Wilderness Medicine Fellowship

Emergency Medicine takes care of anyone at any time for anything. Wilderness Medicine adds a fourth component - ANYWHERE, often requiring improvisation, making do with the resources available, and thinking outside of the box to deliver the best care.

This SAEM-approved, two-year fellowship is designed for a graduate of an emergency medicine residency interested in becoming an educator and leader in the field of academic wilderness medicine

Stanford Emergency Medicine’s Wilderness Medicine fellowship was the first of its kind in the country and developed with guidance from Wilderness Medicine pioneers Paul Auerbach and Eric Weiss.

Our wilderness medicine fellows collaborate with experts around the world to learn new skills, discuss research, and pursue individual projects.

Fellows have:

Pursued original research in Altitude Medicine
Served as medical staff on expedition-length ultramarathons around the world
Presented at regional, national and international conferences
Studied avalanche medicine with a world-renowned expert in Chamonix, France.
Taught as content experts to search-and-rescue groups

Fellowship At-a-Glance

Two-year program
Fellow selected from emergency medicine board eligible/board certified applicants
Cutting-edge research opportunities - Learn more about our research
Educational and clinical experiences to learn the core curriculum and skill sets of wilderness medicine
Protected non-clinical time for hands-on clinical care and scholarly activity of the fellow's choosing
Opportunities to instruct lay persons and medical professionals at local, regional, national, and international forums

The goals of the fellowship are to provide physicians with the cognitive knowledge, didactic training, and clinical skills that comprise wilderness medicine.

Fellows are expected to conduct original research, educate other physicians, and serve as a medical resource for outdoor organizations. In addition to the core curriculum; the fellow's specific areas of interest will dictate research and clinical activities.

The core curriculum is designed to foster understanding of the physiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of each core subject, including related improvisation and application of knowledge in a wilderness medicine setting.

The core curriculum consists of six areas covered through small group didactics, journal clubs, lectures, clinical opportunities, and directed self-learning, with a concurrent evaluation of literature to foster an evidence-based approach to wilderness medicine.

View 2 Year Curriculum Opportunities

Fellows receive educational and clinical credits towards a diploma from the Academy of Wilderness Medicine

A two-fellowship allows mastery of the core curriculum subject matter and a deeper understanding of the core literature in addition to diverse teaching opportunities to transmit that knowledge. There are multiple teaching opportunities through small groups and classroom settings, the Stanford School of Medicine classes, as well as running didactic sessions and journal clubs for fellows and Stanford Emergency Medicine Residents in the wilderness medicine ACCEL track.

By the end of the first fellowship year, the expectation is that the fellow will become certified in the Stanford faculty taught Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS) course. This is a national 3 day continuing education course held on the Stanford campus that teaches both didactic knowledge as well as hands-on technical and improvised wilderness medicine skills. The fellow will have the opportunity to become credentialed as an AWLS instructor. The second year will allow certification as an AWLS course director, allowing them to direct future AWLS courses and becoming a leader in running courses on wilderness medicine education.

All fellows will become certified as instructors in the Stanford-taught Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS).

The fellow will have the opportunity to hone academic, teaching and presentation skills by:

Delivering multiple residency lectures and participating in faculty development activities.
Opportunity to assist with online and offline medical direction of wilderness medicine systems and unique patient populations including California Outward Bound and Stanford University Outdoor Education.
Precepting the Stanford Wilderness Medicine elective for medical student and undergraduates in the Spring; which includes didactic sessions, clinical skill building workshops, and moulage scenarios.
Lectures and instruction for the local Search & Rescue organizations.
Organization of undergraduate Wilderness First Aid and Wilderness First Responder courses https://med.stanford.edu/hhp/education/wildmed.html

AWLS combines practical wilderness medicine knowledge and skills with advanced medical theory that will answer the demand of students, physicians assistants, nurses, paramedics, residents, and physicians who strive to provide medical relief in resource-limited environments, disasters, and humanitarian missions.

Stanford Wilderness Medicine Section is dedicated to the critical analysis of the world around us and promotes research that furthers the understanding of wilderness medicine. Fellows are expected to contribute to ongoing projects, and/or conceive and perform original investigations leading to presentations and publication of results. The Stanford Wilderness Medicine Section has a strong track record as a leader in wilderness medicine research, with several projects each year that serve to promote injury prevention and innovative treatment at the intersection of the human body and the outdoors.

