Wemcast

In this episode, Stephen Wood sits down with Julie Rak to discuss gender equity in mountaineering. Junko Tabei isn’t as much a household name as Edmund Hillary or Jon Krakauer, but she is one of the world’s most accomplished climbers. She was the first woman to summit Mt. Everest and has also the first woman to climb the seven summits. She is listed as a “housewife” in several sources, which couldn’t be further from the truth as she was an avid climber, environmentalist, author and teacher. This is a good example though, of how woman have been diminished in the field. Woman involved in mountaineering have been disparaged and ridiculed. Equipment isn’t always designed with women in mind and even terms like “Brotherhood of the Rope” suggests that climbing is for men. Julie is a professor by trade, climber for fun and discusses eloquently the merits of woman climbers. She reminds us of the importance of considering gender in a positive way, to celebrate accomplishments and to recognise achievement. Stephen and J

Cataracts are the major cause of blindness and visual impairment in developing countries and contribute to more than 90% of the total disability adjusted life years. In 2020, an estimated 15.2 million (12.7-17.9) people worldwide aged 50+ years were blind due to cataract. In this episode, we talk with Dr James Guzek MD and Director AJ Martinson about the movie ‘The End of Blindness’ and the work being done in Ethiopia to combat cataract-related blindness. We talk about the awe-inspiring precision micro-surgery being performed in mobile operating theatres that can be carried around in the back of an SUV, most often in the middle of nowhere, the impact cataract-related blindness has on the local population, and the mindset required to make a difference in extreme environments far removed from the hi-tech operating theatres in the West. Dr James Guzek has been practicing ophthalmology for over 30 years and has served as the Chief of Ophthalmology for several years at the J. L. Pettis VA Hospital, Loma Linda, Cal

In this episode Will Duffin (WEM medical director) and Eoin Walker (WEM pre-hospital lead) talk about the recently released 'Wilderness Medical Society Clinical Practice Guidelines on Anaphylaxis'. They examine and analyse the paper's remit, cohort involved, methodological structure, guideline recommendations, and variations compared to other guidelines (NICE, Resuscitation Council). One of the key seminal recommendations that are not mentioned in the episode but the hosts fundamentally agree with is the training of non-medical personnel to deliver adrenaline to the anaphylactic patient. They also examine the definitions of anaphylaxis, the variation of symptomatology that anaphylaxis can present with, and the limitations of the guidelines. They also include their anecdotal experience to emphasise the importance that environmental and wilderness factors play in such cases. They finally discuss the emphasis on intramuscular adrenaline and some of the limitations of other recommendations which feature

In this episode WEM Medical Director Dr Will Duffin is joined by two experienced humanitarian emergency medical responders from frontline medical aid charity UK-Med: Emergency Department nurse and UK-Med’s Health Referent David Anderson and Consultant Paediatrician - Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Stephen Owens. They discuss the findings of UK Med’s Global Health Responders Report (Sept 2021) and reflect on their own experiences of humanitarian deployments and how releasing NHS staff to do this vital work: Improves Clinicians clinical skills, team working and leadership skills. Boosts Clinicians resilience and staves off burnout. Builds vital skills in managing infectious disease outbreaks that have informed the UK response to COVID-19. Has a real and meaningful impact on patients in low resource settings. Benefits the wider NHS and any developed health system deploying medics by bringing ‘global experience’ to serve a ‘global Britain’.

Harrison Carter is a conservation biologist, storyteller and explorer with a fascination with human/wildlife conflict that has taken him to some of the world's most extraordinary places. He has travelled and filmed in over 50 countries worldwide, and his expeditions include traversing the Guyanese jungle, Indonesian rainforests, and Sri Lankan lowlands in search of the world's most deadly snakes and their stories. Starting his career in Investment Banking and Management Consultancy, Harrison is now studying for his Masters degree in conservation and biodiversity at the University of Exeter before heading out on his next adventure.

