Wilderness Medicine Fellowship Curriculum

Overview and Goals

The goal of our Wilderness Medicine Fellowship program is to give you the skills and knowledge to become leaders in the field of Wilderness Medicine.

There are four components to the fellowship program:

1. Knowledge Base

Learn and understand the wealth of knowledge and its application to both basic and advanced wilderness and remote medical problems. You will be given monthly reading assignments as well as writing multiple choice questions to add to our Wilderness Medicine Question Bank. Must attend one WMS Annual Meetings (July or Feb.)

2. Hands-On Skills

Learn the hard skills needed to set up rescues through different electives based on the fellows area of interest. These may include: High
/ Low Angle Rescue, Avalanche Training, Swift Water Rescue, Climbing / Rescue Knots, Scuba and Hyperbaric Medicine, Splints & Carries. You will be evaluated on your expertise during your apprentice instructorship as an Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS) instructor.

3. Research

Complete a wilderness medicine research project and/or scholarly activity. Attend our faculty development and departmental research meetings. The fellow will also be required to participate in our quarterly journal club activities.

4. Lecture/Teaching

Develop lecturing and teaching skills by creating a Wilderness Medicine lecture portfolio and contributing to the program’s educational mission. This may include medical student lectures, resident lectures and small group work-shops, Baystate Wild Med Interest Group lectures and work-shops, participating in various Wilderness Medicine conferences with Wild Med Adventures, and becoming certified as a Wilderness First Aid & Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS) Instructor. Complete requirements for FAWM - Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine.

Required Activities

Requirements may include but aren't limited to:

Participate and help organize elective for medical students / AWLS conference
Search and Rescue - Baxter State Park, White Mountains, Green Mountains
Mt. Washington backcountry Ski Patrol, Vermont/Western Mass Ski Patrol
High Altitude experience on Mt. Elbrus, Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, Himalayan Rescue Association
Dive/Hyperbaric Medicine
Swift Water Rescue
Attend at least one major national / international conference on Wilderness Medicine
Apply for FAWM, Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, WMS Society
At least 3 Core lectures to residents regarding wilderness medicine
Journal Review
Scholarly Project with focus on original research

Reading List

Download the reading assignments (pdf) for the Wilderness Medicine Fellowship

Curriculum

Core Content

Lecture Series

Lectures cover basic and advanced applications of wilderness medicine, given at a monthly conference every 2nd Tuesday. Topics include but are not limited to:

First Four Months

Special Carries, Splints, and Hemorrhage Control
Altitude Medicine
Envenomations
Dive Medicine

Second Four Months

Frostbite
Hypothermia & Non-Freezing Injuries
SAR and Navigation
Survival Skills and Knowledge

Third Four Months

Animals and Zoonoses
Wilderness Toxicology
Heat Related Illnesses
Special Topics in Wilderness Medicine

Journal Club

Sessions held every 4 months. These sessions will review articles within wilderness medicine and other current topics.

Teaching

As a fellow, you will provide both didactic and hands-on education to various groups within the emergency department and interest groups. These groups include but are not limited to:

Residents

You will give one or two core lectures per year in Wilderness Medicine.

Medical Students

Monthly lectures/workshops for rotating medical students should be focused on the monthly reading assignments.

Baystate Wild Med Interest Group

You will be responsible for setting up topics and speakers for monthly meetings of this interest group. Meetings are held on the third Thursday evening each month and the focus is on the discussion of different topics within Wilderness Medicine.

Intern Wilderness Day

Fellows help set up and teach the annual Intern Wilderness Day. Your responsibilities include lectures, hands-on workshops, and scenario training.

Physician Assistant Educational Day

You will organize and set up lecture schedules for PAs/NPs during their educational activities day.

Research

Wilderness Medicine fellows are encouraged to design a research project to be completed during the fellowship year.

You will carry out all steps, including study design, IRB submission, data acquisition and analysis, write-up, and abstract submission with the help of the fellowship director and Baystate’s Research Department.

The research project may be a poster presentation, case write-up, or protocols for future education.

Technical Skills

Swift Water Rescue Certification
AIARE I/II Avalanche Training
Technical Rope Technician: High/Low Angle
Scuba Certification
Wilderness First Aid Instructor
Advanced Wilderness Life Support Instructor
Glacier Travel: Rope Skills and Self Arrest Skills
Crevasse Rescue: 3:1 and 5:1 Pulley Systems

Milestones

First Four Months

Demonstrate proficiency in treatment of basic wilderness injuries
Become certified in AWLS and/or become AWLS instructor
Plan and initiate a year-long schedule for Interest Group Meetings
Sign-up and begin earning credits towards FAWM
Plan elective time and initiate ideas for scholarly project
Help run work-shop at Clinical Controversies and Consensus Meeting
Complete and submit quarterly multiple-choice questions

Second Four Months

Instruct one of our AWLS & Wilderness First Aid (WFA) courses
Schedule regular WFA courses to strengthen teaching skills
Teach at a national/international conference with guidance from Fellowship Director or Associate Director
Attend WMS annual conference
Meet with Director to discuss scholarly project and its progress
Schedule skills elective (ie. AIARE Level 1 Avalanche course or Level 2 if already completed)
Protected Elective Travel Time
Complete and submit quarterly multiple-choice questions

Third Four Months

Become Scuba certified and/or take Advanced Hyperbaric Course
Finish write-up and presentation of wilderness medicine project
Complete high altitude experience
Complete all credits for FAWM and submit
Protected Elective Travel Time
Complete special skills/experience training in topic of choice
Complete and submit final multiple-choice questions