“Think of a job where you can potentially wake up to a view across the Himalayas.” A doctor’s life and schedule mostly revolves around their patients - leisure and travel time become luxuries very early on in the career. Taking the road less travelled into the increasingly popular field of expedition medicine can give doctors a brand-new perspective of their profession, incredible experiences, and best of all – an always-exciting workplace. An option for the adventurous doctor Expedition medicine ranges from polar medicine in Arctic Norway, jungle medicine in Costa Rica, mountain medicine in Nepal to medical hospital ships in Africa. Many are finding expedition medicine an increasingly attractive option as they can travel, push themselves to physical limits, and practice medicine – all at the same time. “It has enabled me to travel extensively– to destinations including Everest Base Camp, Fiji, China and Kilimanjaro – something I would never have been able to do otherwise,” says Louise Wade from Adventure Medic, a site that focuses on wilderness, expedition and humanitarian medicine. For those who are concerned that such adventures come at the cost of compromise towards medical experiences, rest assured as there are many opportunities to undertake extended roles and see otherwise rare conditions. However, financial retribution is minimal to none, so weaving it into a full-time paid career or doing it during time off work are realistic options. Natural gaps between training years in medicine are also great opportunities to explore this field. Where man goes, medicine must follow As with medicine in general, this is not a career for the faint-hearted. Necessary technical skills will vary according to the nature of the expedition, but all expedition doctors must be physically fit, able to cope psychologically with stress, boredom, and pressure, and anticipate the unexpected throughout the trip. Claire Grogan, an emergency medical doctor, experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake whilst volunteering at a high-altitude rescue post in the Gokyo Valley in the Himalayas. “Bad visibility masked our view but we heard avalanches roaring in the valley around us,” she says. “Over the coming days we established communication with home and our colleagues further up the valley, and helped our local community get back on to its feet. Our rescue post became a place for people to gather and support each other.” Being an expedition doctor has its highs and lows. According to Wade, she has had to face difficult decisions like taking responsibility for participants who are medically unfit for the expedition, while there were trips where “the only thing I did in ten days was to dress one burst blister.” However, she maintains professionalism when dealing with demanding participants, and finds living with her patients interesting. Getting started with expedition medicine Grogan teaches at World Extreme Medicine which runs international courses year-round in expedition and wilderness medicine, and even offers a Masters in Extreme Medicine. Those with interest in particular environments can undergo environment-specific courses, or pursue a diploma in mountain medicine or tropical medicine. While these qualifications put the individual in a more favourable position, they are not essential for getting work opportunities such as company charity trips, relief work, commercial and university organised expeditions. Raleigh, Operation Wallacea, and Coral Cay Conversation area few examples of organisations that run well organised expeditions. “Often vacancies are offered first to medics who have worked for them before and therefore it is rare to get offered work straight away. Companies often email around with short notice vacancies too,” said Wade. Grogan finds concerns about difficulty obtaining jobs after taking time off for expedition medicine unfounded, as she thinks her experience has benefited her. “At interviews I was often asked more about what I had learned from my experiences as an expedition medic than other details on my CV,” she quips. Protecting the expedition doctor Taking care of certain things before expeditions like travel and medical indemnityinsurance are important considerations, as doctors will be working without much help and may not have much experience with certain problems. Yet, all things considered, a journey in expedition medicine could give doctors the best experiences in their career. “Think of a job where you can potentially wake up to a view across the Himalayas,” Wade said. “I’ve enjoyed the freedom to practice free from protocols, finding out what can be achieved with the kit I’ve got, in the environment I am in.” Source
