lastname at Mercy Ships dot org.
Feel free to reach out to meindividually and, and even if
you're not ready to comevolunteer with Mercy Ships, I'd
be happy to look over yourresume and to give you a
recruiter perspective of yourresume.
(44:58):
I'd be happy to give you someinterview tips.
I just feel like all of us canhelp each other further our
careers, and so, as a recruiter,I would love to help you out
with Mercy Ships and or outsideof Mercy Ships If you need
someone to look at your resume,give you some tips and tricks on
some interview tips or how toset yourself apart from the
competitors.
It's a job markers market outthere, so a job seekers market
(45:23):
out there, and so if you'relooking for your next
opportunity career wise orvolunteer definitely reach out
to me.
I'd be happy to chat with youfurther and to help you obtain
that next opportunity.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
How can an individual who may not be able to
volunteer, like you mentioned?
It's a very intense recruitmentprocess or application process,
but how can you still directlysupport the mission and work of
Mercy Ship, even if you can'tvolunteer directly?
Speaker 3 (45:56):
Yeah, we like to use three words give, go and pray
and so if you're not in aposition in your life to
physically go, look intoopportunities to give.
So we are donor supported, andso we can't do what we do
without funds, and so if you'rein a financial position to give
us a donation, we would begreatly appreciative of that.
(46:19):
To give us a donation we wouldbe greatly appreciative of that.
If going or giving is not onyour bucket list for 2024, we
would accept any prayers orpositive thoughts that you want
to give our way.
What we do is complicated andit's not easy work, and so any
type of prayer that you canoffer mercyships would be
greatly appreciated.
(46:40):
We also love to pray for ourpatients, and we love to pray
for the governments of thecountry that we're serving, and
so there's multiple ways to getinvolved with Mercy Ships.
Even liking, sharing orfollowing us on social media
helps spread the word.
I like to commission everyoneas a recruiter, and so if you're
listening to this podcast todayand you have somebody in your
(47:01):
network that would be over themoon excited to hear about this
opportunity, I would love foryou to share this out with your
network, your friends andfamilies.
Maybe you can't go do a medicalmissionary trip, but you know
somebody that might beinterested in that, and so I
would love to commission all ofyou as recruiters today please
(47:21):
share out the opportunities.
Go follow Mercy Ships on socialmedia.
Each and every one of us canget involved in some kind of
capacity, and so this is yourinvitation Please join us in any
capacity that you're able tojoin us.
Speaker 1 (47:35):
Unbelievable.
Now you've given us so much totalk about with the Mercy Ship,
but if you could give one pieceof advice to someone considering
joining Mercy Ships, what wouldit be?
Speaker 3 (47:51):
My advice would be to just do it.
I think that we can get in ourown heads and we can talk
ourselves out of doing anything.
Get in our own heads and we cantalk ourselves out of doing
anything.
I would.
I would say don't let fear stopyou, and and this might not
just be advice for mercy shipsbut whatever is out there
tugging on your heart, just doit.
I know that we're coming up onthe new year and a lot of our
(48:15):
new year's resolutions are goingto be like to go back to the
gym, and going to the gym is theworst thing ever when you've
been out of practice for a longtime.
But they always tell you tojust just start.
Start wherever you're at, andso that's my advice for Mercy
Ships is don't let anythingstand in your way.
If this is tugging at yourheart, start the application.
Just take that first step.
(48:36):
Reach out to me and let'sfurther the conversation.
Clearly, I like to talk.
I think I've rambled in thispodcast a lot, and so I'd be
happy to chat with each andevery one of you about this
experience and this opportunity.
But yeah, my, my advice is justjust do it.
Jump in.
It's going to change your life.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
Awesome.
Well, kim, I appreciate youcoming on my podcast and you're
welcome to come back anytime,and the work you're doing is
amazing, and if there's any wayI can assist you besides flying
across seas, please reach out tome.
I'll help you any way I can andI thank you for coming on
(49:18):
because I was really informativefor me, so I know the listeners
are.
Probably we'll get a lot ofinformation from this also.
Speaker 3 (49:27):
Yeah Well, thanks so much for the invite and I hope
to come again.
I hope that I've gained severalnew friends through this
podcast experience, and I meanit.
Please reach out with anyquestions that you have, and I
hope to be on the podcast againsoon.
Speaker 1 (49:45):
As we wrap up this inspiring episode of HTM on the
Line, I want to take a moment tothank Kimberly Ames for sharing
her powerful story and sheddinglight on the transformative
work being done by Mercy Ships.
On the transformative workbeing done by Mercy Ships From
life-changing surgeries togroundbreaking educational
programs, it's clear that MercyShips is more than just a
(50:08):
floating hospital.
It's a beacon of hope forundeserved communities around
the world.
Kimberly's passion, dedicationand heartfelt advice reminds us
that each of us has the power tomake a difference, whether by
volunteering, supporting orsimply sharing this mission with
(50:29):
others.
To learn more about Mercy Ships, explore volunteer
opportunities or find ways tosupport this incredible cause,
visit their website atmercyshiftsorg.
And, as always, if today'sepisode moved, you share it with
your network and let's keep theconversation going.
(50:50):
Until next time.
Keep rising, keep leading andkeep making an impact.
This is Brian Hawkins Srsigning off from HTM Underline
Stay inspired.
Welcome back to HTM on the Line, the podcast that is
for HTM by HTM.
I'm your host, brian Hawkins Sr.
And we have an extraordinaryguest joining us today.
Kimberly Ames, a recruiter forthe world-renowned Mercy Ships,
is here to share her incrediblejourney the life-changing work
(00:24):
of Mercy Ships and how thisfloating hospital transforms
lives globally.
From managing complex logisticsduring a pandemic to recruiting
volunteers from across theglobe, kimberly's passion for
her mission is inspiring.
We'll hear about the challenges, achievements and opportunities
(00:46):
to be part of something trulylife-changing.
Whether you're in HTMhealthcare or just looking for a
story that moves you, this isone episode you don't want to
miss.
But before we get started,let's take a moment to hear from
our sponsors, who make thispodcast possible.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Today's podcast is brought to you by FSI.
Optimize your hospital'sfacilities and healthcare
technology management operationswith FSI's CMMS platform.
They're comprehensive,cloud-based maintenance
management software isstandardized, scalable and
designed to empower your teamwith accurate, practical and
(01:31):
impactful data.
Now let's jump into this week'spodcast.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Kimberly Ames.
Am I saying that right or is ita mess?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
No, you're right.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Kimberly Ames.
How you doing, Kimberly?
Welcome to HTM On the Line.
Glad to finally get you on theshow.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Yeah, I'm super excited to be here, and thanks
for the invite.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Let's just get right into it, because there's a lot
of things I want to cover.
But before we get started,first off, just if you don't
mind sharing a little backgroundabout yourself and how you come
to work with the Mercy Ship.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Yeah, I would love to .
I have a bachelor's of sciencedegree in health science and
when I was in university, Ispecialized in global health,
and so my global healthprofessor was from Kenya and
when we got to our Africa unit,she actually taught about Mercy
Ships in our global health class.
And so I remember being acollege student sitting in a
(02:47):
classroom thinking like that'swhat I want to do when I grow up
.
I want to work for Mercy Shipsand make my dreams come true.
And so I graduated and lifehappens and I got into
recruitment, really specializingin like health care recruitment
.
So I worked for a local hospital, finished up my degree and then
(03:10):
I kind of dabbled in some HRand recruiting and I just found
like that's really where mypassions lie.
And so in 2020, early 2020,before COVID hit, I came across
an opportunity to work at MercyShips and I just jumped on that
opportunity because, like Imentioned, I said that's what I
(03:31):
wanted to do when I grew up, andso when an opening came about,
I took it and it has been almostfive years later and I tell
people that I have my dream job.
So I'm excited to share todaythat I'm five years into my
career at Mercy Ships and I'mstill living in my honeymoon
phase.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Oh, that's awesome.
Now you mentioned you startedin early 2020.
So was it real challenging todo this job during COVID,
because you came in right beforeCOVID started.
So how was that?
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Yeah, it was such an interesting time, not just for
Mercy Ships but for us globally.
I started, actually, two weeksbefore the pandemic had hit and
so, as a new hire, just showingup for my first day of work, all
excited to dive into the neworganization that I'm working
for, and then I remember, likeyou know, the news coming on and
(04:24):
it's talking about justdifferent challenges that people
were having across the globe,and we just kind of like rolled
with the punches and so we hadto pull out of field service.
We were in Dakar, senegal, atthe time.
The Global Mercy had not yetlaunched, she was still being
built, and so we only had oneship the Africa Mercy was still
(04:45):
being built, and so we only hadone ship, the Africa Mercy, and
we pulled out of field serviceand we just kind of all took a
break as life was happening andduring COVID and you know, as
the world was happening, weweren't really sure what you
know, post COVID was going tolook like or when we were all
going to get back to what wepreviously knew as normal.
And so you know, there were someseasons that Mercy ships that
we had to be creative, so wereally dug into our education,
(05:07):
training and advocacy and, youknow, did some remote things
that we you know how all of uswere transitioning to a remote
time frame, and then it wasreally exciting to celebrate
getting ourselves really backinto field service.
And then we were able to launchthe Global Mercy post, covid,
and yeah.
So we're happy to report thatboth ships are currently in
field service and we're thrivingas an organization and it's
(05:30):
really amazing just thedifferent work that we're able
to provide for our patients.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
It's amazing.
Now, for those unfamiliar, canyou basically explain?
You touched on it somewhat, butcan you explain what Mercy Ship
does and the impact it has onglobal communities?
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Yeah.
So MercyShip operates a fleetof the world's largest charity
hospital ships to bring hope andhealing to those who need it
most.
An estimated 16.9 millionpeople die globally every year
because they just can't accesssafe, affordable or timely
surgical care.
So to meet the significant need, our volunteer crew help to
provide life saving and lifechanging surgery and medical
(06:12):
training in low and middleincome countries.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Wow, that's good.
Now I know she just mentionedvolunteers.
So Mercy Ship, does it rely onvolunteers to do much of the
work or all of the work?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yeah.
So the way that I like toexplain Mercy Ships to people
that are not very familiar withour internal lingo is we're a
medical missionary organization.
So, just like any othermissions organization, we do
rely on our volunteers to makethe magic happen.
So we're donor supported andpowered by our volunteers, and
(06:51):
we utilize thirty seven hundredvolunteers on an annual basis to
power both of our ships.
And the beauty of being aglobal organization is we take
or we have volunteers with usfrom over 50 to 60 different
nations, or we have volunteerswith us from over 50 to 60
different nations.
So it's a beautifulintercultural mixture of a
global organization.
Your roommate could be from theNetherlands or from Canada or
(07:15):
New Zealand, and so it's justreally fun to come together as a
body of Christ really and justbe the hands and feet of Jesus
in the countries that we serveto the underprivileged.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
And it's just really beautiful that, the way that
Mercy Ships operates.
That's great.
And what kind of roles are mostneeded and how do you go about
finding people for thesepositions?
Because you mentioned you getthem from all over the world.
So I guess that's a two partquestion what kind of roles are
most needed and then how do yougo about finding people for
(07:51):
these roles?
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Yeah, that's a great question, depending on who you
ask.
Would depend on where peoplewould say the most need is.
And that's just because youknow our departments or our
hiring managers.
Really it's so personal to them.
And so every we say that everyrole on board mercy ships and
every department is just asimportant as the other.
