Interview with Dr Adam Baker, Extreme Medicine Clinical Fellow

27 June 2019

Extreme Medicine Clinical Fellow Dr Adam Baker at the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust.

What’s your background?
I’m an Emergency Medicine Middlegrade going down the CESR pathway with an interest in pre hospital care and practicing medicine in austere environments and a Extreme Medicine Clinical Fellow at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital Trust.
 
Why did you sign up for the masters program?
The expedition/ pre hospital/ humanitarian relief world is challenging to get into with little opportunities for formal teaching and qualifications. It’s easy to get burnt out working 100% on an ED rota and the masters looked like a perfect solution to gain some incredible skills and practice medicine in a different context and the chance to become a Extreme Medicine Clinical Fellow was too good an opportunity to miss.
 
Has it met your expectations?
Absolutely, the masters, and being Extreme Medicine Clinical Fellow, has lead to some absolutely incredible opportunities and networking
 
What are your plans for the future?
I aim to take a year out after the masters has finished to work within the pre hospital/humanitarian environment and utilise the skills that I’ve learned.
 
Interested in discovering a world of medicine with an International Diploma & MSc in Extreme Medicine University of Exeter?

With the increased awareness of global burdens such as humanitarian crises and sudden onset disasters, more than ever there is a need to be delivering healthcare in highly complex and demanding situations.

This unique programme is delivered in partnership between the University of Exeter Medical School and World Extreme Medicine, the world’s leading provider of specialist training courses for medics taking their skills into challenging environments.

This is medicine at its best, crossing geographical and professional boundaries.

You will learn the practical skills, knowledge and understanding needed to perform at the highest possible level in the field of extreme medicine. You can also choose to undertake a specialism in Cold Environments, Hot Environments or Humanitarian Relief.

You will learn with and from your peers. Residentials are a key part of the programme; designed to provide the challenge of learning in an unfamiliar environment and relying on the collaboration and support of the other participants.

The residentials include locations in the UK as well as environment-specific modules located in mountain, jungle and Polar Regions.

On top of our residential modules, we have established some fantastic links with external agencies that our students can exploit whilst they are on the programme. These include:

• Fellowship Principles of Space & Aviation Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) – students enrolled undertaking year 2 or 3 of this programme are eligible to apply for this unique opportunity. Places are competitive and will require a month’s residency in Houston, Texas.

• We have a number of exchange places with the European Space Agency and their Physician Training Course in Cologne open to those enrolled on our MSc.

This programme is suitable for those from a wide variety of backgrounds. Students have included:

• Paramedics
• Medics
• Nurses
• Medical scientists
• Allied healthcare
• Military medics

You will be working or looking to work in situations of rapid change and uncertainty and you will be looking to demonstrate capabilities that extend beyond clinical competence into areas such as leadership, communications, teamwork, resilience, humanitarian relief, planning and logistics.

The programme’s foundations are rooted in the core values of collaboration, challenge, community, impact and rigour, embedded firmly within the University’s mission to make the exceptional happen, by challenging traditional thinking and defying conventional boundaries.

Read more at Exeter University Medical School

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