About us

What is Adventure Medics?

Adventure Medics is an organisation, inspired by doctors passionate about medicine and the world around them. Our aim is to help facilitate the practice of medicine in a variety of settings around the world and combine it with adventure, travel, sport and social endeavours. Too often we find ourselves single-mindedly pursuing our chosen medical vocations and fail to realize the opportunities that exist around us.

Whether you are inspired by the stories of colleagues or you feel the desire to use your medical skills “off the beaten track” we aim to present opportunities for the delivery of healthcare in unique and different environments and situations.

We are privileged to possess skills that will always be in worldwide demand. To be able to deliver skilled health care and at the same time pursue interests and travel which re-ignite our own creativity and passion is something we all strive for.

Often the organisations, companies and community groups that are in need of such medical expertise struggle to find the right doctor to fill these positions. We aim to bring together these organisations and their target medical personal that is you.

To these organisations and companies we will offer exposure to a large body of inspired medical professionals with a self selected group matched to your specific needs.

From global expeditions to community-based local events, jobs will be listed together with their specific medical requirements. Doctors will be able to browse or search for their desired job-local or global, paid or unpaid, adventurous or relaxing. Your details are then forwarded directly to these organisations for the next stage of planning.

Other facilities within the site include access to conferences and courses that link in with Adventure Medics and a creative area containing dairies, stories, artwork and other inspirational endeavours of doctors living their adventures.

Who is Adventure Medics?

Adventure Medics is a growing international team of Doctors. Our backgrounds, interests and experiences are wide, yet we are united in our vision: to bring fun, creativity and new experiences to the medical world by interfacing with the wider community.

Dr Andrew Lucas- Founder of Adventure Medics, is a New Zealander, who lives in the secluded surf beach of Piha, Auckland. Trained at Otago university now combines Emergency Medicine and General Practice. Experiences include; initial Doctor with Surf Aid International in Indonesia and later during the Tsunami. Passionate; surfer, traveler, mountain biker, snowboarder, and part time artist.

Dr Brett Gerrard-  An Australasian trained Emergency Medicine Specialist currently working in Auckland, New Zealand. His subspecialty interests include Wilderness and Environmental Medicine and these have complemented an ongoing passion for travel and adventure. Interests include scuba diving, climbing, skiing and wildlife photography.

What do the areas on the Adventure Medics website offer?

Jobs- This area is where the jobs are listed. It covers all opportunities to combine medicine with interests. From a small, once only event to an ongoing commitment, any opportunity can be posted. Positions can be local or global, paid or unpaid, adventurous to relaxing. Doctors will be able to browse or search for their desired job. Then, they can apply directed to the organisations, who can select the Doctor who suits their needs.

Find a Doctor- The area where organisations are instructed how to add a job. Here they can register for the first time or log in to continue their search for the right Doctors. Once registered My Account becomes their personalised job correspondence area.

Magazine- This area encourages Doctors to be creative and inspire others. The Features are written by Doctors sharing their experiences. The Diaries are written by Doctors living their adventures. The Gallery is an exhibition space for talented Doctors to show visual, written and sound media.

Conferences- This area contains the future educational opportunities that are complimentary to Adventure Medics. It is an opportunity to advertise your conference or course, and provides Doctors with an easily accessible database to choose from. Doctors can search by what they like doing when the lectures finish for the day. Doctors can contact the organizers directly.

My Adventure- Once the Doctor has registered, this area is personalised to show their job correspondence and other entries on the site.

Our Vision

Medicine is full of talented, generous, passionate people. Not just skilled Doctors, but great sportspeople, artists and charity workers. At times, due to relentless workloads and rigid systems, we become disillusioned with medicine, causing suffering for both doctors and patients. We forget our passion for medicine, and having already abandoned our life interests that kept us happy prior to becoming Doctors, feel bitter. However, our profession offers endless opportunities to have a positive impact on the global community while pursuing our own passions. It has the unique quality to be able to practice medicine while following our dreams.

Medicine for me began with an idealistic dream. I wanted to be a surfing Doctor on a tropical island. Through trial and error my career path has snaked around surfing. Whether it is; where I work, when I work, or where I go on holiday, I realize surfing is an essential part of maintaining my happiness. At times, medicine has seemed a grinding, artless, duty rewarding only the bank account, with the cautious nature of medicine suffocating creativity and expression. At those times, on the torturous nightshifts, or endless ward rounds, I liked to ask colleagues about their passions. The range of talents out there is inspirational, but often hidden behind tired eyes and medical speak.

I thought about my most rewarding moments. Moments often while working for charity, surrounded by passionate people, all sharing a common interest, in my case surfing. I realized that medicine is vast expanse of opportunity. Opportunity that could be combined with a secure lifestyle. I began searching the surfing world for my ideal job. The opportunities were abundant, but often relied on word of mouth, inside contacts, and time consuming research. So, although the dream jobs were there, they were hard to find.

Organisations and companies have great difficulty finding Doctors, and not being able to contact them, makes finding the right Doctor near impossible. After discussions with different parties, the need for an efficient interface between Doctors and the wider community was obvious. Adventure Medics was conceived.

Dr Andrew Lucas