
Expedition medicine is an exciting career path that many medics dream about but often struggle to navigate. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to turn this aspiration into reality, you’re in the right place! This blog takes you through how to get started, find opportunities and make a career in expedition medicine.
đ¤What is Expedition Medicine?
Expedition medicine offers the unique opportunity to travel the world, supporting adventure travelers and field researchers in remote and challenging environments. As an expedition medic, your primary role is to ensure the safety and well-being of the team, addressing illnesses and injuries that may arise.
Expedition medics work across diverse terrains, including mountains, rainforests, polar regions, and oceans. Youâll be responsible for managing both the physical and psychological health of the group, often with limited resources. This requires making critical decisions on how to treat acute injuriesâwhether to handle them independently with the resources available or to escalate care by seeking emergency services.
đď¸What the Role Involves
- Medical Role: Managing acute or chronic illnesses, such as road traffic accidents, infections, altitude sickness, blisters, wounds, MSK injuries, and gastroenteritis. Youâll also need to review immunisation records and ensure the team has received the necessary vaccinations pre-expedition.
- Non-Medical Role: Demonstrating confidence in navigation, climbing, bushcraft, and pre-expedition planning to support the team.
- Leadership Role: Communicating effectively and leading emergency evacuations. Providing emotional reassurance can be crucial for the groupâs morale and cohesion.


đď¸How to Get Started During University
- Start Local: Participate in local expeditions to familiarise yourself with outdoor environments. Go with friends to practise leadership and navigation skills. Companies like Raleigh offer expedition trips, though some may require fundraising to cover costs.
- University Opportunities: Explore expeditions or outdoor activities organised by your university. Many institutions have adventure or hiking clubs that can help you gain experience.
- Courses and Qualifications: Look for courses and certifications in the terrain you’re interested in. These arenât just about the qualificationâtheyâre about gaining hands-on exposure and building practical skills.
- Attend Conferences: Keep an eye out for expedition medicine conferences. If tickets are too expensive, consider volunteering at the event to gain free entry and valuable connections.
Make the outdoors your comfort zone. Finally, focus on being a competent expedition member before taking on the responsibility of leading as a medic. On many expeditions, there is only one medic, so itâs crucial to feel confident in your abilities and comfortable with working solo.
Remember, you can only look after others if you are well-prepared and capable in these environments yourself.
đHow to Secure Your First Job in Expedition Medicine
Landing your first role in expedition medicine can be challenging. To make your application more competitive, consider pursuing a Postgraduate Diploma in Expedition and Wilderness Medicine and gaining experience in Emergency Medicine. While these qualifications can enhance your chances, they are not always essential for breaking into the field.
When job hunting, thoroughly research job boards and individual companies specialising in expeditions. Donât overlook smaller organisations, as they often provide excellent opportunities for newcomers. Tailor your search to match your interests, such as the location you want to work in or the type of expedition.
Job Searches:
World Extreme Medicine (WEM): Job Board
The Adventure medic: Jobs and volunteering
Companies to Apply to:
- Discover Adventure
- Kilimanjaro Challenge
- Action Challenge
- Global Adventure Challenges
- Choose a Challenge
- Charity Challenge
- Life Changing Challenges
For more information of how to secure your first expedition click here.
âWhat Employees look for
Expedition medicine is highly competitive to get into, and securing your first position can be the toughest part. To increase your chances, consider the following key attributes that employers value:
- Be a qualified doctor, paramedic, or nurse.
- A Postgraduate Diploma in Expedition and Wilderness Medicine will give you a competitive edge over other applicants.
- Experience in Emergency Medicine is highly sought after by employers.
- Have completed ALS (Advanced Life Support) and BLS (Basic Life Support) courses.
- Be competent in suturing and other essential medical skills.
- A strong passion for the outdoors, with comfort and experience in activities like mountaineering, hiking, and other adventure pursuits.
- Demonstrate leadership qualities, especially in high-pressure or remote settings
đ§ââď¸Considerations
- Costs involved: You will need to cover expenses for clothing, boots, and equipment, which can vary depending on the climate and environment.
- The company should cover travel, accommodation, and food expenses.
- Remuneration varies greatly for expedition medics. For more details, click here.
- Be sure to factor in recovery time after the trip. Expedition work can be physically demanding, and you may need time to recharge.
- It is highly recommended to purchase personal travel insurance to protect yourself during the trip.
â¨Opportunities Within Expedition medicine
Events
- World Extreme Medicine Conference (WEM): https://worldextrememedicine.com/world-extreme-medicine-conference/
- Royal Collage of Emergency Medicine: for events click here.
- Trauma care: events and conferences
- British Mountain Medicine Society: https://thebmms.co.uk/
- BMC: Mountain medicine weekend every year in Peak District
Courses
Consider doing an intercalation, elective, or post graduate degree in pre-hospital, emergency, trauma, wilderness, extreme and remote medicine.
Courses along the lines of these will add to your knowledge of handling situations on an expedition and will look great in an application. Thereâs several intercalations and post-graduation courses.
- Intercalated BSc : Remote medicine at Imperial
- MSc: Extreme Medicine at Exeter
- Postgraduate Diploma: Expedition and Wilderness Medicine at USW
Other Opportunities
- Look out for volunteering opportunities in pre-hospital medicine, sports events, festivals etc. such as Tail Med or volunteer with St John Ambulance
- Get medical experience in emergency medicine, and general practice to experience a broad range of primary care scenarios.
- Thereâs plenty of expedition courses to become more comfortable with your outdoor skills. Check out this mountain training course.
â Advantages of a Career in Expedition Medicine
- Opportunity to travel the world, working in diverse and remote environments.
- A dynamic and adventurous career, offering a break from traditional clinical routines.
- Personal growth through exposure to new cultures, environments, and experiences.
- Build strong leadership and communication skills in remote teams.
â Disadvantages
- Many expedition medicine roles are unpaid, though travel and food expenses are typically reimbursed. Despite this, it’s still possible to incur a net loss due to other costs. However, more experienced clinicians often have access to paid opportunities.
- You may need to work independently, relying solely on your clinical expertise in challenging and isolated environments.
- Itâs a highly competitive field, making it difficult to secure your first role and stand out among other applicants.
- You may need to take time off work or plan your expedition around your leave, which can interfere with your regular schedule.
You may also be interested in:
- Flight medicine/ air ambulance doctor: For those critically ill patients that are abroad and need assistance during their travel.
- Diving and Undersea medicine: Diagnosing, treating, and preventing health issues related to underwater diving.
- Army Medicine: Read our blog here!
- Sports Medicine: Read our blog here!
- Emergency medicine
Further reading
- Guide to choosing an Expedition Medicine Job by Adventure Medic
- How to become An Expedition Medic by Dr Hannah Lock
- How to Get Your First Medical Expedition by MedCourse
We hope you found this blog beneficial! Let us know in the comments.