Alex is a trainee emergency medicine doctor based in Bristol, who wholeheartedly believes in taking the road less travelled. She joins us to share some of her insights into carving a career in expedition medicine, and how developing this passion has enhanced her NHS job. She has been working as an expedition medic since 2017 and took five years out of training to work for 18 months in New Zealand and then as an expedition medicine clinical fellow in Bristol. She has an additional interest in Global Health and is looking to work in Africa for four months from August. She completed the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 2015 and the International Diploma in Expedition and Wilderness Medicine in 2018. She has just completed her dissertation for Masters in Global Health and Remote Healthcare covering experiences of expedition medics treating local staff on Kilimanjaro. Alex edits for wilderness and humanitarian platform ‘The Adventure Medic’. She teaches wilderness medicine with several companies an

In this conversation we talk with Wayne Auton about his journey through three domains of practice; the military, pre-hospital care, and mountaineering. We examine the concept of High Performing Teams (HPT) in all three domains and some of the features of HPT that unite the different practices.   Wayne initially joined the military/Royal Marine Commandos and through time specialised as a sniper. He then transitioned through into pre-hospital care as a paramedic, progressing on to become a Critical Care Paramedic or CCP within a different high-performing team and pre-hospital HEMS service. Finally, we look at his recent transition to mountaineering and alpinism in Chamonix, French Alps. We examine some of the uniting HPT concepts around kit husbandry, homeostatic teamwork, community, debrief, commitment to continual improvement, and feedback. We also examine the attention to detail and mentoring as part of working within these teams and the vital concept of adaptation to the environment and situational awaren

Host Stephen P. Wood follows up with Luke Huntley, Australian snake catcher, after their discussion during the WEM 2021 conference. Stephen and Luke discuss the training that goes into snake catching as well as the legal requirements to be a certified snake catcher in Australia. Carpet pythons and Eastern Brown snakes are the most common snakes encountered in Luke’s work and Stephen and Luke discuss these animals and Luke’s approach to catching these beautiful creatures. Stephen and Luke explore the relocation of these snakes and some of the scientific data surrounding repatriation. Lastly, Stephen and Luke converse about some of the biggest threats to their survival, which is somewhat of a surprise. The pair finish off with a suggestion of a new side job for Luke, venomous snake wrestling in the UK.   Snake catcher Luke Huntley shares what it’s really like working as a snake catcher in QLD Australia. Snake calls come in at all hours of the day and night, from easy calls when there’s a sleeping python to ve

In this conversation, we talked with Carl Betts about his reflections on critical analysis in paramedic practice. Carl is a Paramedic and quality improvement lead-based in Sheffield working for the ambulance service. He has been a Paramedic for 10 years and has a 10-year extensive history of expeditions featuring multiple trips to Everest base camp, K2, Mongolia, South Africa, Swaziland, Kangchenjunga, Toubkal, Aconcagua, Pakistan, Oman and many more.  He has recently written a piece of reflection that is about to be published in the College of Paramedics Hindsight magazine. The piece is titled ‘Where critical analysis becomes critically unhealthy’. In this episode, we examine this article, Carl’s motivations for writing it, and pull out some of the salient learning points. We examine some of the salient learning points around; unpacking the concept of disequilibrium in critical analysis that turns into critical self-appraisal. Also, examining the aspects of challenging debrief that leads to balanced learnin

In this episode podcast host Stephen Wood and adventure paramedic Mike Hudson talk about Mike's experience as a paramedic and lead safety specialist for the Discovery channel's Shark Week production team. Steve and Mike talk about Mike's background as both a paramedic and diver and how he brought this experience to develop a unique opportunity as the lead dive safety and remote medical specialist for the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, as well as other production teams. Mike talks about how he prepares for these very challenging programs, including working in very remote and resource-limited areas. Steve and Mike discuss equipment needs and dealing with local governments and medical systems, which can be very challenging. They discuss practising within the appropriate scope of practice as well as resources that are available to remote teams, like the DAN network. Mike regales several stories of crocodile and shark attacks and lessons learned from these critical events.   Mike Hudson Bio: Mike Hud