(08:12):
And so a surgeon cannot do whatthey do without our hospital
support staff, which then can'tdo what they do without our
housekeepers and our galley tofeed us, and we can't do any of
those things without a maritimecrew to power the ship.
And so it's such a loadedquestion, but I would.
(08:33):
I would say that there's such awide variety of roles on board
Mercy ships that if thelisteners out there are
interested in coming to servewith us, we can find something
for everyone.
And coming to serve with us, wecan find something for everyone
.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Great, you're saying a lot about MercyShift, but
there's a number oforganizations out there that's
doing great work in thehealthcare or humanitarian aid
part of the world.
What sets MercyShift apart fromthem?
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Of course I'm biased atMercyShift I am a Mercy Shifts
employee but I would just sharethat.
Just get involved, no matterwhat you do or where you go.
You could say that you can dovolunteer work in your local
neighborhoods.
You don't have to go across theocean to volunteer somewhere.
But the important part is tojust kind of, you know, get
(09:24):
involved and to do something togive back.
And so I think Mercy Ships itsets itself apart from other
humanitarian or other volunteerorganizations just because of
the nature of the work that wedo.
For me, I have always loved thehealthcare industry, and so how
cool is it that we are afloating hospital?
(09:44):
I've never seen a hospital shipbefore.
I worked for Mercy Ships and gotthe privilege to go on board
the Global Mercy, and so seeingit in action and just seeing
something walking down thehallways of the hospital in the
Global Mercy was exactly likewalking down the hospital in
Texas where I worked previouslyto Mercy Ships, and so taking a
(10:06):
hospital in the Western worldand putting it on a ship to make
it like accessible to peopleand nations that might not get
that help, it just blew my mind,to be honest with you, and so I
really appreciate that MercyShips is a faith-based
organization, so I do love thatthey keep Christ at the center.
But my favorite part about MercyShips is that you do not have
(10:28):
to be of Christian background inorder to volunteer with us.
If you are serving 11 months orbelow, you can come as you are,
which I feel like is the mostimportant part of the gospel,
and the most important partabout being a Christian is that
you know we're going to love you, no matter what your background
is or no matter what youbelieve in.
It's just we're here for ourpatients and we're coexisting
(10:50):
together to get the job done,and so I think that is my
favorite part of Mercy Ships andjust the uniqueness of the
multi backgrounds amulticultural, multi country
just the difference.
It's just it's not about whereyou're from, but it's about what
you know and how you canutilize your skills to, yeah,
(11:11):
just help on board the ships,and so I think it's a beautiful
thing.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Yes, now let's just talk a little bit about your
recruiting duties.
I mean, it's challenging rightnow to recruit individuals in
the healthcare industry.
Now you're trying to recruitindividuals in the health care
industry.
Now you're trying to recruitindividuals to, like you
mentioned, travel across theocean.
So what are some of thechallenges you may face as a
recruiter trying to get peopleto come work on the Mercy Ship?
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Yeah, it's.
It's actually funny because Isay that I have job security
because it's just there's alwaysrecruiting to be done.
So at Mercy Ships we definerecruitment as attracting new
talent, and so my teams and Iare responsible for lead
generation and so going out andtalking with people who might
(12:00):
not have ever heard of MercyShips before and just really
like explaining the mission andthe vision behind what the
organization does and the mostbeautiful thing about Mercy
Ships is it really sells itself.
I don't have to convince youhow amazing Mercy Ships is,
because Mercy Ships does apretty good job of explaining
that itself through the videosand the photography and just the
(12:23):
stories that come out of MercyShips.
It's just, it does a good jobof capturing your heart and
bringing that inspiration withinitself.
My job as a recruiter is to helpyou match your skillset to
where the need is on board.
So I have a really big passionfor helping people and one of my
favorite things aboutrecruiting is when I was doing
it in, you know, corporateAmerica was, I was helping
(12:46):
people provide for theirfamilies, and now that I recruit
volunteers, it's really justdigging in and helping people
understand the benefits ofvolunteering.
So, statistically speaking, forthose of you that have
volunteer experience on yourresume and it doesn't have to be
Mercy Ships experience but ifyou volunteer in some kind of
(13:08):
capacity, statistically provenyou are going to get a job over
somebody else, and the reasonbehind that is is that your
hiring manager can trust you.
You're, overall, a good personbecause you are doing something
outside of self, and so it'sstatistically proven that if you
have volunteer work on yourresume, that it sets you apart
(13:29):
from somebody that doesn't havethat volunteer work on their
resume.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Can you share a success story about someone
maybe, that you recruited to gointo the Mercy Ship that they
may have had when they servedthe community where the ship was
docked?
Do you have a success story youcan share with us?
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Yeah, absolutely.
But before I answer thatquestion, kind of going back to
like part of what motivatespeople and inspiration, I also
want to touch on the skills andexperiences that you gain on
Mercy Ships is completelydifferent than what you would
gain at home, and the reasonbeing is because we're going to
see surgical cases insub-Saharan Africa that we'll
never see in the Western world.
We would take care of things atyou know, at birth or when we
(14:13):
were younger.
It would never get to the sizeof the tumors that they get on
Mercy Ships, or it's just thingsthat our primary health
provider would take care ofbefore it got as bad as it does
at Mercy Ships, and so you'regoing to see surgical cases in
different levels of difficultyon board of Mercy Ships than
you'd ever see in the Westernworld.
(14:34):
So you're going to come backfor Mercy Ships like gaining
experiences that you would neverhave the opportunity of
learning by living in the US.
So I also want to add thatperspective to that as well and
then to share a story.
It's just so hard to pick onebecause each person that we
encounter at Mercy Ships hassuch a unique story, and all of
our crew members and our alumniand our incoming crew members
(14:58):
each have a personal story ofhow they heard about Mercy Ships
and why did they decide to, youknow, give up their financial
gain to go over to Sierra Leoneor Madagascar or whichever
country that we're serving foran extended period of time on
Mercy Ships, and so I would justshare that.
