Founding Travel Medicine | The ISTM's Formative YearsCut 4 Apr 30

Journey back with us nearly 40 years ago, when travel medicine was but a sparkle in a few physicians' eyes — and discover how a handful of visionary health professionals built a global medical field.

In this special episode of Travel Unravelled, host Dr. Aisha Khatib and ISTM president Dr. Anne McCarthy sit down with ISTM foundational members Robert Steffen, Herbert DuPont, Phyllis Kozarsky and Nancy Jenks to trace the storied origins of the International Society of Travel Medicine.

From faxed New Yorker cartoons to standing‑room‑only ad hoc conferences in Zurich, these trailblazers share candid stories of risk and serendipity — including personal hotel guarantees, MDs clad in leather pants, the birth of GeoSentinel and the importance of nurses to the burgeoning field of travel medicine.

What began as a small group filling a clinical gap has grown into a global force protecting travelers and tracking disease across borders. Theirs is the story of a field coming into its own. But as climate change and global mobility reshape risk, the work is far from done.

We’ll explore:
How “travel medicine” got its name — and why alternatives like emporiatrics were rejected.
The inside story of the first Zurich meeting and how it unexpectedly drew nearly 500 people without email, fax or the internet.
The high‑stakes gamble behind the 1991 Atlanta meeting, including personal financial risk to secure the Marriott Marquis.
How ISTM was formally born from the success of Atlanta, including creating a nonprofit.
The creation of GeoSentinel, from paper forms and faxed reports to a global surveillance network for emerging diseases.
The origins of the ISTM exam and the surprise of filling a New York ballroom with 450 test‑takers at the first sitting.
The pivotal role of nurses and women in shaping travel medicine’s education, practice and leadership.
How informal personal networks and friendships helped globalize a niche specialty long before digital communication.
The guests’ visions for travel medicine’s future, from evidence-based practice to integrating travel health into everyday primary care.

LINKS
Dr. Robert Steffen’s “History of ISTM” webinar and presentation
https://learning.istm.org/products/hi...
Journal of Travel Medicine 2025 article: Leaders behind the launching of the international society of travel medicine, the journal of travel medicine and helping to define a new medical discipline
https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article-...
Journal of Travel Medicine 1994 article: Travel Medicine: What’s That?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9815299/
Mentioned in this episode: The Travel Unravelled episode on GeoSentinel and international efforts to track disease: The Tale of Two Travellers
• The Tale of Two Travellers: How Travellers...

Travel Unravelled is sponsored by the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers (IAMAT).
https://www.iamat.org/

To follow us on your favourite podcast platform, find links at our official episode webpage at the ISTM website:
https://learning.istm.org/podcast

The ISTM’s Travel Unravelled podcast is produced by Ghost Bureau, in Toronto.

DISCUSSION POINTS
00:00 Introductions
03:20 ISTM origins
05:45 Field name
07:10 Zurich 1988
13:25 Atlanta 1991
16:31 Early sponsorships
20:07 Nancy Jenks
23:25 David Shlim
25:45 ISTM value prop
28:27 After Atlanta
29:37 Paris 1993
30:32 Acapulco 1995
33:52 Robert Steffen looks back
35:09 Bert DuPont
36:49 Phyllis Kozarsky
38:44 GeoSentinel
42:09 The exam
44:48 Nancy Jenks looks back
48:25 Anne McCarthy
50:07 Advice for ISTM
53:29 Thanking founders

Видео Founding Travel Medicine | The ISTM's Formative YearsCut 4 Apr 30 канала International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM)