Three Jolly Good Fellows

In a recent showing of camaraderie, WMI's own Shana Tarter (Instructor and Assistant Director) and Gates Richards (Instructor and Special Projects Manager) joined Tod Schimelpfenig (Instructor and Curriculum Director) as Fellows of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine.

According to the Wilderness Medical Society's website, Academy Fellowship is awarded to "those who have achieved a demanding set of requirements validating their training and experience in Wilderness Medicine for the assurances of patients, clients, and the public at large."

Having three Fellows among their staff (and jolly, good ones, at that) is another thing that sets WMI apart from other wilderness medicine schools. That's something that nobody can deny!

WMI Grad Makes Good

We think our alumni are top-notch folks. But don’t just take our word for it, read on to see how NOLS’ wilderness medicine education helps qualify medical professionals.

Bob Foster, a graduate of the Wilderness Medical Institute’s “Wilderness Upgrade for Medical Professionals” course in 2008, recently became Fremont County Idaho’s new Emergency Services Director.

Foster ‘s goal is to “provide high quality emergency care to EMS patrons and high quality training to EMS volunteers” in southern Idaho- including Driggs (home to NOLS’ Teton Valley Branch).

Be sure to check out the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute website for updates or to choose a training option that's right for you.

Congratulations to Bob Foster!

Medical Wilderness Adventure Race

A Medical Wilderness Adventure Race (MedWar) combines wilderness medical challenges with adventure racing and was developed to give medical students, residents, health care professionals, and wilderness enthusiasts a practical, interactive, and enjoyable curriculum for learning wilderness medicine.

This race, “Mountain Assault,” in Park City Utah, was  sponsored by the University of Utah Division of Emergency Medicine, the Wilderness Medical Society and the Wilderness Medicine Institute.   Matt Hamonko MD, the wilderness fellow at U of U, put the event together.

The WMI Team was Dave Weber, myself, and Mike Ditolla. 

We carried what we would honestly take on a winter mountain day trip - honestly.  We left the Lifepack 12 and Gamow bag in the truck. Water, food, extra layers, navigation and survival items filled our packs.   You’re allowed to carry a reference book.  We considered Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine 5th edition, but it weighs in at 10.6 lbs, and was an awkward fit in the pack, so we relied on our brains, which served us well.

I’ve been racing biathlons recently, and the title of mountain assault made me consider bringing my rifle, but this is a non-violent medical event focused on saving, not shooting, so I left it at home.

We skied and snow shoed around 8 miles, navigating at times by GPS and stopping at 7 medical stations.  We evaluated frostbite, managed a diabetic skier, reduced a dislocated shoulder,  set up a pulley system to simulate a crevasse extraction, used a transceiver to find a buried skier, treated patients with altitude illness and hypothermia and dragged a patient a half kilometer across the snow.

It took us a few stations to realize that the other teams were focusing on the obvious problem while we were diligently performing a full patient assessment, as we train our students to do.   This cost us a bit of time, as did a faulty ski binding.  There are no rest or water stations on the route, and if equipment breaks, you have to deal with it as you would in the wilderness.

These races are held throughout the U.S. and Canada at many different times of the year.  You can find more information at www.medwar.org.

Tod Schimelpfenig

February 09

Siskiyou Field Institute WFR

Wilderness First Responders, aka WFRs, are prepared to treat patients in any conditions. How do they get that way? They train that way! Even when western Oregon freezes over, WMI is there.

Watch as WMI students battle the elements to hone their skills in Selma, Oregon, at the Siskiyou Field Institute's Deer Creek Center.

Welcome to....Oregon? from John Hovey on Vimeo.

Patient Assessment System

Someone is hurt. Someone is sick. The Wilderness EMT responds--but in the chaos of a rescue, it is easy to lose sight of the fundamentals. Emotions, weather, equipment malfunctions, and any number of other distractions can leave a responder confused about what to do.

Today, in WMI's California Wilderness EMT course, the Mariposa County Fire Battalion Chief weighs in on this issue. Thanks for the lesson, C.J.!

Patient Assessment from John Hovey on Vimeo.

Credit Where It's Due

A recent study at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria has shown that the Bee Gees disco song "Stayin' Alive" provides an ideal beat to follow while performing CPR chest compressions. Big deal--Wilderness Medicine Institute instructors have been compressing chests to this beat this for years! Congratulations to these diligent doctors for proving what we already knew.

Improvised Litters

A litter is a device for carrying someone, and in the context of wilderness medicine, it can be a lifesaver. Carrying a litter is painful, slow, backbreaking work, and that's the best case scenario, when you are using a commercially-designed litter for its intended purpose. When you must make your own, improvising with materials at hand, the difficulty grows.

In this video, see Wilderness EMT students testing some homemade litter designs in Sinks Canyon, outside of Lander WY.

Procession of the Litters from John Hovey on Vimeo.

Week Three Madness

It is Week Three here on the Lander Wilderness EMT and everyone is feeling the strain. The stunning amount of information that the students must assimilate is one thing, but on top of the book knowledge they must master many practical skills as well. Right now, the students are practicing their spinal stabilization skills and learning about how to deal with trauma patients wearing helmets. Again, though, it is week three.

Week Three Madness from John Hovey on Vimeo.

Intial Assessment

Someone is hurt! What should we do? Wilderness EMT students know that no matter how severe or trivial a patient's illness or injury may appear, it is important to do a proper Initial Assessment. A rescuer's top priority is their own safety and the safety of any other rescuers, followed by concern for the patient's safety. (Remember, the patient is already hurt!) Rescuers should also assess the likely cause of the injury, put on gloves and other protective measures, look for any other patients, and form a general impression of how their patient is doing. After that, well....watch the video and find out.

Initial Assessment from John Hovey on Vimeo.

Evisceration...Ewwww!

Trauma to the abdomen can tear through the abdominal wall and, in some cases, expose the patient's intestines or other internal organs. This is a serious emergency called an evisceration, and it requires prompt evacuation from the wilderness and transport to a hospital. Infection, bleeding, and drying of the organs are all concerns.

The Wildernes EMT's prehospital care of this injury must include bandaging over the injury with a moist, sterile gauze dressing. The organs must be kept warm and moist, and they should not be touched. Definitely don't try to push them back in to the patient's abdomen! That is the job of a surgeon.

Note: this photo shows WEMT student Aaron Inouye suffering a *simulated* evisceration. How do we create these moulage injuries? Take a WMI Wilderness EMT course to find out!