I have not encountered not oneperson that did not have an
(15:21):
inspiring story or didn't have astory where they were able to
impact somebody, like a patientor a caregiver or something like
that.
I will share, though, that wehave an overwhelming amount of
people that come home from oursea ships and tell us that by
going on board our ships, theyactually gained more from it
(15:44):
than what, they, like, havegiven, and so when we think
about going on a medicalmissionary trip, we think of the
things that we can provide ashealthcare professionals to the
organization, but we never thinkabout how it impacts us
individually, and so I thinkthat's another part that's so
beautiful about volunteer workis that you gain so much
(16:06):
personally from you know.
They just inspire you to be abetter person, to be a better
health care provider, and itreally just reminds you of like
why you wanted to be in thehealth care industry in the
first place.
And so really digging into likewhy did you decide to be you
know a nurse or a surgeon or youknow, in the biomedical
industry when you were a child?
Like, why did you decide to bea nurse or a surgeon or in the
biomedical industry when youwere a child, and why did you go
(16:29):
through all of these years ofeducation and gain all this
experience to get to where youare today?
And so I just always find it tobe like such an inspiring thing
.
And so I just have I have nevermet one person that didn't have
like an inspiring story.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
What can a volunteer okay, I'm volunteering to come
on the Mercy Ship.
What can I expect when I walkon the Mercy Ship, Both in terms
, I guess, of daily life and abroader experience?
What's the daily life like onthe Mercy Ship for a 40-hour
work?
Speaker 3 (17:04):
week so your shifts can look, you know, depending on
what department that you'reserving in.
So, because we are afaith-based organization, we
don't do any surgeries onSundays.
So we do have a church serviceon Sunday evening and then we do
encourage you to experience alocal church to really
(17:27):
understand the culture of thecountry that we're in.
So it's encouraged to go tochurch on a Sunday morning, but
after when you're off ship oroff shift, your time is your
time.
So we are like docked in a port, like right by the ocean, so
there's beach experiences andmajority of the country that
(17:49):
we're serving, so lots ofexcursions that take place.
We eat a lot so Mercy Shipsfeeds you three meals a day in
our galley but you're definitely, you know, able to go and enjoy
like local cuisine.
My time in Sierra Leone wasspent dining out at, you know,
(18:09):
at dinner with like friends thatI met on board that will
forever be lifelong friends ofmine.
I had the opportunity to have abeach day so I got to see the
beautiful beaches of Freetown,sierra Leone.
Yeah, we just drove through thetown and really saw the land
like there's lots of hills inFreetown and so got to really
(18:29):
experience the beauty of theland.
It was the end of rainy season,so everything was green and
beautiful and the people ofSierra Leone are so friendly and
they're just so welcoming and Inever had security concerns
while I was there.
I'd been on two other missiontrips prior to my time at Mercy
(18:50):
Ships and I will say that thelevel of security that Mercy
Ships takes into account was, Ifelt, very safe while I was
traveling with them.
And so, yeah, you, just yourfree time is your free time.
Ship life is really cool.
I like to describe it as livingin a dorm room, because when
you live in community, you'reeating meals together, you're
(19:13):
working together, there's lotsof game nights and movie nights
and, yeah, just people kind ofhang out and get to know each
other.
There are people that knit onboard just whatever you want to
do to pass your time.
You're you know you're insub-Saharan Africa, so just make
the best of it.
And it's like going on a wholeadventure.
(19:35):
So it's kind of like going on avacation, but not really because
you're working, but on yourfree time you can go off the
ship and experience, you know,whatever you're most comfortable
with.
So I like to tell people thatyour time on board is what you
make it.
If you're if you just want tocome to work your shifts and
then eat some really good foodand then go to bed, that's what
(19:57):
you can do.
If you want to stay up reallylate and hang out with really
cool people and make lifelongfriends, it's just what you
personally make it.
But there's severalopportunities to do things on
and off ship, greatopportunities to meet lifelong
friends.
So it's kind of like living ina dorm room.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Wow, now I did a little research before our
podcast and I saw this one video, a picture where it looked like
each crew member dressed up intheir cultural uniform not
uniform, but cultural dress.
What was that all about?
Where they had, like, I guess,each nationality they had on
what they would wear in theirhome country, and it's like
(20:39):
there was some type ofcelebration going on.
Are you familiar with that, oram I just?
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Yeah, so we really love to celebrate things at
Mercy Ships and so, being in amulticultural, multi-nation
environment, we celebrate everyholiday.
So if you're on board and it'sJuly 4th, we're celebrating it.
If you're on board and it'sSierra Leone's Independent Day,
we're celebrating SierraLeoneans.
We're celebrating all of ourEuropean holidays and really
(21:11):
honoring the cultures andholidays of our shipmates, our
crewmates.
So we're always celebratingsomething on Fridays.
It's a really fun time on MercyShips.
It's called Crazy Scrub Day, andso you're you're able to wear
something outside of the MercyShips scrub uniform, so a lot of
people wear beautiful Africanprints.
(21:32):
I personally like purchased aheadband while I was there and I
had a skirt like tailored to meand some beautiful African
fabric, and so if you're likereally enjoy having like a fun
time or you really enjoycelebrating things, mercy Ships
is the perfect place for you.
I like to joke that it's aholiday, like every other week
(21:53):
on board, and so that's probablysomething that you saw with
some kind of celebration.
Or I will say that when wearrive in a country, it's such,
it's a beautiful thing, and sowe have a parade, lots of
African celebrations, and sowe're doing a lot of dancing and
everyone stands out on deck 10of the global mercy and waves
(22:15):
their flag from where they'refrom, and it's just such a
beautiful experience, and MercyShips does such a great job in
honoring each person, no matterwhere they're from or what their
background is, and that, justto me, like makes it so much
more beautiful to work for MercyShips, just because no one is
ever overlooked and everyone iscelebrated, no matter where they
(22:36):
come from.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Right Now, what is the typical length of a
volunteer's commitment on theMercy Ship?
