Holmes retained his urge for adventure and he sought a place on Captain Robert Falcon Scott's (1868–1912) ill-fated expedition to the South Pole. A ruptured Achilles tendon necessitated the abandonment of his plan and Holmes profited from his convalescence by obtaining a higher medical degree. In 1910, having obtained a higher medical degree, Holmes was appointed to the staff of the National Hospital when a senior colleague died suddenly. Thereafter his life revolved around his clinical and teaching activities in this hospital, which were unpaid, and a successful private practice.