They have a medical provider here at WAIS for many reasons.  Some field camps are small and also remote with one employee trained as a wilderness first responder which is basically first aid in the wilderness, but for the following reasons there is a licensed medical provider here at WAIS…

1. We are extremely remote, 1000 miles from McMurdo which basically also has a clinic staffed by an MD and a PA.
2. This is an active airport with scheduled flights about daily 6 days a week (as we know, they often get cancelled for weather here or there).
3. There are upwards of 40+ people at a time (though we have gotten down to about 18 while I was here).
4. There are projects that revolve around an old drilling project which means there is a possibility of injury (though less risk now that the drilling is finished), not to mention there is a lot of heavy machinery here to load and unload cargo from planes and to move snow around.

When I got to WAIS my medical tent was set up.  It’s a 5 section rac tent with a small stove.  My cargo consisted of many large cases which I quickly unpacked and created my own little clinic, ready for a sinus infection or a trauma.  Fortunately it’s mostly the former.  But most of my time is spent doing lots of different stuff around camp. Mostly I help make water (Blog to follow).

This is my tent/clinic

Finally a place to rest my stethoscope… and her third continent.

When I arrived, an empty tent with all my medical cargo.

Med Tent Set Up Bedside

Med Tent All Set Up

Ready to Rescue

Code set up

Keeping fluids warm

This is where I sleep and how dark I was able to get it all night long

This is where I sleep and how dark I was able to get it all night long