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Yeah, our time commitments are going to vary
depending on the department thatyou're serving in.
Everything will be between twoweeks and two years.
So our two week timecommitments are more reserved
for our operating room team.
So surgeons, anesthesiaprofessionals, or and PACU are
all looking at the two weektimeframe.
It does go up from there.
Our ward team comes for 12weeks, so you're looking at
(23:10):
three months.
Our biomedical technicians comefor six months.
All of our hospital leadershipor any team leaders are looking
at two years.
And that's just because it'sreally hard to overturn a
leadership team every two weeksor every few months.
We really like for leadershipto be there for two years.
(23:30):
So I will say that it's not afull two years on board.
It's not that you'll never comehome in that two years.
We do 10-month build servicesat a time and then we have to
shipyard for maritime law andregulations.
So a lot of our crew memberscome home during that time frame
as an LOA, a leave of absence,and our hospital is closed
(23:53):
during the annual maintenanceperiod and then you just go back
to the ship during the nextfield service and do your
another 10 months and then youkind of come home and your two
years are up.
I will say that when I was onMercy Ships it was almost like
dog years.
I was there for such a shortperiod of time but I felt like
I'd been on the ship like forthree months and that I was only
(24:15):
there for one week.
The time just flew by and Iwill admit on this podcast right
now that I cried like a littlebaby when I had to come home,
because I just had such a greattime on board and just the send
off was so emotional I didn'twant to leave.
And so between me and you, I amdefinitely trying to figure out
(24:35):
how I can get back on that shipbecause I just I lived my best
life and I enjoyed my time thereso much that I cannot wait to
go back.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Well, it's between me and you and the many listeners,
but just don't tell my bosseverybody many listeners, but
just don't tell my boss.
Everybody.
Now families can families orcouples volunteer together on
the Mercy Ship, or is it singleones only?
How does that work?
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Yeah, that's a great question.
We do have couples on board.
We have couples cabins.
We also have families on board.
I will say, though, that,although there are many great
things about operating ahospital ship, space is one of
the you know things that limitsus.
So we only have a certainamount of family cabins, we only
have a certain amount of crewcouples cabins, and then we only
(25:24):
have a certain amount of crewcabins.
And so, although families areeligible to come and we actually
have a Christian accreditedAcademy, k through 12.
So your children can actuallygo to school while you're
volunteering on Mercy Ships, ourfamily cabins are prioritized
based on, like, the level oftime commitment you're coming.
(25:45):
So if you're coming for a yearor more, you're going to get the
family cabin.
For a year or more, you'regoing to get the family cabin.
Our shorter term positions donot qualify for a family cabin
just because you're not comingfor such a long period of time
as our long-term crew membersare coming for.
So we really like to reserveour family cabins and our crew
(26:05):
cabins for long-term crew.
Also, we don't want to disturbthe children's academy year, so
we're really not wanting todisrupt the kids and their
school schedules.
It is a big decision to youknow.
Uproot of these things intoconsideration while we're having
that conversation, for is MercyShips the right fit for you and
your family?
That's great.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Now, since we're talking about coming volunteer
now, currently, which regionsare countries on the Mercy Ships
currently serving, countries onthe Mercy Ships currently
serving?
And also, I mean, I guess, howdo you go about picking a
location?
Speaker 3 (26:58):
or country?
Yeah, that's a great question.
The African Mercy is currentlydocked in Madagascar, so we will
be in Madagascar until the endof 2025.
And then we're not yet sure.
We have not yet revealed wherewe're going to next.
So definitely follow Mercy Shipsocial media to stay up to date
on our next country for AfricaMercy.
(27:19):
And then our global mercy isDocton Freetown, sierra Leone.
We are.
We.
We came back into Sierra Leonein September and we will be
there through June of 2025.
And we are still trying tofigure out our next location for
the Global Mercy as well.
So I won't reveal too much,because I would love for you all
(27:41):
to follow Mercy Ships and seethe exciting announcements that
we have on our social media.
But how we pick the country thatwe're serving is a really great
question.
But how we pick the country thatwe're serving is a really great
question.
So each country that we servicehas a five-year plan, and so we
have an amazing countryengagement team that works with
the Ministry of Health and thegovernment of each country, and
(28:03):
so we are invited in.
We don't want to come in andcompete with what the local
health care system is doing, sowe are there by invitation and
we agree upon how many surgeriesor what Mercy ships can help
with that help within thatcountry.
Before we the ship arrives, wehave a global patient selection
team that is on the ground doingall of our triaging and just
(28:25):
really getting everythingprepared for us.
We want to make sure that whatwe're committing to we're
actually able to deliver on, andso the ship's arrival in
country is year three of thatfive-year plan, and so a lot of
prep work goes into our shipsarriving in country and then,
even after our ships sail away,there is still some
(28:46):
on-the-ground work that needs tobe done after our ships go to
the next country work that needsto be done after our ships go
to the next country.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
So are there any particular?
I guess I'm going to say thisare there any language
requirements or culturaltraining to prepare to go to
these particular locations?
Speaker 3 (29:06):
For the language.
The working language on boardis English, so everyone has to
be able to read, write and speakEnglish in order to volunteer
on Mercy Ships.
Now you might be wondering, butyou all are going into
countries that English is notthe first language, and you're
absolutely correct.
We work with, we employ localday crew to come in and be
(29:29):
translators for us.
So in Freetown, Sierra Leone,the main language spoken is
Creole, and so, although SierraLeone is an English speaking
nation, their Creole is thenative language, and so English
is taught in their schools, andfor the most part people speak
English and Creole.
But depending on how far ourpatients are coming from, you
(29:52):
know, the bigger, bigger cities,they might not actually speak
English.
