Wilderness medicine is defined as the practice of medicine in austere, resource constrained, and possibly remote environments. The skills taught by our Track promote knowledge and understanding in wilderness medicine, pre-hospital care, disaster medicine, international and travel medicine, and tactical medicine. This track is offered to PGY-2 and PGY-3 Family Medicine residents and runs longitudinally over both years. Interns may participate if their schedule allows.
Your educational experience will start with didactic lectures. However, wilderness medicine cannot be taught in the classroom alone. We will spend most of our time outdoors building on core topics learned.
There are five longitudinal components that all residents will complete:
- Didactics Lectures (4 curriculum modules + longitudinal topics)
- Clinical Experience
- Research
- Technical Skills
- Leadership Skills
The four Didactic Curriculum Modules cover:
- Mountain Medicine
- Desert Medicine
- Tropical Medicine
- Dive and Marine Medicine
These modules will give the resident the required knowledge and technical skills to competently practice wilderness medicine. Each module is taught through week long seminars conducted by USF Health / MPM Family Medicine Faculty. Each of these modules will have required reading from Auerbach’s, Wilderness Medicine, additional texts, and key articles from the medical literature. These modules will all have associated field, experiential education, and research requirements. Through the experiential aspect of the track all Residents will gain hands on clinical experience. This will develop and hone their technical and leadership skills.
The USF Health / MPM Family Medicine Residency program is the first and only Family Medicine Residency in Florida to offer the Wilderness Life Support for the Medical Professional (formerly AWLS) certification. All residents in the track will complete this certification. Additionally, the opportunity is available to all residents and faculty as part of a nationally recognized CME event.