Doctors who work in less traditional medical environments bring back unique skills to hospitals, which they can share with colleagues

Wednesday, 22 February 2017

The organisers of the World Extreme Medicine Conference and Expo have announced that the 2017 event will take place at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, from 25 to 27 November 2017.

The attendees will represent an eclectic mix of disciplines, united by one thing: they all specialise in medical practice conducted away from a usual clinical setting, typically in remote and sometimes dangerous locations.

Three core disciplines will covered by key speakers: disaster and humanitarian medicine, extreme, expedition and space medicine, and prehospital medicine. Over 60 speakers are expected to talk at the three day conference, which will welcome 900 attendees.

The 2016 instalment of the conference was a great success. Dr David Nott OBE, an NHS war surgeon who spends several months of each year working overseas for Médecins Sans Frontières and the British Red Cross and works actively in Syria, took the opportunity to launch Doctors Under Fire, a new charity campaigning for the protection of medical professionals in conflict zones such as the Yemen, where they have been targeted by the military.

Eoin Walker is a Pre-Hospital Mass Casualty Incident Management Paramedic with the London Air Ambulance, and will be discussing prehospital care at the conference.

Eoin said, “As we strive for ever-better outcomes for patients, it’s easy to forget the huge crossovers in research and knowledge between different areas. We’ve seen great synergy before between people working in fields such as prehospital care, expedition medicine and pioneering hospital treatments.

“The medical community can keep people safest by collaborating and working together to consider best practises and break down the traditional siloes between different areas of medicine and science.

“The World Extreme Medicine Conference is a collaborative environment that opens discussions and new ways of thinking for medical professionals.”

World Extreme Medicine Founder Mark Hannaford said, “With the NHS under mounting pressure, you might think that doctors would be hard-pushed to attend a three day conference, but the reality is that the levels of interest are growing as motivated doctors look into the possibility of opportunities within medicine but outside of a traditional hospital environment. Anecdotally, it’s been found that medics gaining this experience return to their core clinical roles with additional team-working, leadership and management skills.

“Because of the rapid improvement in technology in recent years, people are spending more and more time exploring areas outside the human race’s comfort zone: in deserts, at the poles, at the top of huge mountains, in space.

“When humans travel far from hospitals and clinics, and the advanced medical technology associated with those facilities, they need healthcare professionals with a very different set of skills.

“The area of extreme medicine is in growth, and our message is that it’s a great alternative to a traditional clinical career, and can work in parallel to a job in a hospital environment. Doctors who work in less traditional medical environments bring back unique skills to hospitals, which they can share with colleagues.

There’s never been a more exciting time to work in medicine, and the fascinating speakers at the World Extreme Medicine Conference will prove that point. We will make further announcements about speakers throughout the year.”

World Extreme Medicine is offering a range of sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities for companies and causes that want to reach a very focused, highly motivated and adventurous group of medical professionals, from entry-level to whole-event contracts.

About the World Extreme Medicine Conference and Expo

Location: Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh, EH8 8AS
Dates: 25-27 November 2017
Website: http://www.extrememedicineexpo.com/
Videos: Being a Doctor Just Became the Most Exciting Career https://vimeo.com/170846844
A ‘welcome to extreme medicine’ from space: https://vimeo.com/184097597
Extreme and Wilderness Medicine – Our Story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhPrFGFIFXI

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High resolution imagery and interviews are available on request. Journalists are invited to attend the conference too and are asked to register their interest as early as possible.

Media information provided by Famous Publicity. For more information, please contact George Murdoch at 0333 344 2341 or george@famouspublicity.com , Tina Fotherby at 0333 344 2341 or tina@famouspublicity.com or Adam Betteridge at 0333 344 2341 or adam@famouspublicity.com.

About the World Extreme Medicine Conference Expo:

The World Extreme Medicine Conference and Expo will take place at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh, EH8 8AS from 25-27 November 2017. Bringing together many of the world’s brightest medical minds, it will focus four core disciplines:
• Disaster and humanitarian medicine
• Extreme, expedition and space medicine
• Prehospital medicine

The exposition’s mission is to break down barriers, build bridges and make connections within the extreme medicine community.

The term ‘Extreme Medicine’ was first coined by Mark Hannaford and Dr Sean Hudson as an umbrella term for these extra-clinical medical practices.