Where do you work and what do you do?

I work independently teaching healthcare professionals in travel medicine around the UK and writing for journals. In an honorary capacity, apart from ISTM, I'm very involved with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow as Secretary of the Faculty of Travel Medicine Board amongst other roles. (See my Chair's profile on the ISTM main website for more detail).

When did you start in travel medicine and have you any formal training in the subject?

I first became interested in 1990 when I became a practice nurse and in 1995 commenced studying for a Masters degree in Travel Medicine at the University of Glasgow and graduated in 1998.

What are your special interests in Travel Medicine?

I'm particularly interested in malaria, care of the VFR traveller, the process of running a travel clinic and vaccine administration. I love designing tools to help nurses in their travel consultations and have set up a website to help such people, particularly in the UK. This is a non commercial venture, designed to provide education and a few other fun items – it can be viewed at www.janechiodini.co.uk

What are your other passions in life?

Apart from a great husband, I have two grown up sons and am enjoying watching them develop in life. I love exploring London, watching musicals, craft work and am looking forward to travelling more extensively in the future now the children have left home!

Where do you work and what do you do?

I spend most of my time teaching, writing and speaking at conferences and study days. I am a member of several Advisory Boards related to travel health and an Associate Trainer (Yellow Fever) for the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC). I was Chair and Newsletter Editor of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Travel Health Forum until October 2009 and now represent travel health within the RCN Public Health Forum and on internal and external committees.

When did you start in travel medicine and have you any formal training in the subject?

My interest in Travel Medicine began in 1990 when I began working in a Yellow Fever Vaccinating Centre. I continued in clinical practice until 2007. I completed the Diploma in Travel Medicine at Glasgow University in 1998 and in 2003 a BSc (Hons) in Health Promotion and Education with travel health at the core.

What are your special interests in Travel Medicine?

I enjoy all aspects of travel medicine especially nurse education. I was Co-Chair of NECTM2 in Helsinki and currently for NECTM3 In Hamburg 2010.The RCN international Department has a far reaching remit for nurses around the world and I am particularly interested in linking nurses involved in travel health to share best practice. I am a "Subject Expert" and Reviewer on travel medicine for the RCN Accreditation Unit which accredits educational courses and conferences. Increasingly E-learning has become a more popular way of delivering evidence-based learning.

What are your other passions in life?

I love travelling and the outdoors. I have a wonderful family and network of friends and our two little grandsons enrich our lives tremendously.

Where do you work and what do you do?

Since 1992, I have maintained a private NP practice in travel health,Travel Well of Westchester, Inc. I also direct The Westchester Course: Travel Health Fundamentals and provide independent counsultation and educational services to health professionals and organizations in the U.S. and Canada

When did you start in travel medicine and have you had any formal training in the subject?

I was introduced to travel health when I worked at Khao-I-Dang Refugee Camp in Thailand as part of a Cornell University team in 1982. Subsequently, I developed a corporate-wide program for Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1987.  I have earned two Masters degrees from Columbia University- Adult Nursing and Public Health. Both programs included course work relevant to travel health and clinic administration.

What are your special interests in Travel Medicine?

I am interested in the education of health professionals and the public with a focus on quality care, cost-effective prevention, and adult learning strategies. I am committed to the development of an ANCC recognized nursing specialty in travel health in the U.S.

What are your other passions in life?

My wonderful husband and pre-teen daughter, travel (anywhere), reading fiction, hiking with our Labrador, Sophie, and my energetic Girl Scout troop.

Where do you work and what do you do?

I wear many hats as a Registered Nurse. I work at the University of California, Berkeley in the University Health Services rotating through 3 clinics areas. The majority of my career was spent in the Emergency Department so now I keep up those skills in our Urgent Care. I also work in the Travel Clinic and Telephone Advice. 2-3 days a week I work at a major Medical Center where I do special projects as a nurse educator for the Education Department and Employee Health. I am a regular guest speaker for a large company as well.

When did you start in travel medicine and have you had any formal training in the subject?

I started in travel medicine approximately 1998 where I received on the job training. Since that time, I've regularly attended and presented in both local and international conferences.

What are your special interests in Travel Medicine?

The reason I feel passionate about Travel Medicine is because it combines my personal and professional interests. I would say I enjoy the entire package!

What are your other passions in life?