And then it's it's if yourEnglish is your second language
or third language or fourthlanguage.
You might not know all of thelike anatomy or the medical
terminology that comes withEnglish, and so we really rely
on our translators to speak toour patients in their native
language, so they're fullyunderstanding what Mercy Ships
(30:14):
is able to provide for them.
And then for Madagascar.
Madagascar is actually more ofa French speaking country, and
so their French is always abonus with Mercy Ships, because
you know just the differentregions that we serve, but
everyone on board has to speakEnglish.
Now if you're hanging out inthe galley on board and you're
(30:36):
kind of walking through ourcoffee shop, you're going to
hear a plethora of languages,and so it's just really cool to
kind of be like in the in thecafe on Mercy Ships and just
kind of overhearing the multilanguages that are spoken on
board.
But everything business relatedis in English.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Okay, now, okay, let's try to put a picture in
the minds of the listeners.
The ship Mercy Ship just pulledup to Madagascar.
What is one of the first thingsyou do when a ship pulls up to
the country the country for theship to come in, or how does it
(31:21):
work?
I mean, I know they don't.
How do they set appointments?
So it's just, they check you atthe beginning.
What's the process of gettinghealthcare to the country when
the boat gets there?
Speaker 3 (31:28):
Yeah.
So the global patient selectionteam has already been on the
ground and has done all of thepatient selection before the
ship arrives.
So for the most part we knowlike the cases or the surgical
specialties that we're going tooffer when the ship arrives and
then everyone is scheduled.
It's all pre-scheduled.
Our pre-op team does all of thepre-op appointments.
(31:49):
They meet with the surgeonsprior to their operation day.
We just do everything that wecan to make it as a comfortable
experience as possible.
It's really scary to have ahospital ship like pull up into
your port and just you have thislike large vessel that's in
your country that you might nothave ever seen a ship before,
(32:10):
you might not have ever seensomebody of light skinned.
So it could be kind of scary,and so we did the best that we
can to really educate and makeour patients as comfortable as
possible, especially thechildren.
I just can't imagine puttingmyself in a patient's shoes,
just like walking up the gangwayand just thinking like, wow,
(32:31):
this vessel is massive and I amjust like this little bitty
child and everyone around me isso big and things can be really
scary and people are talking tome in a language that's not my
first language, and so MercyShips does a really good job
just like we would do here inthe States of making our
(32:52):
patients feel comfortable.
A lot of our like healthcareprofessionals give us the
feedback that we're not flippinghospital beds on mercy shifts.
We like really do have theopportunity to walk our patients
through their entire surgicaljourney, so from start to finish
, and so that's another reasonwhy our time commitments are
kind of lengthy.
(33:14):
I know that three months soundslike a lot, or even 10 months is
like a really big chunk out ofyour life, but, like I mentioned
, it's going to go by so fastand you're just the patients and
their caregivers.
You're going to get to likereally know your patient and see
them from start to finish, andI think that that's really one
of the most inspiring things onMercy Ships is just being able
(33:37):
to walk our patients throughthat entire journey.
And so when the ship actuallyarrives in country, all of the
patients, for the most part, arealready selected.
They've already gotten their,you know, their triaging has
been done and they got theirpre-op appointments to see our
pre-op team and meet with oursurgeons.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
What are the main?
I guess what are the mainmedical services provided on
board?
Speaker 3 (34:02):
if you have to say yeah, so Mercy Ships actually
has two different pillars.
So our direct medical servicesis the surgery that is done on
board our hospital ships, andthen we have a second pillar for
education, training andadvocacy, and this is a lot of
our land-based programs, and soMercy Ships is a type of
(34:23):
organization that's more like,instead of showing a man how to
fish, we're teaching men how tofish, and so Mercy Ships would
love to disciple themselves outof being needed in sub-Saharan
Africa, and the only way thatwe've identified to do that is
not by coming in and doing itourselves and just doing it and
then leaving, but we do and weteach, and so that is also
(34:46):
another.
One of my favorite parts aboutMercy Ships is we're coming into
the local health care systemand we're teaching safe surgery,
we're teaching instrumentsterilization, we're teaching
infant CPR and just thedifferent things that come with
safe surgery.
They do have limited resourcesin their health care systems,
but we're able to come in andprovide knowledge and experience
(35:09):
and things that would beeverlasting for them, just
because we're not coming in anddumping a bunch of equipment on
them that they're never going tobe able to use or they're never
going to be able to fix becausethey can't get the parts or you
know they don't have thesupport needed to phone somebody
to you know, to screen shareand fix the problem, and so.
But we can teach knowledge andwe can provide resources and
(35:34):
courses for them to furthertheir education and strengthen
their healthcare system.
And so it's just such a greatthing that not only is Mercy
Ships providing surgery, butwe're teaching the local health
care systems how they canactually do this themselves.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
Amazing.
Now.
I'm a biomed by heart, so doyou have any biomed positions
aboard Mercy Ships open rightnow?
Speaker 3 (35:59):
We do.
We love our biomed departmenton board Mercy Ships.
So we have three differentroles available in our
biomedical department.
So we have biomedical projectassistants.
They actually come for fourweeks and so if you're thinking
that, wow, six months is areally long time, I don't think
that I can get away for thattime.
I would encourage you to comeas a project assistant first and
(36:22):
what's the project assistantdoes.
Yeah, the biomedical projectassistants are responsible for
development of new medicalequipment and maintenance of
existing medical equipmentduring maintenance periods and
designated process.
So they actually take, they'retasked with the related medical
equipment used in the hospital,including, but not limited to,
(36:45):
radiology, pharmacy or ORs, theclean core, the ICU, simulation
training rooms, pre-op andpost-op rooms, wards, nursing
stations, sterilization roomsand all that good stuff.
So it's basic understanding ofequipment, knowledge of you know
or clinical application isrequired.
