ANTARCTIC TRAINING COMPLETED IN THE RUGGED NORTHEAST

DOCTORS destined to spend 12 months stationed at Australia’s remote Antarctic research stations have just completed a gruelling training course in Tasmania’s rugged wilderness, in preparation for life on the ice.

Four Australian Antarctic Division doctors have spent eight days in the state’s northeast bushland, undertaking a range of search and rescue scenarios and gaining new skills to prepare them for the harsh environments and tricky situations that await them at Australia’s four remote Antarctic research stations.

David Tian said the training camp was critical in his preparation for 12 months as the sole doctor supporting dozens of expeditioners.

“It was a great experience and very challenging and, for most of us, we hadn’t done a lot of work outside the clinical setting so it was very beneficial to go into the wilderness and see how to operate in a remote environment where there is less medical support,” Dr Tian said.

“We did abseiling, search and rescue, we learnt things like how to pull people up cliffs and how to attach them to stretchers correctly and even small things like how to tie knots properly to transport people safely.”

The four doctors will depart for their journeys south at staggered times across the next few months.

Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones Doctors Bosco Li, Deirdre McCormack, Dane Brookes and David Tian, who are all doing intensive training before heading to remote Antarctic research stations later in the year.