Traveling with my husband and 3 daughters is probably one of my greatest pleasures. We make it a priority to travel as a family every year or every other year somewhere in the world. My personal passion is to be physically active and I've rarely met a sport I didn't like. I love to play tennis, ride my rode bike, water ski, hike in the summer, snow ski in the winter and power walk with friends. Lately I've been listening to books on my ipod while enjoying a sport. Reading and spending time with friends are also favorite past times.

Where do you work and what do you do?

Since 2007 I work fulltime as a travel health nurse for KeurCompany Travelclinic in the Netherlands. I was closely involved by the setting up of the Travelclinic. The Travelclinic has 30 locations all over the country and is part of a nationwide occupational health organization (the ArboNed group).

I work at several locations in the southern part of the country. I am also a member of the core team as representative of the nurses. In my portfolio I have quality implementation & control and education/training.

Since 2008 I am an active member of the Dutch 'Registration & Certification committee' for the travel health nurses and it's education / training in the Netherlands.

When did you start in travel medicine and have you had any formal training in the subject?

My first 'tropical' experience was when I worked for 18 months as a RN in a general hospital on Aruba, Netherlands Antilles (1991-1993). In 1994 I said goodbye to hospitals and I was trained as a bachelor in occupational health.

My real travel health career started when I worked in 1997 for a multinational chemical company (Dow Chemicals). I then followed the basic THN training. Between 2002 and 2007 I specialized myself in ergonomics, but in 2007 the travel health-virus came back. After renewing my basic training I yearly attended several conferences and extra training.

What are your special interests in Travel Medicine?

I am especially interested in quality control in the travelclinic, nurses regulations and responsibilities.

What are your other passions in life?

My family (my wife and my 2 children of 8 and 7 years old) is my most important passion. I love to camp and hike with them, mainly in Europe. Besides that I like to badminton, ski, travel, photograph and am I interested in history and archaeology.

Where do you work and what do you do?

I work for the Department of National Defence in Ottawa, Canada as the Senior Advisor on Immunization and Public Health Nursing.

When did you start in travel medicine and have you had any formal training in the subject?

I became interested in travel medicine in the 1990s when I was working in Public Health and studying tropical medicine. The Master of Science in Infectious disease programme that I completed through London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene contains course content that is applicable to the practice of travel medicine and I completed the Travel Medicine Course offered through ISTM.

What are your special interests in Travel Medicine?

My interests in travel medicine include the development of standards of practice especially those that relate to vaccine provision, competency development for providers, and expeditionary (military) medicine.

What are your other passions in life?

My perfect day would start with yoga on the beach in the tropics and follow with a jungle trek to observe wild life with my spouse and wee son.

Where do you work and what do you do?

My primary occupation is midwifery. Last year my husband and I set up a Travel Clinic in our hometown, north of Bergen.

When did you start in travel medicine and have you had any formal training in the subject?

I've been involved in Travel Medicine since 2001. I was a board member of the Norwegian Forum of Travel Medicine and the Prevention of Infectious Disease (NFTM) and in August 2009 was elected of leader of the group.

I was the Co Chair of the first Northern European Conference of Travel Medicine (NECTM 1 held in Edinburgh in 2006 and have been on the Scientific Committee of NECTM 2 in Helsinki 2008 and NECTM 3 in Hamburg 2010. I'm currently studying the distance learning Foundation Course in Travel Medicine at Health Protection, Scotland.

What are your special interests in Travel Medicine?

Challenges concerning the pregnant traveller and the pediatric traveller.

What are your other passions in life?

Life is busy and full, I've been married to Øyvind for 27 years and we have 5 children, two girls and three boys, from 18 – 25 years old. I also enjoy quilting and sitting down with my sewing machine creating bags, tablecloths etc. I love cross country skiing during the winter and mountain hiking and biking in summer.

Where do you work and what do you do?

I work full time as a senior practice nurse in a 24 hr private out/in-patient clinic in Kampala, Uganda which is heavily attended by travellers and expats, and is the ISOS medevac centre for Uganda.

When did you start in travel medicine and have you had any formal training in the subject?

I have lived and travelled in Africa for 20 yrs and this has given me in-depth understanding of the issues for both short and long-term travellers in Africa. I have worked directly advising and treating travellers since 2001 in private and embassy clinics in Kampala. I am currently doing the Diploma in Travel Medicine from Glasgow which will finish in Mar 2010.

