She grew up on board. Then came back as a nurse.
Kim Anna Kronester was just two years old when she first moved on board Mercy Ships with her family. Nearly 30 years later, she returned, this time as a qualified nurse caring for patients herself.
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From growing up on board to caring for patients
Kim Anna grew up on three Mercy Ships vessels, experiencing life at sea, different cultures and the international community that surrounded her family.
At 14, she spent a week gaining work experience on a hospital ward on board. She already knew she wanted to become a nurse.
Years later, after training and building her nursing career in Germany, she came back.
A childhood dream, nearly 30 years later
Kim Anna was just two years old when she first called a Mercy Ships vessel home. Nearly 30 years later, at 31, she returned as a qualified nurse. In 2024, she served on board the Global Mercy™ in Sierra Leone before returning to the Africa Mercy® in Madagascar, the same ship where she had once gone to school and graduated.
“I’m fulfilling the dream I had when I first arrived here.”
It’s a wonderful experience to see things from the other side, as an adult and a nurse. I’m fulfilling the dream I had when I first arrived here.
Could your nursing journey lead you here?
Kim Anna came back with something she didn't have as a child: professional skills of her own to share.
Nurses from around the world bring their experience on board to care for patients, work alongside an international healthcare team and become part of a community with a shared purpose.
Where could your nursing skills take you?
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She grew up on board. Then came back as a nurse.
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Helping patients take the next step
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A few weeks. For more than 20 years.
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He almost didn't apply
