The goal of the Department of Emergency Medicine's Wilderness Medicine & Environmental Preparedness Elective for medical students is to offer an introduction into the issues of backcountry care, to impart improvisational treatment skills upon our students, and to impart an understanding of the latest research areas in this developing field. The knowledge and skill sets of medical care in austere environments will apply for both patients in the wilderness as well as in disaster settings or for those planning to seek proficiency in global health. In addition to our experienced faculty and guest instructors, we have taken advantage of our affiliation with Cornell Outdoor Education (COE) at our Ithaca campus and utilized their knowledge and proficiency in leading large groups into the backcountry.
Our curriculum is a mix of lectures, hands-on scenarios, and case-based learning taught by our EM Attendings with the support of COE. This is a very popular elective and is pertinent for senior medical students applying for any residency program.
(View Slideshow)Wilderness Medicine feature article in Weill Cornell Magazine, Winter 2009 (pdf link below).
Testimonials From Written Course Evaluations
"Fantastic course...high yield learning skills not otherwise covered in our curriculum..."
"Large faculty: student ratio"
"Nice to have paramedics/EMS involved!"
"OUTSTANDING faculty leaders who were phenomenal teachers"
"I would enthusiastically recommend this course!"
"...the instructors are excited to teach students (which I did not find true of most other electives)"
"This was the best course I have taken in medical school..."
View entries from the student's blog (pdf version), learn about this program in their own words.
Course Curriculum and Upcoming Dates
Sign up for the Wilderness Medicine Elective
We are now accepting applications for the Spring and Fall 2011 Courses. Please correspond with Dr. Lemery (lemery@med.cornell.edu) directly to confirm your participation.
See more photos and our latest news on Facebook: Cornell Wilderness Medicine
Fall 2011:
September 26 - October 23
Location: Adirondack Mountains
A combined Emergency Medicine/Wilderness Medicine Elective. 2 weeks will be a clinical rotation in the NYP/Weill Cornell Emergency Department and 2 weeks will be Wilderness Medicine (with one week in the backcountry).
Spring 2012:
April 30- May 12
Location: TBD (West Coast or Southwestern US)
Two-week Wilderness Medicine Elective at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Week 1 at WCMC with lectures, skill sessions, and trips to the American Museum of Natural History (with guest lectures from their faculty), the Bronx Zoo, and the NY Botanical Garden. We also have workshops with our NYP EMS Special Operations Division. Week 2 in the backcountry (Southwest) with both didactic and scenario based learning.
ALL OUR WILDERNESS MEDICINE ELECTIVES WILL OFFER CREDIT TOWARDS THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE ACADEMY OF WILDERNESS MEDICINE THROUGH THE WILDERNESS MEDICAL SOCIETY. PLEASE EMAIL DR. LEMERY lemery@med.cornell.edu FOR MORE DETAILS.
Previous Courses
Adirondack Mountains, New York (each Fall 2007-2010): High Peaks and Lake Champlain ecosystems.
Arizona (Spring 07, 08): high altitude snowpack (>12,000'), desert, and swiftwater ecosystems.
Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument, Utah (Spring 09, 10, 11): high plateau desert and canyon ecosystems.
Arizona (Spring 07, 08): high altitude snowpack (>12,000'), desert, and swiftwater ecosystems.
Sample Curriculum
Week 1: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
Monday
- Intro to WM
- Tick-borne Diseases
- Lightning & Electrical Injuries
- Drowning Injuries
- Expedition Medicine
Tuesday
- Hyperthermia/Heat Stress
- Plant Ingestions/Dermatitis
- Infectious Diarrhea from Wilderness & Foreign Travel
- Parasitic Diseases
- Splinting Workshop
Wednesday
- Envenomations
- Bronx Zoo: Reptile Center
- Medicinal Botanicals & Ethnobotany
Thursday
- Special Topics in WM
- Safe Water Procurement
- Space Medicine
- Pediatric Concerns in WM
- Disaster Response
- HAZMAT Awareness Course
Friday
- Hypothermia & Frostbite
- Dysbarism
- High Altitude Medicine
- Avalanche!
- When Animals Attack
Week 2: Backcounty: scenario and lecture-based learning plus student presentations will cover the following topics
- Environment & Human Health
- Improvisational Skills
- Ursine Precautions
- Snakebites
- Shelter Creation/Knot-tying Demo
- Scorpion Envenomations
- High Altitude Illness
- Search & Rescue
- Orhtopedic Fractures & Dislocations
- Backcountry Medcal Kit 101
- Anaphylaxis/Allergy in Backcountry
- Hyperthermia/Heat Stress
- Burns in the Wilderness
- Litter Creation Competition
- Ophthalmologic & Dental Injuries in the Backcountry
- Cervical Spine Inuries
- Lightning
- Approach to Multitrauma
- Issues of Medical Futility
- Gynecological Concerns
- Blister Care
- Tickborne Diseases
- Celestial & Field Orienteering
- Animal Bites
- Panic Attack/Mental Health
- Fungus and Plant Toxicity
- Safe Water Procurement
- Surviving an Unexpected Night Out
- Hypothermia
- Creating a Fire
- Frostbite
- Canine Injuries
- Medical Screening for a Group Trip
- Incident Communication and Evacuation Coordination
