www.sundayterritorian.com.au Sunday Territorian, Sunday, January 3, 2010 — 55 PUB: NT NEWS DATE: 3-JAN-2010 PAGE: 55 COLOR: C M YK ALL IN A DAY’S WORK: Dr Lucy McKinnon Dr cares for Survivors Exotic ailments abound By CHRIS PEPPER WORKING in a surgery was never part of Dr Lucy McKinnon’s plan, the behind-the-scenes medic on the hit reality show Survivor who has treated ‘‘crazy-looking’’ rashes, spider bites and life- threatening infections. Coming face to face with cast and crew suffering strange, exotic ailments was all in a day’s work for the 34-year-old, who was born in Kensington Park and became hooked on travel and adventure. She now plans to head back overseas following her year-long adventure working on sets in West Africa and Brazil. ‘‘You’re driving around in a 4WD ambulance thinking, ‘Am I going to bump into an elephant around the next corner?’ It’s the most surreal, bizarre experience,’’ said the former Pembroke School pupil. Dr McKinnon landed the Survivor job after watching an episode while studying medicine and surgery at Adelaide University. ‘‘I remember watching Survivor and I saw an Australian doctor on it,’’ she said. ‘‘I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, how do I get on it?’’’ In 2008, she sent her CV to Sydney firm Immediate Assistants, which provides medical services on the program and is run by Survivor’s first doctor, Adrian Cohen. ‘‘It was very informal. I sat down with Dr Cohen and described the experiences I’d had,’’ she said. She was offered a job working on the Gabon series in West Africa with another doctor, three paramedics and two nurses. Afterwards she flew to Los Angeles to screen the next set of contestants for medical conditions, before travelling with the final 16 to Tocantins, in Brazil. ‘‘They (the contestants) had full blood tests and examinations and a full history check, like getting into the army I’d say,’’ she said. ‘‘They were either really quiet, out there, intelligent or beautiful. It was quite fun.’’ Both series each took about two months to film. ‘‘The Gabon base camp was only accessible by a four-hour boat ride and a trek to the middle of the jungle, in the middle of nowhere,’’ Dr McKinnon said. The Tocantins camp was six hours’ drive from the nearest hospital, leaving Dr McKinnon having to treat rashes, snake and spider bites on the spot. In the same series she told contestant Joe Dowdle that a leg infection was potentially life threatening and required an operation. Dr McKinnon decided against appearing in the latest series (Survivor Samoa). Recently she worked in East Timor and also with Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.