Wilderness Medicine

Wilderness Medicine in the Emergency Medicine Residency

Residents who wish to pursue skills within the subspecialty will have opportunities to participate in search and rescue (SAR) teams, work alongside ski patrol, and utilize expedition medicine skills. All our graduating residents will not only have competence in wilderness medicine core content, but will be equipped to actively participate in SAR, conduct wilderness and event medical care, take leadership roles in wilderness and rescue organizations, and successfully enter a wilderness medicine fellowship program.

Interested residents will be offered mentorship to develop teaching and leadership roles as they progress through the curriculum. Residents interested in pursuing a career in academic wilderness medicine will be supported in developing research and educational projects through our Wilderness Medicine track. Check out this local news video featuring our residents and students observing a Stowe Backcountry Search and Rescue training exercise!

 

Wilderness Medicine Elective

WM shot 1The UVM Wilderness Medicine Elective at the Larner offers students an opportunity to focus on both the content and the unique problem solving and cognitive approach to caring for patients in remote or austere environments. 

The course is a 2-week intensive curriculum that takes fourth year students out of the hospital and into the woods and lakes. The course includes both day outings and overnight adventures. Here is an article featuring our elective in action in 2022!

Wilderness Student Interest Group

WM shot 2Our wilderness medicine student interest group (SIG) provides opportunities for medical students to foster their desire to learn more about the field of wilderness medicine before entering residency. The LCOM SIG is a very active and committed community that draws on experience that students acquired prior to medical school as well as the growing interest of those new to the field. We host acclaimed regional speakers, faculty lectures, and various events in the wilderness setting. 


 

Sarah Schlein, MD FACEP, FAWM, DiMM

schlein picDr. Schlein trained at the EM residency at the University of Utah, completed her FAWM and DiMM through the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS), is the Co-Chair for the Women in Wilderness Medicine Committee for the WMS, and is passionate about bringing medical education outside the walls of hospital. She lives off the grid in the Vermont mountains so that she can skin the peaks above her land from her front porch. Her land is a launching point for many of our wilderness medicine training sessions and courses.