After years working as one of the travel doctors in Brisbane, I’ve learned that preparing someone for an overseas trip is about far more than a few vaccines and a checklist of precautions. Travel medicine is deeply personal. It’s shaped by where someone is going, how they travel, how their body reacts to unfamiliar environments, and sometimes even how they handle uncertainty.
The Moments That Taught Me the Most
One of my earliest travel consultations involved a young backpacker heading across Southeast Asia for several months. She walked into the clinic excited but anxious, armed with a list she’d put together from travel blogs. As we talked, it became clear that she had overlooked a few key risks specific to rural areas on her itinerary. What struck me most was how relieved she felt once she understood the difference between general travel advice and recommendations tailored to her route. That experience shaped how I approach every consultation now: start with the traveller’s story, not the destination list.
Another memorable encounter was with an older couple heading to visit family in Africa. They had travelled many times before without seeking any medical preparation, assuming past health meant future safety. As we discussed food-borne illnesses and their existing medications, we uncovered a potential interaction that could have caused real trouble during their trip. They later told me that conversation changed the way they think about travel entirely.
The Common Missteps That Put Travellers at Risk
One mistake I see often is people assuming their general good health shields them abroad. Travel puts stress on the body in unexpected ways: jet lag, different climates, new foods, unfamiliar bacteria, time spent in remote locations. I’ve had athletes, teachers, retirees—people who are typically very well—return from previous trips surprised by how hard altitude or humidity hit them.
Another pattern is the last-minute scramble. A traveller last spring booked an appointment just days before leaving for South America. He needed vaccinations that required multiple doses over several weeks. We did what we could, but timing matters, and that’s something many travellers don’t realise until we sit down together.
Why Tailored Travel Consultations Matter
Over the years, I’ve found that the most valuable part of a travel health appointment isn’t the vaccine—it’s the conversation. People often share small details that drastically change the recommendations: plans to hike through remote villages, an allergy they forgot to mention, or a habit like drinking untreated water because “it feels authentic.”
Understanding these habits helps me personalise advice. A business traveller spending most of their time in a conference centre needs a very different plan than someone trekking through dense rainforest. And families travelling with children always require extra layers of preparation, particularly if it’s their first long-distance trip.
How Travel Medicine Helps People Feel Confident Abroad
What many travellers want—though they rarely say it outright—is confidence. They want to feel like they’ve thought things through, that they’re prepared for risks without being overwhelmed by them.
I recall one patient heading to Central America for volunteer work. She admitted feeling nervous because she’d never left Australia before. As we talked through what to expect, her nerves slowly shifted into excitement. She later emailed to say the preparation gave her the reassurance she needed to fully enjoy the experience.
Moments like that stay with me because they highlight the emotional side of travel health—something I didn’t fully appreciate early in my career.
Travel Medicine Changes How You See the World
Working with travellers has shown me the incredible variety of places people visit and the reasons behind those journeys. Some go for adventure. Others travel to reconnect with roots. Some travel for work, and others simply want to see more of the world.
But regardless of motivation, travel pushes people beyond familiar boundaries, and my role is to help them do that safely. Over the years I’ve become more aware of how unpredictable travel can be—and how preventable many travel-related health problems actually are.
Preparing someone for a trip is more than giving them a document or a quick talk; it’s about listening, anticipating, and offering guidance shaped by real-world experience. The travellers I’ve worked with have taught me as much about the world as I’ve taught them about staying healthy in it.