MedWAR Tennessee

Andrew posted about the organization MedWAR (Medical Wilderness Adventure Race) back in May. At that time the nearest scheduled race was in Michigan. Since then, they have added a race at a new location: just south of Cumberland Gap in Tennessee! It's only about 2.5 hours away from Lexington. If anyone is interested in signing up a team, the race is on November 7th and the registration deadline is October 24th. It costs $150 for a team of three (which includes camping fee, dinner, and a T-shirt). More information can be found at:

http://www.medwar.org/tennessee/

More reads...

Here are some more books about wilderness medicine or the world in general.

Where There is No Doctor
by David Werner

The Worst Journey in the World
by Apsley Cherry-Garrard

Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues
by Paul Farmer

The World is Flat
by Thomas Friedman

Surviving the Extremes: What Happens to the Body and Mind at the Limits of Human Endurance
by Kenneth Kamler

Three Cups of Tea
by Greg Moretenson

Wilderness Medicine
by Paul Auerbach

September WMIG Meeting

Everyone is invited to WMIG's next meeting on September 21st at noon in MN-363.

Faculty Co-sponsor, Dr. Greg Davis, will be speaking to us about altitude sickness, high altitude cerebral edema (HACE), and high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). So before you go to the high places on holiday breaks from classes, learn what subtleties can alert you to altitude-related sickness! Check out this link from a British Expedition Medicine website describing these conditions.

Also, we will be holding elections for 2009 - 2010 officers at this meeting. You need to be a member (dues $15) to vote, and please email Stacey Gutman (slgutm2@uky.edu) before Wednesday (Sept. 16th) if you plan to run.

Lunch will be provided at the meeting, but you may want to bring a drink. Please email Stacey to RSVP before Friday (Sept. 18th) if you plan to attend the meeting. Hope to see you there!

Take your mind outdoors while your body sits in class

If you are starting to feel the daily grind of classes wear you down, try one of these books about either wilderness medicine, international medicine, or traveling to give your mind a reprieve.
Leave any suggestions in the comments....

Doctor on Everest: Emergency Medicine at the Top of the World
by Kenneth Kamler

Or Perish in the Attempt: Wilderness Medicine in the Lewis & Clark Expedition
by David Peck

Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor
by Paul Farmer

Mountain Rescue Doctor: Wilderness Medicine in the Extremes of Nature
by Christopher Van Tilburg

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, the Man Who Would Cure the World
by Tracey Kidder

To Build a Fire (short story, available online)
by Jack London

More to come later...

Note: I haven't read all of these yet; I'm just passing on some suggestions.

August WMIG Meeting

Join us at noon on August 27th in MN-263 for WMIG's first meeting of the year.
Dr. Rebecca Bowers from the department of Emergency Medicine and our faculty sponsor will be speaking to us. She will give a little introduction to Wilderness Medicine and how it relates to one's practice. Then she will explain the Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS) certification which she completed this summer (I did too, see previous post). After that, she will give us a lecture on land envenomations!
Come learn a little about UK's Wilderness Medicine Interest Group and how you can make enjoying the outdoors a part of your practice. Lunch will be provided. Also, yearly dues are $15 for those interested in joining.

Please RSVP by Tuesday (August 25) to Stacey Gutman at slgutm2@uky.edu


Who: Dr. Rebecca Bowers, Department of Emergency Medicine, faculty sponsor of WMIG
What: Intro to Wilderness Medicine, AWLS, and land envenomations
When: Noon, August 27th, 2009
Where: MN-263

Advanced Wilderness Life Support course

I just got back from DeSoto State Park in Alabama where I took a course called Advanced Wilderness Life Support. It is accredited through the Wilderness Medical Society and was hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham Emergency Medicine Department. For those interested in Wilderness Medicine, Dr. Beth Phillips is the director of Wilderness Medicine Education at UAB. It was a three day course consisting of lectures, case discussions, and hands-on training workshops. I liked how no matter one's level of training, everyone was learning and working through the cases presented. There were medical students, residents, fellows, attending physicians, nurses, EMTs, and some non-medical participants. If anyone is interested in finding more information about AWLS check out their web-site or ask me. Hope your summer is a blast!

Edit: this picture was definitely not taken in Alabama

May WMIG Meeting

We are honored to be joined again by Dr. Greg Davis from the Department of Pathology. We invited him back after his great talk about hypothermia at our February meeting. This month, he will be discussing two topics: the psychological effects of search and rescue on the rescuer and the victim, and hyperthermia. He will also have a Q&A session, so come with questions about wilderness medicine! As usual, lunch is provided. You may want to bring a drink.

Please RSVP by Tuesday (May 19) to Stacey Gutman at slgutm2@uky.edu .

Who: Dr. Greg Davis, Department of Pathology
What: psychological effects of a rescue / hyperthermia
When: Thursday, May 21st at noon
Where: MN-263