Wilderness medicine (practice)

Wilderness medicine, providing "vital emergency care in remote settings" [1] is a rapidly evolving field and is of increasing importance as more people engage in hiking, climbing, kayaking and other potentially hazardous activities in the backcountry.[2] A primary focus of the field is the evaluation, prioritization (triage), preliminary treatment of acute injuries or illnesses which occur in those environments and the emergency evacuation of victims. However, back country rescue and wilderness first aid is not the sole activity of wilderness medical professionals, who are also concerned with many additional topics. These include but are not limited to:

Scope of wilderness medicine

Wilderness medicine is a varied sub-speciality, encompassing skills and knowledge from many other specialties.

Diving and hyperbaric medicine

Tropical and travel medicine

High-altitude and mountaineering medicine

Expedition medicine

Survival, field craft and equipment

Casualty extrication by road

Safety, rescue and evacuation

Preventive medicine, field sanitation and hygiene

General environmental medicine

Using the sky as a lightbox

Improvised medicine

Disaster and humanitarian assistance

Wilderness emergencies and trauma management

Epidemiology

The Center for Disease Control in the U.S., as its corresponding agencies in other nations, also monitor pathogen vectors in conjunction with local departments of health, such as Lyme disease, plague and typhus which may be carried by small mammals in a back country or wilderness context.[5]

Austere environments interdisciplinary interface

Insights from the field of Military Combat Tactical Care (TCCC) interact with wilderness medical practice and protocol development. Moreover, new products and technologies tested in combat are adopted by wilderness medical personnel and vice versa.[6]

See also

References

  1. ref name= Weiss|A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness & Travel Medicine Book|Eric A. Weiss
  2. "http://emed.stanford.edu/fellowships/wilderness.html|bare url|Wilderness Medicine is a rapidly evolving field that is increasingly important as large numbers of people are involved in outdoor activities for adventure, science, recreation, exploration, industry, combat, and disaster relief"
  3. "Preparation through education is less costly than learning through tragedy" - Max Mayfield, Director National Hurricane Center|Cited by Weiss
  4. Weiss
  5. http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/media/pdf/EID_7-09_Sylvatic_Typhus.pdf
  6. ref name=Smith|Will Smith M.D.|February 11, 2010|Taking Combat Medicine to the EMS and Wilderness Settings|National Park Service EMS Workshop| Albuquerque,NM|http://www.wildernessdoc.com/Lectures.aspx

External links

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