Sydney Inspire – Jacky Boele, Tales of an Adventure Medic

Jacky Boele has a wealth of stories from her varied experiences in her professional life which include (but are not limited to) working in a busy emergency department, international community development, remote emergency care training, logistics and operational coordination of expedition and adventure races.

From being held at gunpoint while working to rehabilitate isolated mountain communities in East Timor, clearing jungle tracks by machete in order to set up and operate remote medicine aid posts in Costa Rica, training groups of indigenous rangers in the Tanami desert or even co-ordinating the operations and logistics of other peoples expeditions and endeavours. 

Jacky is passionate about bringing out the best in people and providing emergency care in remote settings, she is committed to delivering education that equips people with the confidence and skills to manage themselves and their teams in challenging contexts and cultures during medical emergencies in remote and austere environments when things stubbornly refuse to go to plan. You definitely want Jacky on your team!

Some of her stories may be more than a little hair-raising, but there is a lot to learn from unpacking and reflecting on them... and having a laugh along the way!

Bio:

Jacky got her start as an adventurer growing up in the Netherlands ice-skating to school at a very young age on frozen canals and travelling everywhere on a bicycle. Her family immigrated to Australia and embraced the outdoors. After school, she worked on conservation projects all over Sydney, picked up a degree in Social Ecology, then worked as a guide for Outdoor Education and World Expeditions in Tasmania then led groups on challenging 3 month Community Development program postings in Vanuatu and India.

She has worked in logistics for adventure races, recently the World Triathlon in Wollongong last year, but this work is not limited to first aid and operations. She has also organised other peoples expeditions such as a 1000km paddle event from Newcastle to Noosa for “Mermaid with a Message”.

In the last few years she has balanced all of the above with work in frontline emergency medicine at John Hunter and Belmont Hospital, training and assessing in remote area first aid courses, providing medical coverage at Central Hunter Sports Medicine and bringing up three kids, pushing their boundaries outdoors, encouraging confidence, resilience and a love of adventure. She loves any expedition with friends and family or solo.

Resilient and resourceful, Jacky has the knack of turning a bad or difficult experience into one of learning and thrives on developing practical strategies to address the problem. She’s also hilarious and her stories from her normal work week alone could be a mini-series in their own right!