In this episode, Dr Jen Sherman is joined by Anna Wells. Having qualified as a Doctor in the Scottish Highlands. Anna has successfully undergone a career change and now runs her own adventure guiding company in Scotland. Anna is passionate about the mountains. The freedom of wide-open spaces and the rush of trying hard is where she is happiest. Her favourite activities are rock climbing, summer alpinism, skimo and running, with her happiest moments including completing a winter traverse of the Cullin ridge in one day, climbing El Capitan, summiting 37 4000ers in one summer, and having been fortunate to travel the world as part of the GB Ice Climbing Team. In this episode Jen and Anna discuss: How her interest in climbing and mountains began Her academic career and how she came to study Medicine Her experience of being a Junior Doctor Why she decided to take a career break from Medicine How this career break evolved into a career transition The mental and emotional challenges of undergoing this transit

Dr. Vidar Magnusson is an anesthesiologist, intensivist and EMS physician in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is the current National Medical Director for pre-hospital services in Iceland, a post he held both between 2011- 2014, and again from 2016 to the present. He has extensive EMS and air-medical experience including serving as a medical officer with the British Army NATO coalition forces, ground EMS in Iceland and the Icelandic Coast Guard Medevac helicopter. He has worked in several air-medical systems in Europe including London HEMS, KSS HEMS and the Norwegian Air Ambulance. He represents Iceland in the Scandinavian Society for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (SSAI) prehospital guidelines group as well as the SSAI Critical Emergency Medicine (CrEM) postgraduate training program. In addition, he holds a master of business administration from Reykjavik University.   In this episode host Stephen Wood, a former HEMS paramedic, discusses the differences between air-medical systems in several parts of th

In this conversation, we talk with Trixton May about his clinical experiences in Takoradi, Ghana. Trixton took himself to Ghana as a second-year paramedic student with aspirations to serve in areas less fortunate and developed contexts than his reality back in the UK. In the discussion, we explore the variety of experiences and revelations he had in this developing healthcare system. Trixton has written a reflection 'Healthcare in Ghana – The Harsh Reality of a Developing Country'. In the reflection, Trixton denotes the socio-economic demographics of Ghana and the social deprivation that healthcare serves in the region. He also recalls his anecdotal experience in each domain of emergency care. We examine some of the patients and pathologies that he observed in his time within the emergency department. We also examine the challenges of working in a low resource environment and the innovation that is required at certain times due to the overwhelming clinical need. We then examine the utility of being exposed

Host Stephen Wood and Dr Sanjey Gupta discussed wilderness medicine in the virtual world. Forced to switch content from live and in situ to Zoom, Dr Gupta and his colleagues had to get creative. Most of Gupta’s teaching is in the environment that they are teaching to; the woods, mountains or fields and is mostly hands-on. Having to switch to the virtual environment, Dr Gupta and his colleagues flipped the narrative and used the Texas heatwave to have conference attendees try to “survive” by making potable water, cooking without electricity or gas and making a battery. Participants were creative and did everything from bleach dilutions to filter systems. In another scenario, Dr Gupta and his students acted as laypersons who were involved in a bike crash. They called “medical control” via telemedicine and were walked through examining patients and treating them using the equipment they had on them. Stephen and Dr Gupta discussed the challenges of teaching wilderness medicine using virtual technology, how to eng

In this episode, WEMCast host Dr Shawna Pandya dives deep into this very question with none other than AstroRN Starr Schroeder, a nurse passionate about pioneering, defining, and developing the role of nursing in the commercial space industry as well as advocating for the continued development of space medicine in current and future space exploration. Listen in as Shawna and Starr talk about the rise of space nursing, the commercial space sector, Starr’s research on a myriad of topics including space nutrition and medical guidelines for commercial suborbital spaceflight.   Starr Schroeder is a nurse with experience in critical care, emergency nursing, and nursing management. She has since become an active participant in the space medicine community incorporating her experience in medicine into her love for space by pioneering, defining, and developing the role of nursing in the commercial space industry as well as advocating for the continued development of space medicine in current and future space explora

