Wilderness Medical Society

WMS

Full name	Wilderness Medical Society
Founded	1983
Members	3,000
Key people	President - Brad Bennett - PhD, NREMT-P, FAWM, Capt. US Navy (Ret.); Loren Greenway, PhD - CEO, MFAWM; Aaron Billin, MD, FAWM - Director, Academy of Wilderness Medicine, Treasurer; Robert Quinn - MD, FAWM - Secretary; Jay Lemery - MD, FAWM - Past President; Teri Howell - Administrative Director; Ryan Ingwersen - Managing Editor; Jim Ingwersen - Information Technology
Office location	2150 South 1300 East - Suite #500 Salt Lake City, Utah 84106
Country	United States
Website

The Wilderness Medical Society was created on 15 February 1983 by three physicians from California, United States — Dr. Paul Auerbach, Dr. Ed Geehr, and Dr. Ken Kizer.^[1] It provides advice and guidance to medical personnel working in wilderness or backcountry environments. It also publishes Wilderness & Environmental Medicine Journal,^[2][3] Wilderness Medicine Magazine,^[4][5] and Practice Guidelines for Wilderness Emergency Care.^[6]

Academy of Wilderness Medicine

Stereotypical explorer Kazimierz Nowak

The academy seeks to provide a system of adult education and certification in a modern and standardised way to provide a set level of knowledge and education for practitioners working in the wilderness arena.^[7][8]

The goals of the academy are to:^[9]

• Professional designation for achievement in Wilderness Medicine
• Validation for the public, patients, and clients of practitioner education in Wilderness Medicine
• Recognition for completing high quality standards in Wilderness Medicine
• Continuing medical education (CME) credit for acquisition of knowledge and hands-on experiences in Wilderness Medicine
• The advancement of an internationally recognized curriculum of Wilderness Medicine categories, topics, and skills

FAWM curriculum

Rescue rope training

Kolob Canyon, part of Zion National Park, Utah, United States is part of the larger desert the Colorado Plateau.

The curriculum for participants wishing to gain fellowship is modular and is divided into Electives, Required Topics and Experience:^[10]

Required/Core Topics are divided into twelve sub-headings:^[11]

• Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine
• Tropical and Travel Medicine
• High Altitude^[12] & Mountaineering Medicine
• Expedition Medicine
• Field Craft and Equipment
• Rescue and Evacuation
• Sports Medicine and Physiology
• Preventive Medicine, Field Sanitation & Hygiene
• General Environmental Medicine
• Improvised and Alternative Medicine
• Disaster & Humanitarian Assistance
• Wilderness Emergencies and Trauma Management

FAWM credits can be gained in a number of ways such as;

• Attending WMS conferences
• Completing online tests after reading journal articles
• Watching online lectures
• Publishing articles
• Teaching in the area of Wilderness Medicine

Activities

The Wilderness Medical Society organize annual conferences and meetings for members and interested parties.^[13][14][15]

Notable Fellows

• Dr. Paul Auerbach - Founder and past president of the WMS.
• Dr. Sean Hudson - One of the first holders of the FAWM in England.^[16]
• Dr. Clayton Everline - FAWM and Author of "Surf Survival" and Sports Medicine doctor for Straub Clinic and Hospital ^[17]

Affiliated groups

^[18]

• Expedition and Wilderness Medicine^[19]
• Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS)^[20]
• Aerie Backcountry Medicine^[21]
• Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS^[22]
• American College of Emergency Physicians - Wilderness Section^[23]
• International Hypoxia Symposia
• Everest ER^[24]
• Institute for Altitude Medicine^[25]
• Wilderness Medical Associates
• EcoMed^[26]
• Wilderness Medicine Programs - Roane State Community College
• Mountain & Marine Medicine
• Waves of Health^[27]
• Argentine Mountain Medicine Society^[28]
• WildMedix^[29]

References

1. Barry, Jonna; Erb, Blair. "WMS Footprints: past, present, and future". Wilderness Medical Society. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
3. "Student BMJ: The International Medical Journal for Students". Archive.student.bmj.com. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
4. "Wilderness Medicine Magazine". Wildernessmedicinemagazine.com. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
5. "Wilderness Medicine Magazine". Wildernessmedicinemagazine.com. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
6. "Wilderness Medical Society Practice Guidelines for Wilderness Emergency Care". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
7. "Expedition Medicine - Wilderness Medical Society". Expeditionmedicine.co.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
8. "Wilderness Medical Society". Wms.org. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
9. "Wilderness Medical Society". Wms.org. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
10. "Becoming a Fellow...". Wilderness Medical Society. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
11. "FAWM Required Topics". Wilderness Medical Society. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
12. Askew, E. Wayne. "Nutrition at High Altitude". Wilderness Medical Society. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
13. "2009 Wilderness Medical Society Medical Conference and Annual Meeting in Snowmass". Healthline.com. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
14. "WMS CME Conferences". Wms.org. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
15. (PDF) http://web.archive.org/web/20111007152914/http://wms.org/conferences/Snowmass09/brochure.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
16. Expedition & Wilderness Remote Medicine Courses accredited Wilderness Medicine Society. "Expedition & Wilderness Remote Medicine, the home of wilderness and remote medicine for medical professionals". Expeditionmedicine.co.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
17. "Waves of Health and EverlineMD.com". everlinemd. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
18. "Wilderness Medicine Educational Events". Wms.org. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
19. "Expedition Medicine - Wilderness Medical Society". Expeditionmedicine.co.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
20. "Wilderness Medicine CME \- Advanced Wilderness Life Support". Awls.org. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
21. "Aerie Backcountry Medicine". Aeriemedicine.com. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
22. "NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute". Nols.edu. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
23. "Wilderness Medicine Section". Acep.org. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
24. "Everest ER - Himalayan Rescue Association". Everester.org. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
25. Archived April 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
26. "Home Ecomed". Ecomed.org.ar. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
27. "Waves of Health website". Wavesofhealth.org. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
28. "Google Translate". Samm.org.ar. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
29. "WildMedix website". WildMedix.com. Retrieved 15 January 2016.

External links

The Wilderness Medical Society home page