emilypea Posted November 21, 2011 Hi all, I am interested in doing a wilderness medicine rotation, and was wondering if anyone on here has researched it/done one/know of someone who has done one and could point me in the right direction. I found the WMS (wms.org) website, and there are some helpful links there, but it seems as though a lot of them say they are specifically for med students. Any thoughts?
Just Steve Posted November 21, 2011 Thoughts about the rotation? As a self proclaimed tree hugger and former wilderness paramedic, I think it would be a blast. However, the practicality of it may be a little skewed. Rotations are basically a year long job interview. To optimize the bang for the buck I think the time/energy/money may be better spent on more of a core focus. The pay off for doing a wilderness medicine rotation would be to perhaps get hooked up on a cool expedition. The pay off for a good rotation could be a future job offer. Med students get twice the time to learn what we need to know as PAs. They can afford a bit more goof off time. That being said...I do plan to work towards my FAWM once I get into the working world. I am of the opinion that wilderness/backcountry medicine has a HUGE application to disaster response and that is an arena I would like to be involved in. So the practical side of me says "do another cardio/ortho/internal med/behavorial med rotation" while my not so practical side says "just go do it"
Contrarian Posted November 21, 2011 30 day wilderness medicine rotation in Belize here... contact them for a updated schedule. Remote Medicine International also offers a decent wilderness rotation here... I attended their "Remote Medicine for Advanced Providers" course back in 2005 prior to deploying to Iraq. YMMV Contrarian
emilypea Posted January 26, 2012 Author Thanks for the responses! I ended up finding one at Yellowstone, and will be there next summer. Just Steve, I went through the same dilemma that you mentioned, but the faculty at my school really encouraged me to go ahead and do it. In my life before PA school I worked in the outdoor industry (ski patrol, raft guide) and am looking for a foot in the door to do wilderness medicine and/or disaster medicine in the future. So hopefully it will be worth it in the end! E
emilypea Posted January 26, 2012 Author Thanks for the responses! I ended up finding one at Yellowstone, and will be there next summer. Just Steve, I went through the same dilemma that you mentioned, but the faculty at my school really encouraged me to go ahead and do it. In my life before PA school I worked in the outdoor industry (ski patrol, raft guide) and am looking for a foot in the door to do wilderness medicine and/or disaster medicine in the future. So hopefully it will be worth it in the end! E
richpac Posted January 26, 2012 I think it would be an awesome experience.......there are likely multiple sites, I'd love to do a stint in Nepal!
richpac Posted January 26, 2012 I think it would be an awesome experience.......there are likely multiple sites, I'd love to do a stint in Nepal!
paporzelt Posted January 27, 2012 Man, that sounds AWESOME. I would do that just for the adventure of it all.
paporzelt Posted January 27, 2012 Man, that sounds AWESOME. I would do that just for the adventure of it all.
Just Steve Posted January 28, 2012 Via the WMS I found a gig in Uganda. UW's "company line" is "no overseas rotations" so I didn't bother pursuing it but there are exceptions to every rule. I am not sure i have the diplomatic skills to negotiate those exceptions.
Just Steve Posted January 28, 2012 Via the WMS I found a gig in Uganda. UW's "company line" is "no overseas rotations" so I didn't bother pursuing it but there are exceptions to every rule. I am not sure i have the diplomatic skills to negotiate those exceptions.
plener Posted January 30, 2012 Univ Oklahoma 1972--most of the clinical rotations where in isolated areas 6 weeks at a time--i spent most of my years a pa in rual areas like w.virginia and Montana loved it peter
plener Posted January 30, 2012 Univ Oklahoma 1972--most of the clinical rotations where in isolated areas 6 weeks at a time--i spent most of my years a pa in rual areas like w.virginia and Montana loved it peter
plener Posted January 30, 2012 i set my own up as student in w. virginia . I was student from Univ of Oklahoma--think about just setting you own rotation up--school might freak out something like in local parenti type thing. peter leenr pa
plener Posted January 30, 2012 i set my own up as student in w. virginia . I was student from Univ of Oklahoma--think about just setting you own rotation up--school might freak out something like in local parenti type thing. peter leenr pa
plener Posted January 30, 2012 if i was still working in Montana i would have been glad to have you join us --i wold have helped with transportation and housing and food--say 2 weeks but no retired--here was a sky slope there also hth peter
plener Posted January 30, 2012 if i was still working in Montana i would have been glad to have you join us --i wold have helped with transportation and housing and food--say 2 weeks but no retired--here was a sky slope there also hth peter
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