The year of 2022-23 was the first year Endeavour Medical opened up their Expedition and Remote Medicine Fellowships for aspirational colleagues to join their team. In this article, two previous fellows, Claire and Lucy, discuss what the fellowship involves, the diverse range of opportunities available, what they did, and how to get involved.
In 2022, Endeavour Medical opened up fellowship opportunities for keen colleagues to join their team and we, Claire (IMT trainee) and Lucy (F1 at time of fellowship), were lucky enough to be their first two fellows.
What does the fellowship involve?
Time frame
12-month post
Location
Remote! But the opportunities available to you extend across the globe…
Commitment required of us / you
Two hours per week for Endeavour Medical Project Work – for us this involved teaching, critical appraisal, administration, and/or social media. The time you commit is very flexible and can easily be adapted to suit your personal projects, interests, and commitments within the company.
Opportunities provided by Endeavour
- Mentorship from leads in the fields of Expedition & Wilderness Medicine and Global Health.
- Teaching opportunities on courses in a variety of environments.
- Opportunities to engage in academic projects in global health and remote medicine.
- Access to a large faculty network with extensive medical experience across global health and remote polar, mountain, marine and jungle regions.
- Engagement in development of online teaching tools providing evidence based up to date education in remote and global health medicine.
Fellowship pre-requisites
- Has capacity and time to dedicate 2 hours per week.
- Organised with a keen interest to learn more about remote/expedition medicine and global health.
- Lots of enthusiasm for the outdoors!
Yoga during the Remote and Restorative Courses
What we did during our fellowship year
Over the year 2022-23 with Endeavour Medical, we have both been offered many opportunities to improve and broaden our skills and knowledge in expedition medicine and global health, as well as building on many transferable skills such as leadership and presenting. Opportunities have been both in the classroom and out in the field, through teaching and research. Along the way, we have met some truly inspirational colleagues who have given us invaluable advice and plenty of inspiration for our future plans!
Our highlights
Remote and Restorative Courses
We have both taught on Remote and Restorative courses that took place on Dartmoor and in Coverack, Cornwall. These are two day courses that offer junior doctors and allied health professionals an opportunity to enhance existing clinical and professional skills whilst restoring enthusiasm for the profession. The courses are delivered outdoors through simulation, workshops, lectures and open discussions, and not only provide remote medicine simulation training, but have a focus on crew resource management, teamwork and leadership, and structured mental health and resilience workshops. We had plenty of opportunities to broaden our teaching experience and develop a wider skillset with human factors at the centre.
Marine Medicine Courses
Lucy has a background in marine rescue services and has used this experience to facilitate and teach on Endeavour’s Marine Medicine courses throughout this year in both Sardinia and Cornwall. In Sardinia, Lucy was lucky enough to teach alongside Endeavour’s Medical Director, Dr Anna Shekhdar, to provide international sea kayak guides (members of the ISKGA) with the medical knowledge they need when out on remote marine expeditions across the globe. We taught marine medicine through kayaking associated simulations both in and off the water, as well as workshops and open discussions. Lucy thoroughly enjoyed this teaching experience especially as the common language of delegates was Swedish rather than English, which allowed for not only good discussion points regarding communication during rescues in an international team, but also some interesting scenario analysis as a facilitator!
Building on the success of this course, Lucy took up the opportunity to teach alongside Dr Lucy Obolensky, Endeavour’s Founder, and Dr Anna Shekhdar on the Endeavour Marine Medicine Course in Polzeath, Cornwall. The course provided doctors from across the UK with the knowledge and experience to fulfill the role of an expedition doctor on marine expeditions. Despite being junior to the delegates in the NHS clinical environment, Lucy enjoyed sharing her skill-set and knowledge with those who had previously seldom worked in a marine environment.
Global Health experiences in Kenya
Claire was keen to broaden her experience in medicine outside of the NHS, which led her to join a team of three global health doctors on a health scoping project in Northern Kenya alongside the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT). This part of Kenya is extremely remote with limited access, and healthcare provision is often basic and underfunded. The region is prone to intense droughts that hamper water provision and intensify existing health needs. The trip was very eye-opening and successful; they visited multiple clinics across the region and met a number of inspiring nurses, healthcare professionals, and local community leaders. After collating their findings, they presented them and their recommendations to the local government.
The team have since gone on to write up their research for publication. Claire was very inspired by this project and wants to continue working within global health alongside her career in the NHS. In addition, she gained exposure to the logistical challenges of research in a remote healthcare environment, compared to the controlled laboratory setting from which she was previously more familiar with.
How were we supported / appraised?
Our fellowship mentor was Dr Lucy Obolensky, who we met with every 3 months via an online group meeting to discuss our progress and educational opportunities, as well as clarifying personal and team goals throughout the year. Further to this, we were in regular contact with each other and other Endeavour colleagues via WhatsApp platforms when working on individual projects within the organisation. Feedback from colleagues, such as those we worked with on courses, or those we collaborated with to provide online educational content, was relayed to us by Lucy Obolensky at our regular meetings.
What are we up to next?
Lucy will continue to enjoy the Cornish work-life balance whilst completing her FY3 year at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro. She plans to travel and gain some experience as an expedition medic in marine and mountain environments, including a trip to Kilimanjaro as the trip medic before applying for ED training hopefully in the SW!
Claire meanwhile, has started Internal Medicine Training in Wessex and in her spare time wishes to remain active in research and to embark on remote expeditions as and when training allows. Her interests are mainly in mountain and polar medicine, as well as in global health and promoting equality in healthcare.
Would we recommend the fellowship?
100%! This fellowship has provided us with a wealth of experience and professional development as teachers and educators in a variety of settings, whilst enabling us to develop our clinical and non-technical skills in remote outdoor environments. We have been able to bring back these skills to our clinical work in the NHS, whilst also seeking opportunities in expedition medicine and global health in both research and work out in the field. This fellowship has opened the door for further opportunities for which we are both very grateful. Furthermore, we have been lucky to meet and work alongside an amazing network of hugely experienced Endeavour faculty members who have inspired and supported us to take our medical careers in new and exciting directions. Thank you to all of you!
Recruitment process
If you would like to get involved, please contact the Endeavour Medical team at: hello@endeavourmedical.co.uk.
There is a twice-yearly intake for fellowships, in January and August. Applicants can email their CV and cover letter at any time, and will be contacted prior to the recruitment rounds for interview.