So I would say that this ismore of the entry level, Um, but
(37:10):
even if you're overqualified,it's just such a perfect role to
come in to just to taste, testMercy Ships and to see if this
might be something that you wantto do long term.
Our biomedical technicians theydo come for six months, which is
a pretty lengthy time frame, Iknow, but we have been known to
take people for three months.
(37:31):
So if you can make it threemonths, you have a very high
chance of making it.
So I definitely encourage youto apply.
Even if you can't match theminimum time commitment, I still
think it's worth an application, because you never know until
you ask, and so I just wouldencourage you to go through the
(37:52):
application process and, justyou know, show Mercy Ships your
skills through your resume andCVs and just see what happens.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
Well, let's say Biomed HTM professional comes on
the ship, do they offermanufacturer training?
If they take, say they do, acommitment of a year or two
years, how do y'all get trainingfor the Biomed techs?
Speaker 3 (38:15):
Yeah, so we have a senior biomedical technician
that oversees the day-to-dayoperations of the team, and so
our senior biomed is somebodythat is very skilled in being a
biomedical on Mercy Ships, andso the senior biomed really
utilizes those trainingopportunities they provide.
Yeah, really everything thatyour workload would be on a day,
(38:38):
a day to day basis, what yourroutine maintenance would be,
because we would really love tomake sure that we're catching
something before it actuallybreaks down, and we have to, you
know, stop surgeries in orderfor you all to fix it, and so
there's a lot of maintenancethat is involved in that.
And then, of course, you are oncall should something you know
(39:02):
go wrong at the wrong time,because you know equipment likes
to.
In technology, they like tobreak at the most inconvenient
times, and so, yeah, but oursenior biomed technician is
really responsible foroverseeing that training process
.
And then we want to make surethat you're pretty comfortable
in your skills and experiencesas a biomedical professional.
You are in a limited resourceenvironment, and so if you're
(39:23):
just fresh out of training oryou're currently in school to be
a biomedical professional,mercy Ships is not going to be
the best place for you untilyou've gained at least two years
of postgraduate experience.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Yes, ma'am.
So Gildo and Emmanuel, howthey're doing.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
Oh, they're amazing.
Gildo is one of the mostamazing biomedical professionals
I've ever met in my life.
He's native to the Netherlandsand so and then Emmanuel is from
Benin.
So I personally, as a recruiterthat lives in the US, I would
love to see some more USbiomedical professionals on
board.
But I understand that you allare very important in your local
(40:05):
jobs, and so we don't want totake you away from anything that
you're currently doing.
But I would just encourage youthat if Mercy Ships is ever in
your dreams, add it to yourbucket list, add it to your
vision boards.
We've been here since 1978.
We'll been here since 1978.
We'll be here in the future.
So really, it's just wheneverit's most convenient for you.
We'll be here when you're ready.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
Yes, yes.
And how is Mercy Chef's rockstar?
Speaker 3 (40:37):
Deborah, my favorite.
How's she doing?
She's amazing.
I actually just hung out withGuido and her when I was in
Freetown.
We took a little selfie andsent it your way, bryant, but it
was so fun to meet them inperson.
I had worked with Guido foralmost five years now, and so
getting the opportunity to meethim in person, versus chatting
through a screen, was somethingreally amazing.
But they're doing great work onMercy Ships and I know Emmanuel
(40:59):
won the Humanitarian Award lastyear, and so they're just
amazing human beings and justutilizing their skills and
talents to give back in ahumanitarian capacity, it's just
really great.
But also they've learned andthey've gained skills from Mercy
Ships that they would not havegained in their local hospitals
back in the Netherlands or Benin, and so it's kind of a two-way
(41:24):
street really Like.
Mercy Ships obviously benefitsfrom their skills, but they've
gained some tips and tricksalong the way with volunteering
with Mercy Ships, and so it'sjust amazing.
They're amazing people.
Speaker 1 (41:38):
Yes, yes Now you talked a lot about the Mercy
Ship and the great things, canyou?
I mean, I've seen plenty ofpictures of how the Mercy Ship
has transformed people's lives.
Can you share a specificexample or story how you
personally witnessed a patientlife being transformed, or
(42:00):
community, by the assistance ofa Mercy Ship?
Speaker 3 (42:05):
Yeah, mercy Ships does a really great job of
capturing like before and afterpictures and really walking some
patients like they're throughtheir healthcare journey, and so
, if you are a YouTuber, mercyShips has some great content out
there about our patients andtheir stories, and so I would
just share that.
The children are my favorite.
(42:25):
I love me a good cleft lippalate repair before and after
with the most precious babiesthat you will ever see in your
life.
The pediatric orthopedicsspecialty is always tugged at my
heart.
Pediatric orthopedics specialtyhas always tugged at my heart.
So seeing a child with a bowedleg or some kind of you know
orthopedic challenges be able toreturn to their villages and
(42:49):
play soccer with kids at theirown age is really gets my sad on
.
I think I cry on a weekly basisworking for Mercy Ships and I'm
not a crier in my personal life.
It's just so inspiring and it'slike tears of joy because I'm
just celebrating that MercyShips have the opportunity and
the privilege to help a childlike further their life
(43:13):
expectancy, and so, yeah, ifyou're wanting to get your sad
on or cry tears of joy, checkout Mercy Ships YouTube and
you'll just you'll just not wantto look away.
It's such a fun little timepass.
I really enjoy just watchingthe YouTube videos of the before
and afters.
(43:33):
Wow, so so For listeners who maybe interested For the listeners
who may be interested what isthe process for applying to
volunteer or support Mercy Ships?
(43:54):
What's the process?
If I want to apply to volunteer, what would I do?
And then you would see what wecurrently have open and urgent,
and then you would apply throughthe apply link.
I'm going to be honest with allof you because I feel like
we're now really good friends.
The application process is notan easy task If we were really
digging into your skills andexperiences and it's kind of a
(44:16):
lengthy application, but we justreally want to make sure that
that Mercy Ships is a good fitfor you and you're a good fit
for Mercy Ships, and so it'skind of like hazing you.
If you can survive theapplication process.
We know that you're.
You're really dedicated tocoming to Mercy Ships and so but
all jokes aside, as a recruiter, I'm here to personally help
(44:37):
each and every one of you, andso I can.
I'm I can be found on LinkedIn.
My email address is as publicout there.
It's just my first dot lastname at Mercy Ships dot org.
Feel free to reach out to meindividually and, and even if
you're not ready to comevolunteer with Mercy Ships, I'd
be happy to look over yourresume and to give you a
recruiter perspective of yourresume.
(44:58):
I'd be happy to give you someinterview tips.
I just feel like all of us canhelp each other further our
careers, and so, as a recruiter,I would love to help you out
with Mercy Ships and or outsideof Mercy Ships If you need
someone to look at your resume,give you some tips and tricks on
some interview tips or how toset yourself apart from the
competitors.
It's a job markers market outthere, so a job seekers market
(45:23):
out there, and so if you'relooking for your next
opportunity career wise orvolunteer definitely reach out
to me.
I'd be happy to chat with youfurther and to help you obtain
that next opportunity.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
How can an individual who may not be able to
volunteer, like you mentioned?
It's a very intense recruitmentprocess or application process,
but how can you still directlysupport the mission and work of
Mercy Ship, even if you can'tvolunteer directly?
Speaker 3 (45:56):
Yeah, we like to use three words give, go and pray
and so if you're not in aposition in your life to
physically go, look intoopportunities to give.
So we are donor supported, andso we can't do what we do
without funds, and so if you'rein a financial position to give
us a donation, we would begreatly appreciative of that.
(46:19):
To give us a donation we wouldbe greatly appreciative of that.
If going or giving is not onyour bucket list for 2024, we
would accept any prayers orpositive thoughts that you want
to give our way.
What we do is complicated andit's not easy work, and so any
type of prayer that you canoffer mercyships would be
greatly appreciated.
(46:40):
We also love to pray for ourpatients, and we love to pray
for the governments of thecountry that we're serving, and
so there's multiple ways to getinvolved with Mercy Ships.
Even liking, sharing orfollowing us on social media
helps spread the word.
I like to commission everyoneas a recruiter, and so if you're
listening to this podcast todayand you have somebody in your
(47:01):
network that would be over themoon excited to hear about this
opportunity, I would love foryou to share this out with your
network, your friends andfamilies.
Maybe you can't go do a medicalmissionary trip, but you know
somebody that might beinterested in that, and so I
would love to commission all ofyou as recruiters today please
(47:21):
share out the opportunities.
Go follow Mercy Ships on socialmedia.
Each and every one of us canget involved in some kind of
capacity, and so this is yourinvitation Please join us in any
capacity that you're able tojoin us.
Speaker 1 (47:35):
Unbelievable.
Now you've given us so much totalk about with the Mercy Ship,
but if you could give one pieceof advice to someone considering
joining Mercy Ships, what wouldit be?
Speaker 3 (47:51):
My advice would be to just do it.
I think that we can get in ourown heads and we can talk
ourselves out of doing anything.
Get in our own heads and we cantalk ourselves out of doing
anything.
I would.
I would say don't let fear stopyou, and and this might not
just be advice for mercy shipsbut whatever is out there
tugging on your heart, just doit.
I know that we're coming up onthe new year and a lot of our
(48:15):
new year's resolutions are goingto be like to go back to the
gym, and going to the gym is theworst thing ever when you've
been out of practice for a longtime.
But they always tell you tojust just start.
Start wherever you're at, andso that's my advice for Mercy
Ships is don't let anythingstand in your way.
If this is tugging at yourheart, start the application.
Just take that first step.
(48:36):
Reach out to me and let'sfurther the conversation.
Clearly, I like to talk.
I think I've rambled in thispodcast a lot, and so I'd be
happy to chat with each andevery one of you about this
experience and this opportunity.
But yeah, my, my advice is justjust do it.
Jump in.
It's going to change your life.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
Awesome.
Well, kim, I appreciate youcoming on my podcast and you're
welcome to come back anytime,and the work you're doing is
amazing, and if there's any wayI can assist you besides flying
across seas, please reach out tome.
I'll help you any way I can andI thank you for coming on
(49:18):
because I was really informativefor me, so I know the listeners
are.
Probably we'll get a lot ofinformation from this also.
Speaker 3 (49:27):
Yeah Well, thanks so much for the invite and I hope
to come again.
I hope that I've gained severalnew friends through this
podcast experience, and I meanit.
Please reach out with anyquestions that you have, and I
hope to be on the podcast againsoon.
Speaker 1 (49:45):
As we wrap up this inspiring episode of HTM on the
Line, I want to take a moment tothank Kimberly Ames for sharing
her powerful story and sheddinglight on the transformative
work being done by Mercy Ships.
On the transformative workbeing done by Mercy Ships From
life-changing surgeries togroundbreaking educational
programs, it's clear that MercyShips is more than just a
(50:08):
floating hospital.
It's a beacon of hope forundeserved communities around
the world.
Kimberly's passion, dedicationand heartfelt advice reminds us
that each of us has the power tomake a difference, whether by
volunteering, supporting orsimply sharing this mission with
(50:29):
others.
To learn more about Mercy Ships, explore volunteer
opportunities or find ways tosupport this incredible cause,
visit their website atmercyshiftsorg.
And, as always, if today'sepisode moved, you share it with
your network and let's keep theconversation going.
(50:50):
Until next time.
Keep rising, keep leading andkeep making an impact.
This is Brian Hawkins Srsigning off from HTM Underline
Stay inspired.
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