Thread: Antarctic Doctors?

I'm currently working on a novel that is set primarily at a fictional Antarctica research station. I've done a cursory amount of research into such places and how they operate, but I've got a few questions left.

How are people, specifically doctors, assigned to such a place? Are they under contract to private corporations, like tourists, or do they work for government agencies? If so, which one?

Also, is it feasible to conduct an autopsy at such a place? Would a large base, such as McMurdo, have the facilities for that? I'm thinking not, as I've head so many stories of people with life threatening illnesses being airlifted out of Antarctica to receive life saving treatment. Isolation is a big part of my story, and I wouldn't want to violate that sense of isolation by giving my characters access to things they wouldn't have.

Does anyone know? Thanks a lot!

Well, it's your story. Contract them to some alphabet government agency if you so wish, or have them as freelance specialists who excel in low-temperature environments. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I doubt you'll come on a reader with a vested knowledge of the Antarctica who'll be able to point out flaws in your ideas. Unless, of course, your readers are going to be Eskimos or Sherpas.

I'm sure, with the right equipment, any facility would be able to conduct an autopsy.

Sam, there's no Eskimos or Sherpas in Antarctica.

I dunno about other nations’ bases in Antarctica but the Australian Government employs its own doctors.

You do know I suppose that ALL Antarctic bases are government-run? There’s no such thing as privately-owned territory.

You’d need to Google “US Antarctic Base” or something like that to learn which agency runs McMurdo. Or make something up. There you go, I’ve done it for you - it’s the National Science Foundation division of United States Antarctic Program.

Like Sam said, it’s your story. But bringing a body to, say, Santiago in Chile or Christchurch in New Zealand, for an autopsy, could present interesting plot twists in itself.

If you really want to make a study into isolation, you have to spend some time in my pants.

Every forum's got 'em.

Thanks for the replies! Part of the story is actually how an autopsy could NOT be conducted at one of the smaller/older outposts because they don't have either the staff or facilities for it. And yes, I did know that there is no such thing as private land in Antarctica. I was just playing with the idea of a private corporation working under government supervision.