Steward / Nurse
A steward/nurse does a full interior job and carries the yacht's medical responsibility on top. Most of the day is service, housekeeping and laundry. When someone slips on a wet deck, gets stung by a jellyfish or has chest pain at 0300, you are the one they call. Owners and captains pay a premium for that peace of mind.
The jobWhat fills the day
The work splits in two. Day to day you are a stewardess or steward: cabins, laundry, table service, bar, flowers. Alongside that you own the medical side. You keep the hospital locker stocked and in date, check the AED and oxygen, log controlled drugs with the captain, and run first aid and CPR drills for crew. When there is an injury or illness you assess, treat, and link up with a shore doctor through the telemedical service the yacht subscribes to.
With guests aboard, the balance shifts. On a busy Mediterranean charter you might be on service until 0100 and still be the only person who can handle a guest's allergic reaction. Owners with health conditions, elderly family members or young children often ask for a nurse aboard for exactly this reason. On a 45m yacht you will be a hands-on second or third stew. On an 80m+ the medical side grows, with more crew to look after, more paperwork and sometimes a dedicated clinic space.
Captains hire registered nurses with real clinical experience, usually two years or more. Emergency department, ICU, paramedic-adjacent and theatre backgrounds count for most, because at sea you are dealing with trauma and acute illness far from a hospital. Nurses from the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are common. You still need to be a good stew. A nurse who cannot press a shirt or serve a plated lunch will struggle to get a second contract.
Progression goes two ways. Some move up the interior ladder to second and chief stew, using the nursing skills as a selling point. Others lean into medicine and move to dedicated yacht nurse or medical officer posts on 90m+ yachts and expedition vessels, where the role is clinical full time. Either way, keep your nursing registration and revalidation current. Lose that and you are back to a standard stew salary.
Skills captains look for
- Emergency and trauma care
- Telemedical consultation
- Medical stores management
- Silver service and bar
- Laundry and housekeeping
- Crew health training
- Calm under pressure
A day aboardCharter day, 55m motor yacht, Exumas, Bahamas
Set up breakfast on the aft deck and lay out fresh juices. Quick check on a guest who mentioned seasickness the night before.
Guest cabins turned down to standard while the family is out on the tenders. Laundry running in the background.
Deckhand comes up with a coral cut from the swim platform. Clean, irrigate, dress and note it in the medical log.
Lunch service on the sundeck, plated three courses with wine pairing.
Two hours off. Most of it asleep in the cabin.
Monthly hospital locker check: expiry dates, oxygen pressure, AED pads. Reorder list sent to the purser for the Nassau provisioning run.
Canapés and cocktails, then dinner service with the chief stew.
Last guest to bed. Galley and bar closed down, handheld radio on the bedside table for the night.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
Expect roughly USD 500 to 1,500 a month above a stew of the same rank. Charter tips, often 10 to 20 percent of the charter fee split among crew, can add several thousand a season, and some 90m+ yachts offer rotation. See the Spa, Wellness & Childcare salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical certificate
- Current nursing registration (NMC, AHPRA, NCNZ, SANC or equivalent)
- Advanced Life Support (ALS or ACLS)
Gets you hired
- PHTLS or equivalent trauma course
- Food Hygiene Level 2
- GUEST interior courses
- PDSD
- WSET Level 2 Wines
Visas
- US B1/B2
- Schengen access
Where it leadsA typical career path
Steward / Nurse jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
Do I need yachting experience to get a steward/nurse job?
It helps but is not essential. Your nursing record is what gets you noticed. Do your STCW and ENG1, then spend a season dockwalking or dayworking in Antibes or Palma to learn interior basics. Captains want to see you can do the stew side too.
Can I give medication and treatment on board?
Within limits. The yacht's medical stores and the controlled drugs are legally under the captain's authority, and most treatment beyond first aid is done on the advice of a shore doctor through the telemedical service. Agree your scope with the captain when you join, and write everything down.
Will I lose my nursing skills at sea?
They can fade if you do nothing. Most steward/nurses do agency shifts or clinical refreshers on leave to keep registration and revalidation hours current. Some yachts pay for ALS or trauma course renewals.
Is the job mostly nursing or mostly interior?
Mostly interior. On a typical charter, nursing takes up a small part of your time, mainly minor injuries, seasickness and stores checks. The value is in having you there for the rare serious emergency.