A UC Davis emergency room doctor is leaving for a four-month sabbatical to work at the National Science Foundation’s base at the coldest, driest, windiest desert on Earth.

Dr. John Rose is a professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of Emergency Medical Services and Disaster Management at UC Davis Health, and he leaves for the South Pole this weekend, where he’ll serve as the primary physician for 150 people. He talks about practicing medicine in extreme conditions and the training one requires to treat just about anything that might happen.