This unique program brings wilderness and backcountry medicine to the heart of New York City. We've collaborated with Cornell Outdoor Education in Ithaca to combine our expertise in patient care with one of the best outdoor teaching programs in the nation. Our residents will gain proficiency in the skills of wilderness, environmental, and improvisational medicine through lectures and plenty of opportunities to participate and to teach in the Weill Cornell Medical Student 2-week Elective, as well as offering CME courses.

Dr. Jay Lemery, the program director, is the Secretary of the Wilderness Medical Society and is active in research and publishing in the field. He and other EM staff traveled to the Everest Base Camp Medical Clinic in Nepal in May 2006. Our program emphasizes skills used austere environments, including the backcountry, in a disaster setting, or delivering health care in a developing nation with limited resources. We have active collaborations with our EMS Special Operations team and with the Botanical Medicinal research efforts at Cornell Ithaca.

We feel strongly that this program adds balance to our urban environment and is essential in promoting resident wellness and intradepartmental morale. In addition to programs in New York City and Ithaca, we are actively planning electives for our residents and med students in the Adirondacks, the American Southwest, Alaska, and the Patagonia region of Argentina.

For more information, please contact Dr. Lemery, lemery@med.cornell.edu.

PDF of Wilderness Medicine feature article in Weill Cornell Magazine, Winter 2009

Calendar: (residents, students, and faculty)

Summer
EMS High Ropes Rescue Course (2006)
WMS Annual Meeting, Snowmass CO

Spring
2-week Weill Cornell Medical Student Elective in Wilderness Medicine: Arizona (annual)

Fall
4-week Weill Cornell Medical Student Elective Combined Elective in Emergency Medicine/Wilderness Medicine: Adirondacks (annual)
Northeast Wilderness Medicine CME Conference, Ithaca (2007)
Botanical Medicinal Course (2008)

Winter
WMS Winter Conference, Park City UT
Cold Weather Medicine Course (2006)

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