A two-year fellowship allows fellows to receive specialized research skills training such as the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine’s Advanced Research Methodology Evaluation and Design course, or audit a Stanford University class on epidemiology and clinical research methods.

Stanford Wilderness Medicine Research has been supported by grant funding from the following insitutions:

  • The Wilderness Medical Society
    • RacingThePlanet
    • The American Alpine Club
    • Institute for Altitude Medicine
    • Divers Alert Network
    • Department of Naval Research
    • The Department of Defense

Stanford Wilderness Medicine faculty and fellows have published their research on a wide range of topics including:

  • Ibuprofen for prevention of acute mountain sickness
  • Novel frostbite treatments
  • Paper tape for prevention of foot blisters in ultramarathons
  • Study of ultrasound for optic nerve sheath diameter on ascent to high altitude
  • Prevention of high altitude headache
  • Acute kidney injury in multi-stage ultramarathons
  • Randomized controlled trials of novel devices and interventions for prevention and     treatment of acute mountain sickness, hyperthermia, and hypothermia
  • Snakebite treatments
  • Prospective clinical determinants for summit success on the Denali
  • Efiicacy of topical treatments for jellyfish stings
  • Other ongoing and planned multi-site clinical trials around the world

Fellows at Stanford have access to bench, translational, and clinical research experts and resources as well as statisticians and mentorship to develop cutting edge research projects. Fellow projects have resulted in presentations at regional, national and international scientific conferences and multiple peer reviewed publications.

Clinical Activities

Our two-year fellowship will allow fellows the time to learn advanced wilderness technical skills, and multiple opportunities to apply those skills in true wilderness environments. Multiple clinical experiences are of paramount importance to any wilderness medicine fellow, as clinical care in resource limited conditions is the foundation for both pattern recognition of injury and illnesses, and application of wilderness knowledge in a real world setting.

Opportunities for clinical experience include:

Medical staff for multi-stage ultramarathons around the world
Opportunities in search & rescue locally, regionally and abroad
High altitude aid posts
Dive medicine
Global disaster relief teams
Military Emergency Medicine
Other areas of the fellows' choosing

Fellows have served as medical staff and trained with the following organizations:

Himalayan Rescue Association
RacingThePlanet
Teton Search & Rescue
Kenya Flying Doctors
Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit
Yosemite Search and Rescue
Insitute for Altitude Medicine
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
Wind Chasers
USU Operation Bushmaster Military field exercises
Extreme Aerospace medical direction

Ultramarathon Medicine

All Stanford Wilderness Medicine fellows are invited on one or more international medical teams to staff expedition-length ultramarathons around the world with RacingThePlanet. Fellows have worked on medical teams in Egypt, China, Chile, Namibia, Ecuador, Iceland, Vietnam, Madagascar, Jordan, Australia, and Patagonia.

Fellows receive a fully-subsidized trip to provide hands-on medical care, and learn the clinical skills and knowledge that comprise ultramarathon medicine. The fellow is trained to prepare for medical care of 200+ person expeditions, and the unique injuries and illnesses encountered when athletes travel 155 self-supported miles across the some of the most formidable terrain on the planet. Many fellows have gone on to serve as medical directors of ultramarathons in the years post-graduation.

Clinical Shifts

Fellows combine clinical shifts in an academic teaching hospital with didactics.

Fellows are required to work 8 shifts per month (approximately 15 hours per week) as Attending Physician in the emergency department (ED) at Stanford University Hospital, with an academic appointment of Clinical Instructor in the Clinician Educator Line at Stanford University.
While attending in the ED, fellows supervise residents and medical students.
Clinical time is spent at Stanford University Hospital which is a world-renowned medical center. It is a Level 1 Adult and Pediatric trauma center with aero-medical transport. The diverse and high acuity patient population provides an excellent opportunity to continue to master clinical skills.
All fellows must be ABEM board certified/eligible.

Important Dates

Application Deadline: October 1
Applicant Decision: November 1
Fellowship start date: August 1

Eligibility

Board-eligible or board-certified emergency medicine physician from 4 year ACGME-accredited emergency medicine residency programs or 3 year ACGME EM programs with minimum 1 year post-graduate experience
Must be eligible for an unrestricted CA medical license.
Clinical Requirements: Shift work as an Attending Physician in the Marc and Laura Andreessen Emergency Department
Full Stanford faculty benefits

To Apply

Submit:

Letter of intent / personal statement
CV
Three letters of recommendation

Send to Michael Vernon by October 1.

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