Wilderness Medicine in Snowmass

The Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) is holding its Annual Meeting from July 22-26 in Snowmass, Colorado. I'm attending this continuing medical education (CME) meeting, and it's terrific. In addition to presentations from doctors and other medical professionals on such topics as "Causes and Prevention of Wilderness Accidents," "Exercise Physiology and Extreme Environments," "Chronic Medical Conditions and the Wilderness Traveler," "Avian Flu Update," and "Psychological Response to Wilderness Injury and Crises," there are awesome evening programs about mountain rescue doctors, the New Orleans rescue efforts, and a walk across Siberia.

I had the privilege to teach as an instructor of an Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS) program, which is a practical approach to the treatment of injuries and illnesses experienced at a distance from traditional medical assistance. It is a certification program about which I will write more in a future post.

The comaraderie and enthusiasm are awesome, and it's a wonderful opportunity for me to learn the latest and greatest, and catch up with my wilderness medicine friends. Snowmass is gorgeous, and what little free time we have is spent hiking and mountain biking on the trails that wind around Snowmass and Aspen. With a little luck, we'll find a few hours to visit the Maroon Bells, and hopefully not have to use any of our wilderness medicine expertise.

Tags: Wilderness Medical Society, CME, outdoor medicine, wilderness medicine, healthline

photo by Paul Auerbach

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