Wilderness Medicine

[Dmizrahi]

I've done a search on SDN but i came up with strange uninformative results. Can anyone provide me with some information on the specialty or sub-specialty of Wilderness medicine?

From what i've gathered it's a sub-specialty of EM. I've seen several elective courses that offer it and Stanford has a program. Does anyone else know anything about this "field."

For example, which residency programs offer courses in this sub specialty. Are there any specific residency programs that offer wilderness medicine as a specialty? Could one perhaps make a career out of Wilderness Medicine? If so, what would the career consist of(salary, lifestyle...etc)?

Thanks!

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[Ride Big Sky]

I'm in the same boat and curious about this field.

 

[mongrel]

I know a little bit about it, and all I can say is

Really? Do tell, do tell.

I'm also pretty interested in this. Less as a career track but more as a hobby/side-interest.

 

[Nookular]

heres a tip: GOOGLE!!!

Avg Sal. $190,000 according to one site.

Tons of job postings on another.

Descriptions of diff. jobs on another.


Once again proving that the answers to life lie BEYOND sdn...

 

[MattD]

you'd basically be the guy declaring mountain climbers dead of HACE, right?

 

[DeadCactus]

Short story is that most people involved in it do it as a part time thing out of personnel interest and/or fringe benefits. Several schools offer fellowships in it, but it is not an official specialty.

 

[Dmizrahi]

heres a tip: GOOGLE!!!

Avg Sal. $190,000 according to one site.

Tons of job postings on another.

Descriptions of diff. jobs on another.


Once again proving that the answers to life lie BEYOND sdn...

Yea, i googled it before making the post and read about a variety of programs offered in different places but everything was relatively superficial. Then i got lazy and posted on here hoping to get some instant gratification...can you post the link to where you got your info from?

It seems like the sort of thing that someone would make a hobby out of, but I feel like there is some sort of market for it with the growing popularity of the outdoors and high-risk activities.

 

[cofcemt]

I am surprised to see another person really interested in Wilderness Med on this board. From what I have gathered, there are only 5 or 6 programs that really have any formal education with wilderness med. I know stanford does and a couple other schools. You were right about the EM residency then a fellowship in Wilderness. Many places like rural WY, MT, AK areas are looking for wilderness med physicians. Very interesting field.

I tried to upload a powerpoint that I have on it that I got from some university, but SDN said it was an invalid format. If anyone wants it, just PM me.

 

[A Wall]

When I was at Stanford, my student interviewer mentioned a friend of his who had discovered Wilderness Medicine while in school and fallen in love. Apparently he's done "rotations" traveling all over the place, and plans to continue. I don't really know about the specifics of specializing and residency and whatnot, but I sort of think that it goes hand in hand with working in an underserved, rural community--a shame, since I'd love to work in a real city (THE real city, ideally), and occasionally jaunt off down the Appalachian Trail saving hikers' lives. Seems unlikely, but a guy can dream. My PI at my research position is an ER doc who "dabbles" in hyperbaric treatments for smoke-inhalation and diving cases and snakebites, and considering our hospital's smack in the middle of the Bronx, it seems like you can have an interesting hobby pretty much anywhere you end up practicing. Long story short, unless you're attracted to rural medicine in general, focusing solely on Wilderness Medicine might be unreasonable, but everyone's got the right to a little experimentation.

 

[Piyush]

Join the military as a MO, and you will get enough wilderness med as you want on training ex and deployments.

Cheers
Piyush.

 

[Rickybobby]

I have been involved with wilderness medicine from a paramedic standpoint for a few years now. It's an exciting field for the MacGyver type but there are limited opportunities for physicians as a whole. If you have a hiking or climbing background there are several large organizations that staff physicians for climbs such as Everest. I would imagine that being a full-time wilderness Doc would entail a great deal of traveling and downtime. That's probably why it is more of a hobby than a career.

Wake Forest has a very active wilderness med club and they also offer a sub-specialty. Henderson McGinnis, M.D. is a leader in the southeast and an all around good guy that may be able to offer you more specific/correct info on wilderness med.

Good luck and if your are already involved in outdoor sports happy trekking.

RB

 

[notdeadyet]

heres a tip: GOOGLE!!!

Avg Sal. $190,000 according to one site.

Tons of job postings on another.

Descriptions of diff. jobs on another.


Once again proving that the answers to life lie BEYOND sdn...

Either cite your source or quit spreading misinformation. Job postings in wilderness med are rare bordering on endangered and it's way too wide a field to quote an "average" salary.