What are your special interests in Travel Medicine?

Malaria and all its misconceptions in the traveller, malaria policy/diagnostic issues in endemic countries, schistosomiasis, rabies, and refugees.

What are your other passions in life?

My kids (2), the environment, alternative energy sources, reading politics, and empowerment of oppressed peoples.

My name is Lino André Silva, I am 33 years old, from Oporto, north of Portugal.

I am a Nurse practitioner, in a specialized hospital for infectious diseases (Joaquim Urbano Hospital- Porto), and I work as a Travel Nurse Advisor in our International Vaccination Center.

For the last 5 years, the hospital has trained me in travel health and tropical medicine by sending me to tropical institutes and hospitals in Portugal, Spain, England, Tanzania and Angola. The training has improved my travel health knowledge and my ability to prepare workers, travelers, and volunteers, to go abroad, so they are knowledgeable about how to reduce their risks from travel health problems.

In my experience, the former Portuguese colonies are our major challenges in regards to travel medicine and post-travel consultation. More than 90%, of all our preparations are to Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Cape Vert, Sao Tome and Principe which totals approximately 3000 people every year. In the last 4 years we assisted a massive emigration of Portuguese workers to these former colonies with working contracts of 3 years. Our concern and objective is the prevention of imported tropical diseases, some of which are completely forgotten for years.

In Portugal the importance of travel medicine is increasing every year, yet unfortunately in nursing schools we don’t study this topic. The Portuguese Nursing Association does not either recognize travel medicine as a specialty in nursing. The positive public exposure by ISTM of nurses in travel medicine may help change the mentality of the leading heads of nursing in Portugal by illustrating the importance of the role of the nurse in travel health advising.

I am a kiwi RN working full time as a travel medicine nurse specialist based at the Wellington branch of the Travel Doctor Group, New Zealand. We are guided by nationwide legislation and Medical & Nursing Council ‘scope of practice' terms. Travel Doctor New Zealand has formulated its own policy document which draws information from a range of sources and governing bodies. Typically, this is a combination of WHO, CDC, UK guidelines and we liaise regularly with our Australian counterparts to ensure best possible practice.

I work with a team of medical/nursing/administration staff. Day to day I specialize primarily in the prevention management of health problems associated with travel. This is inter-disciplinary scope of practice encompassing public health, epidemiology and preventative primary care. Responsibilities include prescribing (non medical authorized vaccinator) and administering travel vaccines, identifying and discussing malarial risk and chemoprophylaxis, phlebotomy and providing general travel health advice and education. Authorisation as an independent vaccinator (i.e. non medical authorized vaccinator) gives me the legal ability to administer vaccines without requiring a prescription or standing order written by a medical practitioner.

I am also the nurse specialist for the New Zealand Police (NZP), responsible for all NZP overseas deployments working closely with the Medical Advisor based also with the Travel Doctor practice. This role is both challenging and stimulating and involves a practice nurse approach with a travel medicine twist, as each officer requires a full medical work up pre and post deployment. I attend pre and post deployment briefs at the Royal New Zealand Police College and I'm the first point of contact for any issues surrounding medical work ups. The New Zealand Police currently serve long term (6 – 12 month rotations) in the Solomon Islands, East Timor, Bougainville, Afghanistan and the Pitcairn's.

We also work with a domestic violence prevention team who travel for short frequent periods through out the Pacific, the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) group, who deployed to Thailand after the Tsunami in 2004 and most recently headed to Samoa after the devastating earthquake and tsunami.  We also serve the Special Tactics Group (STG), a group of approximately 70 elite officers located throughout New Zealand.

There is also a large number of what we call "random" deployments of officers who travel offshore, typically the Pacific and Asia, short term i.e. 2 – 6 weeks, who are often going in observer roles, training or attending workshops. These guys do not require a medical per say, instead we offer a full travel medicine vaccination consultation. As an offshoot, we also see all Diplomatic Protection Squad (DPS) members who travel with our Prime Minister and other important groups. These officers are all also fitted with compression socks, as their job involves not only a substantial amount of air travel, but also long periods of standing and immobility. Finally we see the Dive Squad members, who we see more in an occupational health capacity but with a strong focus on vaccination, Hep A, Hep B, ADT, etc, given the nature of their job.