Dr Beth Payne / Foundation Year Two Doctor / Derriford Hospital, Plymouth
Post-covid, we as healthcare professionals are acutely aware of burn-out and the need for reconnecting with ourselves and our peers. The Remote and Restorative course, delivered by Endeavour Medical, offers training on pre-hospital and expedition medicine in the context of building resilience, learning from shared experiences, and getting back in touch with our environment. Here, Dr Beth Payne reviews her time on the course delivered in Coverack, Cornwall, highlighting the therapeutic effect of being by the sea.
Endeavour Medical Company Synopsis
Established in 2021, Endeavour Medical delivers training in expedition medicine and global health. Their faculty boasts decades of experience with a number of impressive accolades. Courses are available to healthcare professionals and non-medics, and cover an array of topics in differing locations. Their underlying ethos of equitable healthcare globally means that funds generated from courses help initiatives in Northern Kenya.
Key Facts
Rough Annual Dates and Duration / I did the course in June 2022, but there are multiple dates from April to September. Course duration is two days.
Location / Coverack Youth Hostel, Cornwall. The company also offer courses in other areas of Cornwall and Devon.
Cost / £420, inclusive of two nights accommodation, tuition and meals.
Delegates / Around 20 doctors and physician associates from Derriford Hospital.
Prerequisites / No previous experience required. The course is open to doctors, medical students and other allied healthcare professionals such as paramedics or physician associates.
End Qualification / Certificate of attendance.
Faculty / The course was run by a range of enthusiastic and professional faculty members. This included doctors with significant experience in expedition and emergency medicine and an advanced critical care paramedic practitioner.
Link to Course Website / Endeavour Medical
Course Setting and Delivery
This was a two-day course set in the idyllic Cornish coastal village of Coverack, on the Lizard Peninsula.
The sun shone for two glorious days spent delving into the world of remote and restorative medicine. Based at the Coverack Youth Hostel, we were treated to stunning sea views, cozy shared dormitories, and delicious home-cooked meals from the Youth Hostel staff. A stone’s throw from the village of Coverack itself, we could easily explore the traditional fishing harbour and sample local ciders on offer during the available down-time. On the morning of day two, we loosened up with a joyous beach yoga class.
The other delegates were a mixture of grades and specialties, all based in the South West. This presented a unique opportunity to work and learn from each other, in a completely different setting to which we would usually interact.
The delivery of the course was fantastic – the course faculty were experienced, knowledgeable and skilled in imparting their expertise and you could tell they had a genuine passion for both expedition medicine and education. Additionally, they were open and honest with their experiences, careers and routes into this novel and exciting specialty; providing pragmatic and invaluable advice.
Course Content
Broadly, the course was split into two main elements; remote and wilderness medicine, and restorative medicine.
The remote medicine aspect involved a wide range of outdoor based tutorials, workshops and practicals. Topics included an outdoor trauma scenario, hyperthermia management, shelter building, packaging and transfer of patients, c-spine injuries and the use of radios for communication in remote environments. A particularly memorable workshop on heuristics enabled us to consider what our natural leadership style is, and introduced us to alternative methods that we could trial throughout the course. At the end of each scenario, we were encouraged to reflect on how we worked as a team, what our individual roles were, and whether we had tried a different style of leadership/teamwork. The setting offered the perfect environment to do so; in a fun and collaborative way, in the beautiful Cornish weather, and all whilst learning new skills.
The coastal location allowed us to experience two unique practical elements of the course. Firstly, the hypothermia workshop, which involved a volunteer (myself) immersing themselves in the ‘cold’ harbour water for 10 minutes before being warmed by the rest of the team. And secondly, a demonstration ‘rescue at sea’, when a casualty-at-sea scenario unfolded whilst we kayaked around a sunny sheltered harbour. In this workshop we were invited to board a working lifeboat to witness a RNLI crew response.
The restorative aspect of the course was a tonic to the challenging experiences all of us have had over the past two years, and the team created a safe and remedial space to open up and share. Highlights included workshops on an approach to mental health in remote environments and a wellbeing and resilience workshop.
Additional Benefits
The main skills I took away from this course were a mixture of leadership and team working skills, and some practical skills.
Utilising the leadership heuristics workshop and the reflections at the end of each scenario, we were able to become more self-aware of our own natural tendencies and roles within teams. This enabled us to take turns trying out new ways of leadership or collaboration, and I am sure all of us will use these transferable skills in the clinical environment.
The trauma, shelter building, radio and practical scenarios were invaluable, as they are not commonplace in traditional medical education.
Overall Verdict
This was an absolutely excellent course – one which I would highly recommend to anybody interested in either an introduction to remote medicine, or wanting a unique opportunity to gain knowledge and experience outside of a hospital setting.
The practical skills I gained were invaluable; I feel more confident and have created a solid basis to build further knowledge and experience in expedition medicine.
Being able to learn together and socialise away from the pressures of our working lives, made for a relaxed atmosphere. We were able to challenge ourselves to trial leadership/followership styles which may not have felt entirely natural, but the scenarios enabled us to do so in a fun and stress-free environment.
The resilience aspect of the course was a highlight for me. I felt very refreshed and restored following the course and this was reiterated by many colleagues I spoke to.
Another highlight for me was the evening talk from Dave Dungay, a critical care paramedic who shared some interesting highlights and key points that have defined his career. This open and honest talk was really inspiring, and opened up the floor to discuss and reflect on the collective experiences of varying healthcare professionals present.
All in all, this was an excellent, well-organised course that I would thoroughly recommend to anybody.