 

[notdeadyet]

I've done a search on SDN but i came up with strange uninformative results. Can anyone provide me with some information on the specialty or sub-specialty of Wilderness medicine?

From what i've gathered it's a sub-specialty of EM. I've seen several elective courses that offer it and Stanford has a program. Does anyone else know anything about this "field."

For example, which residency programs offer courses in this sub specialty. Are there any specific residency programs that offer wilderness medicine as a specialty? Could one perhaps make a career out of Wilderness Medicine? If so, what would the career consist of(salary, lifestyle...etc)?

Thanks!

Dmizrahi-

I'm a wilderness med fan too and looked into it quite a bit as well. Here's a few thoughts:

1. FLAVORS
It means different things to different people, but basically comes in two major flavors. There is the outdoor enthusiast, who likes to jump in and save wounded hikers and then there's the remote med enthusiast, who is interested in providing services to remote communities, like Antarctica postings and small villages in the Himalayas.

For the former, a residency in EM followed by a fellowship (rare) or some training courses (more common) is the typical path. For the latter, it's split (and debated) between doing EM or FP first, with a tendency towards FP.

2. TRAINING
There are bunches of courses offered by different non-profs and organizations out there, some quite expensive to take on your own (though they admittedly look like a lot of fun). For formal training, there are a handful of fellowships (Stanford's is the one I know most about), but there aren't too many options, and it isn't a designated subspecialty for EM or FP like Sports Medicine or Toxicology.

3. CAREER PATH
Most folks I've talked to have done this as a hobby. You work your ER shifts and in your offtime work as a part-time Medical Director for hiking clubs or search and rescue teams. There are a handful of full-time positions with the National Park Service and whatnot, but these are very rare and hard to come by. And should probably be pursued well after paying off student loans, if you catch my meaning.

Good luck with your endeavors. You can look into campus opportunities for wilderness med as a chance for a great hobby. As Rickybobby mentioned, Wake Forest has an active club and I've heard good things about Marshall.

 

[xcmntgeek]

Wilderness Medicine is more of a hobby; a lot of docs will volunteer on Mnt SAR teams. Even then, the training of a paramedic or flight nurse is likely better for those situations. Regardless, from what I've seen at WMI conferences its a lot of fun, and you get to play in the mountains. Hell of a way to get CME's.

Check out: http://www.wms.org/

and their journal: http://www.wemjournal.org/wmsonline/?request=index-html


They offer a Wilderness Medicine fellowship and medical student rotations ("oh, you just got off OB, I just got done backpacking for
3 weeks!") and a student organization for those of us interested in WM.

Also: http://www.healthline.com/blogs/outdoor_health/ is kinda fun.

Cheers,
Justin

 

[Maxprime]

I always thought Wilderness Medicine was just a joke that 4th years used to describe how lax their final year of school is - like "Underwater Basket Weaving" in undergrad.

 

[Isoprop]

i would think that FM would be more suited for wilderness medicine than IM.

SDN thread I found: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=397356&highlight=wilderness

 

[booswim542]

We have a Wilderness Medicine club at Wake, and we have speakers, get togethers to learn water rescue techniques, and outdoor trips where we focus on finding treatments in the wild.

 

[xcmntgeek]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The exception being doctors who specialize in travel medicine or work on expeditions. OH MY GOD, FUN IN MEDICINE- IT MUST BE EVIL!!!! WE MUST BE MISERABLE!!!

I'd say an EM physician would be better in a wilderness situation than FP or Internal.

 

[Isoprop]

really? why do you say this?

 

[SAL0320]

The Wake Forest SIG in conjunction with the Appalachian Center for Wilderness Medicine will be hosting the first ever wilderness medicine conference targeted specifically to the healthcare student - however residents, physicians and healthcare professionals are also welcomed. This is a great way to learn more about wilderness medicine and meet others with similar interests. The weekend will consist of lectures on wilderness medicine in extreme environments, hands on clinics and a final skills challenge on Sunday. Information about electives and other opportunities for students will also be available.
Mark your calendars for April 12-13 2008 - in sunny Winston-Salem, NC!
More Details
http://wms.org/studentgroups/sig_web_site/wakewm.htm
Register Now
http://wms.org/studentgroups/sig_web_site/wakewm.htm

Questions: Email Stephanie Lareau and DJ Williams at [email protected]

Please pass this on to anyone who might be interested!!