Wilderness Medicine for Residents

The UMass EM residents are involved in wilderness medicine at many educational levels. Residents and EM attendings are the primary teachers of an optional enrichment elective, Wilderness Medicine and Recreational Emergencies, which teaches 1st and 2nd year medical students the basics of patient stabilization in austere environments.

Residents may also spend a month during their 3rd year teaching 4th year medical students wilderness medicine topics in Utah. This 4th year medical student elective takes students into three wilderness environments; mountain, river, and desert, and focuses on management of the likely medical problems encountered in each.

 Residents also take part in 1-2 Wilderness Medicine Conference days as part of the core lecture curriculum. These days use simulated patient encounters in an outdoor setting and aim to teach residents topics that are not addressed by the “ROC core topics”. These areas include environmental toxins, dive medicine, mass casualty incidents, patient evacuation techniques, high altitude medicine, and other wilderness specific topics. UMass has been a leader in the field for many years and the EM residency program continues to support resident interests in wilderness medicine.