Published in UAB Insight, Summer 2008
Emergency Care in Natural Environments
When people enter remote settings-whether to participate in an ultra-long-distance run across a desert or take a simple walk in the woods-they risk injuries and illnesses specific to the environment. Wilderness medicine courses teach health professionals to provide care in these situations, which usually occur far from traditional medical facilities and equipment.
Treatment of lightening strikes, submersion injuries, and high-altitude illness, search and rescue skills, and expedition and disaster medicine are among the topics covered in these courses. Through its Department of Emergency Medicine, UAB is now offering wilderness medicine education and training to all interested health care professionals. "Wilderness medicine training teaches physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals to think outside of the box to triage and care for patients without the usual tools and support," says UAB emergency medicine specialist and Director of Wilderness Medicine Education Elizabeth L. Phillips, MD.
Phillips also is heading development of wilderness medicine education for UAB medical students and residents. Away rotations for residents can take them to the Sahara to study serum electrolyte levels in endurance racers or to the Rocky Mountains to learn about frostbite and hypothermia care.
Wilderness Life Support Skills
The ground covered by wilderness medicine includes components of environmental physiology, emergency medicine, pulmonary medicine, and infectious diseases. The field appeals to a range of health care professionals, particularly those who already enjoy outdoor activities. "When medical providers go outdoors for recreation they take their profession with them, and when they come across an injured person on the trail, they will want to help. These courses provide the necessary skills," says Phillips, a SCUBA diver who found dive medicine a natural extension of her hobby and her profession.
She notes that an active generation of retirees is shifting the demographic of people who may need emergency care in the wild. "It is becoming more common to see older people taking part in extreme sports and adventure and eco-travel. Outdoor activities of all kinds are popular among baby boomers, who take age-related illnesses with them into the wilderness."
Upcoming Courses
During UAB's weekend-long wilderness medicine courses, held in state parks around the region, participants can earn continuing medical education credits and certification in advanced wilderness life support (AWLS). The courses provide 17 to 22 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM and combine lectures with hands-on activities. Experts lecture on wilderness medicine topics and provide instruction in practical skills such as improvising hypothermias wraps, splinting, and cervical spine immobilization.
UAB's next AWLS courses are November 14 to 16 at Henry Horton State Park in Lewisburg, Tennessee, and January 23 to 25 at Guntersville State Park in Alabama. "All licensed and certified medical professionals can earn AWLS certification. We also offer basic wilderness life support and other courses to nonmedical professionals who want to learn more about wilderness first aid, injury prevention, and trip planning," Phillips says. "I encourage anyone with an interest to participate."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Dr. Elizabeth Phillips
1.800.UAB.MIST
mist@uabmc.edu