Surfing doctors making waves
FACEM Phil Chapman was invited to a surf camp in Java in the 1990s to stay as a doctor and help out with injuries and has been riding the wave ever since.
He has continued to ‘help out’ with reef injuries ever since in Fiji, South Africa, Sumatra and around the world. Along the way, he founded the Surfing Doctors, who describe themselves as ‘a group of like-minded doctors with an interest in surfing, medicine, continuing medical education and service.’ Their mission is to provide medical care in remote surf locations where healthcare access is limited and difficult to provide.
FACEM and Surfing Doctors founder Dr Phil Chapman.
‘You see it all,’ Dr Chapman said.
The group deals with the aftermath of wipeouts and ‘kissing the coral’ - chest injuries, near drownings, broken ribs, broken pelvises, lower limb fractures, reef rash, cuts and bruises - as well as jungle flu, gastro, dehydration and tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. Added to the mix is a smattering of monkey bites, with a wildlife park near their headquarters in Banyuwangi, Indonesia, home to panthers, leopards and snakes.
There are also language barriers, telecommunications issues and other challenges.
‘The most interesting side is the retrieval side of things, getting from A to B, using helicopter backup,’ he said. ‘It’s expensive and tricky to sort out boat transfers and road transfers through jungle. We’ve done it all.’
‘It’s a really heavy wave, one of the best waves in the world,’ he said of the Javanese beaches that originally drew him on a monthly basis. ‘It can be really challenging.’
Meeting the challenge
A case in 2008, where a surfer nearly died after suffering a pelvis injury with a 30 per cent mortality rate, was a changemaker for Chapman. The patient was taken overland to the nearest local hospital to stabilise, then helicoptered to Bali and flown by Learjet to Perth for treatment.
That same year he formed Surfing Doctors as a ‘low-key NGO’ which has been going from strength to strength ever since, continuing to gather momentum even during the difficult pandemic years.
‘We decided to do it in a more formal way and make a roster for the doctors, branch out into some other surf camps and do some benevolent work at the same time,’ Dr Chapman said. ‘When we go, we are prepared to look after the locals, we look after the guests at the surf camps, and we do a bit of education. We have medical students doing electives as well.’
Getting on board
The group, which has a ‘core nucleus of 10 mostly FACEMS or FACEM trainees and others from all over the world,’ set up a website and has run annual conferences since 2010. It now has 100 members, with a mixture of specialists mostly in critical care and juniors in training in intensive care and emergency departments. Dr Chapman said the group attracted doctors, medical students, paramedics, nurses and allied health staff drawn to adrenaline sports and willing to get out of their comfort zone.
‘We have great conferences. You learn a bit, meet some great people and network. It’s pretty awesome, that’s what has kept us going,’ Dr Chapman said.
“When it lights up the surfers start hitting the reef and getting injured. They either get their board hitting them or the reef hits them, or they get impaled into the reef and it’s razor sharp in certain sections”
The season starts around May with trade winds and Hawaiian-style waves with breaks for around five kilometres. ‘It’s an impressive thing to see,’ he said.
‘When it lights up the surfers start hitting the reef and getting injured. They either get their board hitting them or the reef hits them, or they get impaled into the reef and it’s razor sharp in certain sections.
‘When the groundswell hits you get the real serious injuries. So you’ve got to be ready for the heavy stuff. If you stayed for two weeks, you’d see it all.’
Growing up in South Africa, Dr Chapman began surfing at 10 and turned professional before he turned 20, taking part in events including state titles.
‘I’ve been surfing since I was a youngster,’ he said. ‘It’s been my go-to sport since I was 10 years old. I’ve been doing it for a long time now.’
Originally a scientist, he trained as a doctor in Cape Town before moving to the UK to become a surgeon but instead ‘gravitated to emergency medicine.’
A FACEM since 2007, he worked at the Royal Hobart Hospital in Tasmania and John Hunter Hospital and Calvary Mater in Newcastle, before heading west to Bunbury Hospital in WA. From there, he said, ‘I gravitated to the south because of surfing.’ Dr Chapman is now a staff specialist FACEM at Busselton and Margaret River, where he was director for a decade.
Parallels in surfing and emergency medicine
FACEM Dr Scott Stirling.
He’s not the only one following the waves. FACEM Scott Stirling, Deputy Director at Logan ED in Queensland, joined the group to meet other surfers in the medical field.
‘I loved that I could practice medicine and help others, while surfing some good waves. Surfing Doctors has given me lifelong friendships and taken me places I never thought I'd go,’ Dr Stirling said.
He sees unexpected parallels in surfing and emergency medicine.
‘Surfing allows you to be present and focused on one thing. Being out in the water you can forget all the chaos on land. It takes you to every corner of the earth and, like emergency medicine, you meet so many interesting people you'd never normally meet.
“‘Surfing allows you to be present and focused on one thing ... It takes you to every corner of the earth and, like emergency medicine, you meet so many interesting people you’d never normally meet.”
‘On a typical day if we're covering the camp, we surf with everyone and address any injuries that happen along the way. Typical concerns are anything from reef cuts to otitis externa, to shoulder dislocations and sometimes serious trauma.
‘A highlight was being involved in the World Surfing League contest at Margaret River. I did an US-guided posterior tibial nerve block at the contest site to fix a laceration on a pro surfer's foot. He then went on to win his heat!’
Facing the elements
FACEM Dr Anthony Buddle.
FACEM Dr Anthony Buddle, Clinical Director Southland Hospital ED and Pre-vocational Supervisor, also has a passion for the twin challenges of surfing and emergency medicine. He has been involved with the group for more than 10 years, taking multiple trips as a surf doctor to Indonesia and Fiji from his home in Aotearoa New Zealand’s South Island. Among his motivations is ‘being in nature and out in the elements,’ as well as the constantly changing scenery.
“ I have dealt with potential acute coronary syndromes, syncopal events and seizures. Others in the group have managed pelvic fractures and near drownings.”
He has dealt with minor issues such as reef and surfboard cuts, skin infections, rashes and dehydration.
‘Often we come across fractures and dislocations,’ Dr Buddle said. ‘I have dealt with potential acute coronary syndromes, syncopal events and seizures. Others in the group have managed pelvic fractures and near drownings.’
With hopes to snag a few set waves and make tracks to South Africa and South America in the near future, the sky – and the sea – is the limit for the Surfing Doctors.
The theme of the Surfing Doctors conference (20-30 September, 2025) at G-Land, Banyuwangi, Indonesia is ‘Wilderness, Waves, and Remote Medicine’. Sessions include Spinal Injury in Remote Setting, Cervical Spine Immobilisation, Stranded Patient with Neck Trauma and Lacerations and Sepsis in the Tropics. CPD: ACEM Certified for 25 hours EA and 2 hours RP
