World Extreme Medicine Podcast

In this chat Becky Hartshorn discusses her successful completion of the Pacific Crest Trail. Known as the PCT, it is America’s second longest trail, stretching from Mexico to Canada through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. The route takes in many of America’s most scenic and varied terrain—from desserts to mountains to alpine plateaus. The PCT is 2,650 miles long (4,265 kilometres...

On the anniversary of the war in Ukraine beginning, in this session we speak with Mark Hannaford, Luca Alfatti, and Aliona Hlivco around the current logistical aid efforts, implementation, climate and anecdotal reflections in Ukraine. We also dig into the of change in the current climate from an infrastructural perspective, logistical effort and the real need on the ground from the guest’s experie...

In this episode Deb Swann talks to Eoin Walker about her recent deployment to Hatay, Turkey, near the border with Syria in response to the recent devastating earthquake with the UKISAR team. Deb is an Advanced Clinical Practitioner and a member of the World Extreme Medicine faculty. Deb has been a part of the UKISAR team for ten years and is the only nurse on their rescue team. In this podcast she...

In this session we speak with with Rebecca Marcussen-Lewis on maternity training in Low- and Middle-income countries and developing contexts. Rebecca is a trained Midwife and graduate of the MSc in extreme medicine and has recently been working on the ships with SOS Méditerranée. SOS MEDITERRANEE is a humanitarian organisation that advocates on behalf of all people in distress at sea, without part...

Jonah is a 5th Year Medical student at the University of Dundee. Jonah has been whitewater kayaking since he was 12. This passion recently took Jonah as part of the British University Kayak Expedition team to Central Kalimantan, Borneo. This 6 week expedition focused on descending unexplored sections of whitewater deep within the rainforest. The team had to be totally self-sufficient and...

Susan Schiller holds the rank of Deputy Superintendent for Boston Emergency Medical Services (BEMS) and has over 30 years’ experience as a critical care medic and clinical researcher. In 2011 she was promoted to Shift Commander overseeing tactical operations in the field.  She is the recipient of numerous awards including, the Pozen Paramedic of the Year award for exemplary medical care; the...

Simon is a mindset coach who combines his elite military background in UK Special Forces with neuroscience and psychology to build systematic programmes which remove limitations, unlock peak mental & physical performance and forge mental toughness. Simon chats to World Extreme Medicine podcast host Deb Swann focussing on resilience. Simon follows the ethos that mindset is a skill set. He shows...

In this episode Dr Will Duffin takes a deep dive into Dr Iserson's book: 'Improvised Medicine'. Dr Iserson is Professor Emeritus of Emergency medicine at The University of Arizona and former Medical Director of the Southern Arizona Rescue Association. He has published hundreds of scientific articles on emergency medicine and biomedical ethics and authored numerous books. Dr Iserson describes Impro...

In this session we are speaking with Ryan Atkinson about his vast experience working across the globe as a cinematographer. Ryan has spent 12 years filming wildlife and science filmmaking for the likes of the BBC Natural History Unit, Netflix and National Geographic. His work has taken him to over 50 countries on 6 continents, specialising particularly in polar and mountain environments and has se...

In this episode we are examining the recent strikes and pay freeze that frontline paramedics have been experiencing. This is on the background of increased cost of living and operational pressures across the emergency care system. We will focus both on Carl’s recent reflections of the issue and also the sense of community within the current strikes. We will also examine how this strike is differen...

In this session we are speaking with Ben Watts and Jamie Pattison, both World Extreme Medicine faculty and retrieval/specialist paramedics. We wanted to both address and highlight the dangers of sudden cold-water immersion and do a deep dive into some of the pathophysiological pathways that occur. This is both in-light of recent events but also prospectively to promote discussion around the very r...

David Rovardi is a dual qualified pharmacist and paramedic and is currently working as a Specialist Practitioner with EMAS. He also works one day a week for the College of Paramedics advising the College on the latest legislation within Prescribing and Medicines Management. In this session Eoin speaks with David Rovardi around the current situation on prescribing rights for paramedics. There have...

