I established and run a travel clinic, which provides travel health information, vaccines, antimalarials and consultancy for people travelling abroad. I also advise schools and companies on travel health policies. I teach travel and expedition medicine and work occasionally as an expedition medic.
At an initial glance, the role may not fit the classic definition of “public health.” However, it does not take much scratching below the surface to realise how the health of UK travellers can have implications not just for themselves but also for others, whilst away or on their return. Illnesses caught whilst abroad and brought back home have the potential to impact the health of the UK public, for instance by spreading influenza, sexually transmitted diseases, or the much rarer but well-publicised Ebola virus.
I am self-employed and every day can be different. I might be seeing patients and providing clinical care, speaking about travel health, teaching around the subject, or in the depths of the jungle on expedition (perhaps sitting in a hammock listening to the roar of howler monkeys)!
I have a team of staff working in the clinic who are all fabulous and have their own areas of expertise. I also work closely with other colleagues depending on what I’m doing on a daily basis. For example, a close colleague and I have developed and deliver a postgraduate diploma in expedition and wilderness medicine. I have written and co-authored articles for books and journals and am an elected fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of their medical cell.