LocumLife - June 2008 - (Page 11)

arbie Brittell, PA-C, is in her 10th year of practicing as a physician assistant (PA). For the first 5 years, she held a permanent position in a small island community off of the northeastern coast, practicing family and emergency medicine. Periodically, she would also serve in a hospital emergency department on the mainland. “After a while, though,” Ms. Brittell comments, “I realized it was time to open up my professional opportunities, perhaps around seasonal work.” Not surprisingly, the idea of a locum tenens lifestyle appealed to this PA. Little did she know that a great deal of her mobile career would be spent on the icy, snow-covered continent of Antarctica. AN INTRIGUING ADVENTURE Ms. Brittell chose to go to Antarctica because she found it intriguing—she likes wilderness settings, including mountains, snow, and harsh environments. Initially, she learned about healthcare opportunities on the continent by reading about an astronaut who was doing work at the McMurdo Station.“I thought, Wow! What a fascinating place. So I did a little research on my own and discovered that there are medical clinics there. After some more digging, I was able to get in touch with a doctor who practiced at the South Pole Station and asked him a lot of questions. That is how I found out about Raytheon Polar Services Company, a Centennial, Colorado-based organization responsible for hiring support personnel for the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP).” Professionally, Ms. Brittell was interested in the challenge of getting back to the fundamentals of medicine with thorough physical exams and accurate histories. Plus, she loved the thought of living and interacting with people in a scientific community. She recalls, “Researchers are studying a vast variety of issues: global warming at the very place it might be most obviously occurring, glacial formations, and investigating how environmental contamination is affecting local wildlife. The geek, the environmentalist, and the traveler in me all found it very fascinating.” » JUNE 2008 LocumLife 11

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of LocumLife - June 2008

LocumLife - June 2008 Editorial Contents From Nalto Survey Says Last Minute Luxury Residency Corner Antarctica Bound 2008 Locum Tenens of the Year Awards Career Center Opportunities Direct Advertisers' Index Recruiters of the Year Showcase Contest Rules Destinations La Vita Locum

LocumLife - June 2008

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