In this session we will be interviewing Dr Lachlan McIver on his recent book, Life and Death Decisions, a memoir that combines Lachlan’s personal journey with loss of his father, working with international aid agencies, navigating war torn countries and low resource settings. In the episode we will be examining some of the over-riding themes, Lachlan’s reflections and some of his salient revelatio...

Dr Alicia Colman is an Explorers Club 50 member, Alicia is an archaeologist and ethnohistorian by background. Alicia has worked with governments and NGOs in Canada, the US, UK and Antigua. Her mission is to help us to better understand our past. Her expeditions have taken her from Namibia to Iceland. Today we discuss her expeditions, where they have led her, what she has learned, with a focus on m...

Dr Will Duffin speaks with Medics4Ukraine founders Mark Hannaford and Luca Alfatti, on the current need for medical supplies and combat casualty care training in Ukraine and how Medics4Ukraine was formed and developed to meet this. Mark and Luca also share their own reflections on triumphs, challenges and what lies ahead alongside what it’s like to travel east of Lviv during the course of their wo...

Growing up Priteni was never sporty or particularly active, she liked being indoors as much as she liked being outdoors. It was not until sixth form that she did anything really adventurous and even now she thinks she only decided to do the Gold DOE Award because her friends were.  That experience, till this day, is one of her most precious memories and turning points in her life, when she lo...

Dr Dan Pronk served on over 100 combat missions in Afghanistan as a frontline special forces combat doctor, where the casualties he treated were his fellow SAS soldiers and commandos, local civilians and even the enemy. The thrill of adventure and the challenges of battlefield medicine brought out the very best in Dan; he discovered a sense of purpose in pushing his medical skills and courage to t...

In this session we will be speaking with Dan Stretch on the challenges of casevac from Nepal and Pakistan. Dan works as the Operations Manager at Global Rescue LLC within the APAC region and has had to retrieve and coordinate retrieval of critically ill patients from some of the most challenging regions in the world. The region Dan operates in include the Himalayas in Nepal, and K2 in Pakistan. Th...

In this episode, Stephen Wood is joined by Allen Lewis, who is an Adjunct Professor with Columbia Southern University and an Associate Consultant for Emergency Service Consulting International in addition to performing emergency and security sensitive work outside the United States.  They discuss Allen's experiences in disaster response and humanitarian response while working in developing co...

Jeremy Neskey a Paramedic and Combat Medic has been involved in Prehospital medicine for 20 plus years. With a focus on Austere medical care environments and experience working with National Park service Teams on Denali and in Yosemite National Park. He’s retired from the US Army where he worked as a Medic and mountaineering instructor at the Army Mountain Warfare school Teaching Basic, advance mo...

Stephen loves mushrooms on his steak, his pizza, marinated and in salad. He gets his mostly at the grocery store, but more and more people are out there foraging for these delicacies. The problem is that both benign and toxic mushrooms often grow close together and frequently look alike. Dr Zane Horowitz is an emergency medical physician and the associate medical director of the Oregon, Alaska and...

In this conversation we talk with Dan Richards around the transcontinental Race Across America 3000-mile race, making it longer and more gruelling than the tour de France and one of the toughest bike races in the world. In May 2009 Dan Richards lost his right arm, shoulder and part of his neck in a motorcycle accident whilst in the military. Dan has gone on to navigate the highs and lows of rehabi...

In this conversation we talk with Laura Penhaul around the transcontinental Race Across America 3000-mile race, making it longer and more gruelling than the tour de France and one of the toughest bike races in the world. Laura Penhaul is passionate about helping teams or individuals to perform at their best and she draws on her extensive experience, both personally and professionally, in high perf...

Snake bites and scorpion envenomation is a frequent occurrence worldwide. For people who just enjoy the outdoors and especially for medical providers, it is important to know the species of snakes, scorpions and other venomous creatures that inhabit your area.  In this episode, self-appointed “snake guy” Stephen P. Wood discusses snakes and scorpions with emergency medical doctor and toxicolo...

Lisa van der Sluijs is a college senior and world traveler who shared her experiences as a solo female backpacker at Harvard College during Womens Week. She is joined by host Stephen P. Wood for a frank discussion on backpacking solo. One of the biggest issues pertains to gender equity for solo backpackers. There are many who advocate against this practice citing safety concerns for solo-backpacki...