From Frustration to Passion - My Extreme Medicine Journey

Are you sitting there reading this feeling how I was? Ready to push for more?

This is my story,

It’s spring 2022 and working as a doctor is monotonous. Corona has not improved the situation in the medical system. In my frustration with my day-to-day work, I dreamed of a job that would really fulfil me and challenge me in new ways. I was looking for new adventures.

One morning I found myself on the homepage of World Extreme Medicine.

Expedition medicine and medicine in extreme environments – I had never heard of this before, because there isn’t much “extreme” in Germany. And so I came across the Extreme Medicine Master’s programme in collaboration with the University of Exeter.

There was a course in Mountain Medicine, which was aimed at the first base camp that caught my attention. Mountains, snow and ice have always been my passion, whether on skis or on foot. But above all, I loved the high altitudes. I had taken a few courses in mountain medicine in Austria, but a hike to Everest Base Camp and a Master’s degree in extreme medicine was something completely different.

So I plucked up all my courage, followed my passion and started the Master’s programme in Extreme Medicine at the University of Exeter in England in September 2022.

→  Ready to push for more in 2024? Join us on one of our Extreme Medicine Courses!

My absolute best decision in 2022, combining my passion and medicine.

A gynaecologist who is interested in and enthusiastic about extreme medicine and expeditions, especially in high-altitude polar regions, sounds “strange” to many people at first. But thanks to the many helping hands, contacts and inspiring conversations, I no longer see it as strange, but as enriching and I am very grateful to the World Extreme Medicine community for this.

Due to the contacts I have made, I will probably take part in an expedition to Svalbard next year.

I hope my story inspires others out there to embrace unconventional paths and find communities that empower them.

Thank you again for letting me share a bit of my journey with you!