Rhubarb December 2025

INSPIRING JOURNEYS

BEYOND TEDDIES

EXPLORING THE LIMITS: MEDICINE IN THE WILD LUCY OBOLENSKY (Corfe, 1995-1997)

F rom the polar ice to the heart of the jungle, Lucy has built a career at the extreme edge of healthcare delivering medical support and training in some of the world’s most remote environments. She’s worked closely with the British Exploring Society, the Royal Geographical Society, and the BBC, supporting legendary productions like Planet Earth , Blue Planet II , and Our Planet alongside Sir David Attenborough. Balancing clinical work in emergency medicine and general practice with university teaching and overseas humanitarian volunteer work, Lucy seeks to inspire the next generation of explorers and medical leaders.

to be the doctor on these expeditions, combining my career with my passion I jumped at the chance. Of all the expeditions you’ve been part of, is there one that stands out as particularly challenging or particularly memorable? This is a really interesting question: challenging vs memorable. Frequently one leads to the other, but not always! Lucy with penguins in the background – filming for Blue Planet II in Antarctica.

You’ve completed more than 20 expeditions in extreme environments, from deserts and jungles to polar regions.What first drew you to expedition medicine? I’ve always loved the outdoors and have worked hard on my navigation skills since getting horribly lost during Gold DofE with some fellow Corfe, Sing’s and Field House mates.

Filming for Blue Planet II in Antarctica.

The most memorable certainly has to be flying in a

hot air balloon over the Alps with the wonderful Sir David Attenborough, with a close second seeing a pod of orcas surfacing just next to our boat in Antarctica. Memories I’m hugely lucky to have made and that I’ll always cherish.

During medical school I worked as an assistant expedition leader for various school and gap year companies and when I saw there was an opportunity

34