In association with the Wilderness Medical Society our UK Expedition Medicine Courses have now been accredited for 23.75 CME. This process will start in May at the Plas Y Brenin Course. We hope this will help you all in the process of gaining funding for your training and aid in your appraisal and revalidation.
The Wilderness Medical Society is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Dangers of kayaking the Amazon
Lucy Dickinson has just returned from accompanying Helen Skelton and the BBC team as Helen kayaked 2,010 miles down the Amazon. Here are her thoughts upon her return.
” I’ve just had my first experience of TV expedition work escorting Helen Skelton from Blue Peter kayaking down the Amazon. I still can’t quite believe I got the opportunity to have such an amazing trip. So how did it compare to the other expedition work I’ve done? Well it’s still just you and your box of tricks in the middle of nowhere improvising and trying to manage the risks. It’s still having an adventure and seeing a beautiful part of the earth. It’s still meeting new people from different parts of the world and learning different ways of life that put some perspective on the way we live our lives here. It’s still being inspired by interesting people doing exceptional things.
For a change, this trip was no physical challenge for me, in fact it was a challenge to sit still for 6 weeks! It was new having people thriving on the little dramas “because they make good TV”. It was exciting watching the BBC team doing a live broadcast from a sand bank in the middle of the Amazon knowing that people in the UK were watching it back in the UK as it was happening. It is not my idea of fun being in front of a camera and I constantly thought back to that conversation I had in London with Eric, the producer, about how I agreed to be on film only in exceptional circumstances if absolutely necessary. The reality was far from this and I can only hope that when the Blue Peter specials and the Sport Relief programme come out this week that I won’t cringe at the appearance of my “character” as they refer to you. As with most expeditions I’ve done it was a great pleasure and a privilege to work with a team of very lovely, interesting and fun people and have an exciting diversion to day to day General Practice.
…..If they ever ask me to do another trip with them I’ll jump at the chance.”
adventure, kayaking solo down the mighty River Amazon in aid of Sport Relief, is told over the course of two programmes.In one of the toughest challenges ever undertaken by a Blue Peter presenter, Helen’s epic journey was conducted at a gruelling pace, paddling up to 14 hours a day to complete her target of kayaking 2,010 miles in six weeks, with only one rest day a week. This first programme follows her as she begins her training with Expedition Medicine, arriving in Peru for the start of her odyssey. She visits Proceso Social, a project which uses Sport Relief cash to reduce child labour and increase access to education among semi-urban child migrants in Peru. Helen then begins her first week on the water.
adventure, kayaking solo down the mighty River Amazon in aid of Sport Relief, is told over the course of two programmes.In one of the toughest challenges ever undertaken by a Blue Peter presenter, Helen’s epic journey was conducted at a gruelling pace, paddling up to 14 hours a day to complete her target of kayaking 2,010 miles in six weeks, with only one rest day a week. This first programme follows her as she begins her training with Expedition Medicine, arriving in Peru for the start of her odyssey. She visits Proceso Social, a project which uses Sport Relief cash to reduce child labour and increase access to education among semi-urban child migrants in Peru. Helen then begins her first week on the water.
One Step Forward was hosted and arranged by RSM. I was fortunate enough to be invited to speak on Expedition Medicine.
The other speakers were inspirational and it was delightful to hear a series of lectures by doctors who dont hold to the production line theory of doctor creation.
I tried to follow this theme and aimed to inspire the junior doctors and medical students to expand their horizons and experience other cultures and hopefully to become a more rounded physician in the process. I even got to lecture to Professor Kumar (Kumar and Clark)!
It was extremely exciting and more than a little emotional. Over the last 40 days she’s paddled for 366 hours, done over a million strokes, had around 50 metres of tape on her hands, eaten about 525 mints, had 2 injections, broken 2 world records, had about 150 mosquito bites, dropped 3 pairs of expensive sunglasses in the river and not capsized once.
After all this she still found the energy for a celebratory knees up last night! There’s still not been time for a rest today as there have been media interviews ongoing since 6am. Despite this the whole team is on a big high. The four boys have been really fantastic to work with and it has been the greatest of pleasures to spend the last 6 weeks with the modest, fun, strong, resilient, down to earth, inspirational Cumbrian legend that is Helen Skelton. I hope we can go for a pint next time she’s back in Cumbria.
Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton has completed a 2,000-mile kayak trip along the Amazon for Sport Relief, supported by Expedition Medicine
The 26-year-old was greeted by cheers and celebratory gunfire as she crossed the finish line in Almerim, Brazil.
Skelton has clocked up 2,010 miles since she set off on her solo journey from Natua in Peru on 20 January.
The BBC star, who had never been in a kayak before training, broke two world records as she became the first woman to paddle the length of the river.
The records – for the longest solo journey by kayak and the longest distance in a kayak in 24 hours by a woman – are awaiting official verification.
The TV presenter paddled about 60 miles a day, six days a week, to reach the target.
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My bottom is bruised, my shoulders are sore and the muscles in my neck are making it hard to differentiate between my head and my shoulders but to be honest I am proud of the war wounds
Helen Skelton
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Skelton said of her challenge: “It’s been tough but I’ve had enough highs to make it more than worthwhile.
“I’m very lucky to have amazing people in my life who’ve picked me up when things got hard and most importantly inspired me to carry on.
“My bottom is bruised, my shoulders are sore and the muscles in my neck are making it hard to differentiate between my head and my shoulders but to be honest I am proud of the war wounds.
“I reckon that you shouldn’t shy away from things because they’re tough or you might fail. Get stuck in and you never know where you might end up.”
Blue Peter, which is showing Skelton’s epic journey in two special episodes on 16 and 17 March, hopes her efforts will inspire families across the UK to rise to their own challenge for Sport Relief.
Lucy will be updating us in the next couple of days
But well done to all the team