In this session host Stephen Wood speaks with Dr Louis Nguyen and Dr Liz Yates, surgeons and researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston discuss the impact of climate change on healthcare and patient outcomes. Dr Yates and Dr Nguyen discussed the large carbon footprint of the healthcare industry, especially in developed nations. This includes the large amount of waste that stems from pre-made kits as well as other disposables. Similarly, the amount of energy that is dedicated to healthcare accounts for a large carbon footprint among industries. This leads to a discussion on the impact of climate change on patient accounts. The focus was on surgical patients and how issues like heat islands and lack of access to air conditioning can result in higher morbidity and mortality. This extends to other patient populations including OBGYN patients, pulmonary patients as well as the vulnerable young and elderly. More concerning is how this impact seems greater for marginalized and underserved populations.

Host, Stephen Wood and Dr Anne Pringle, a mycologist and botanist, tell the story of the Amanita Phalloides mushroom. This is not a mushroom native to the United States, but it has found its way there in an unsuspecting way, cork trees. These cork trees were imported for use by California wineries but they had a stowaway, the Amanita Phalloides or death cap mushroom. Death caps are toxic mushrooms that kill both humans as well as domestic pets when consumed. These toxic mushrooms resemble several edible species (most notably Caesar's mushroom and the straw mushroom) commonly consumed by humans, increasing the risk of accidental poisoning. Amatoxins, the class of toxins found in these mushrooms, are thermostable: and thus they resist changes due to heat, which means their toxic effects are not reduced by cooking. Signs and symptoms start with an initially self-limiting gastrointestinal illness, that later can result in liver and renal failure and death. The conversation led to a discussion on how to safely co

Occupational Health is concerned with the impact of health on work and vice versa.  We discuss the key approaches and broad principles in matching an individual’s medical background with the environment and making sensible decisions about whether they should participate with a focus on diving, military deployments, offshore oil and gas and expeditions.   We cover: Why preparation is the key to success! Mapping the individual and their condition to the environment. The key components of the ‘dive medical’, the role of respiratory and ENT problems The unique challenges of a remote maritime environment. A patient with a history of anaphylaxis to peanuts – can they be safely deployed to a remote oil rig that is over a day's travel from definitive care? Doing a risk assessment - who is at risk and why - what can you do about it? Proactive and reactive components of a risk assessment. The issue of non-disclosure on health questionnaires. Helping the organisation asking the right questions in the first pla

Jocelyn Kelly is the founding director for Harvard Humanitarian Initiative’s (HHI) Women in War program, and currently is a fellow at HHI where she designs and implements projects to examine issues relating to gender, peace, and security in fragile states. Kelly has been conducting health-related research using qualitative and quantitative research methods for over eight years both in national and international settings. She has given briefings related to gender and security to the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. State Department, USAID, the World Bank, OFDA, the Woodrow Wilson Center, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. Prior to joining HHI, Jocelyn worked as an Emergency Management Specialist in Hurricane Katrina-affected areas and acted as a liaison to the FEMA Public Assistance Chief in Louisiana. Kelly's international work has focused on understanding the health needs of vulnerable populations in Eastern and Central Africa and has included working with the Uganda Human Rights commission to launch

In this episode Medical Director Dr Will Duffin welcomes back The Natural Navigator Tristan Gooley to share insights from his latest book ‘The Secret World of Weather’.    They discuss: Early 19th-century technology and attempts at weather forecasting and what happened to Admiral Robert Fitzroy when he first attempted to predict the weather…. Why ‘big weather’ that is forecast on modern supercomputers doesn’t match the weather that we actually experience at ground level. The three key cloud families, how to spot them and what they can tell you about local weather. Reading a cumulus cloud for signs of rain. Local winds and rebel winds. What shapes them and why what we experience at ground level can be very different from what is forecast. The best and worse trees to shelter from a storm under. Putting it all into practice - on a wild camp on Dartmoor do you sleep up high on a Tor or down low in the Valley and why? Tristan’s thoughts on polymathy in contrast to ultra-specialisation. How Tristan has bl