Wilderness Medicine

Climbing, trekking, and mountaineering are some of the adventurous outdoor activities that can bring you close to nature. It takes a lot of endurance, stamina, and courage to engage in any of these activities. Many adventurers have lost their lives during such wilderness expeditions because medical attention was out of reach or many hours away. Search and rescue and wilderness response teams are created for addressing this issue

These teams are comprised of trained individuals who specialize in treating patients in inhospitable conditions with minimal emergency medical supplies and are often experts in search and rescue operations. In Europe, physicians have to undergo courses in mountain medicine to become a qualified mountain rescue doctor. The team will be equipped with essential emergency medical supplies that are packed in compact, lightweight, easy-to-carry bags, since the terrain will be mostly hostile and inaccessible. Although, there is no equivalent course in mountain medicine in the United States, some medical schools offer medical practitioners electives to specialize in wilderness medicine.

Wilderness first responders undergo 60 hours of intense training in wilderness medicine involving advanced practices and protocols. These wilderness responders are trained in basic life support, responding to trauma, treating wound or burn injuries, managing fractures, sprains, head or spinal injuries, responding to illness, as well as evacuating and transporting victims. Sometimes their training also includes off-line treatments such as splinting a fractured joint using branches and ropes.

These teams use back country medical kits or expedition kits with necessary life saving supplies during their rescue operations. In the United States, most wilderness rescue is done by volunteers. There are many organizations that offer wilderness emergency training. The National Ski Patrol, Wilderness Medical Associates, Wilderness Medical Institute, Wilderness Medicine Training Center, Aerie Backcountry Medicine, and Remote Medical International are some of the organizations that offer specialized courses in wilderness medicine. Chinook Medical Gear offers a wide range of well-stocked backcountry medical kits and supplies that are vital for wilderness first responder teams.

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Backcountry Medical Kits, emergency medical supplies, Expedition kit