Virtual Doctors at the World Extreme Medicine Conference
Two of our volunteer doctors, Jo Withers and Daniel Grace, were recently involved in the World Extreme Medical Conference in Edinburgh! They took this great opportunity to promote our cause to delegates. Here are Jo’s impressions:
The Dynamic Earth setting
The WEM conference packed 3 days full of a great range of talks and workshops based on the theme " Thriving in adversity ". Each day took a theme: expedition medicine, humanitarian medicine and pre hospital medicine. We had a chance to hear from astronauts, divers, polar explorers, expedition medics, those who work for humanitarian organisations both in peace and war, and paramedics( to name but a few). As diverse and compelling as the talks were, the other 899 delegates all had stories to tell. It was hugely inspiring to meet others and hear of their journeys in life! There are so many ways that we can use our skills and knowledge in a global setting.
The banner was lost in the post but Daniel made us of the screens to improvise a make-shift alternative!
At the Virtual Doctors stand we had a steady stream of people who wanted to find out more about the organisation and how it works. The beauty of its simplicity and the flexibility you can have as a volunteer struck home.
Back in the GP surgery this week I have to pinch myself to check I really was in Edinburgh for a crazy nonstop 3 days of learning and networking with an incredible and inspiring bunch of people.
Manning the VDrs stall and spreading the word.