An innovative Manitoulin Island-based program is providing outdoor educational experiences to arm medical professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to treat common ailments and medical emergencies in the bush.
Manitoulin Wilderness Medicine Educators, a non-profit organization comprised of Island-area health-care providers, hosted its inaugural conference this fall for 30 physicians, medical students, residents and allied health-care professionals from across the province.
Over the course of three days, participants camped out in the bush, sat in on educational lectures, took part in hands-on workshops and raced against the clock to respond to simulated medical emergencies.
"We're teaching them how to be safe," said Lori Oswald, executive director of the Mindemoya Medical Clinic and a local first responder. "We have different topics like wilderness survival, high-altitude sickness and hypothermia. We also have a number of workshops that we've put together on scene assessment, anaphylaxis, 'pack and evac,' edible plants and splinting. So, it's a combination of didactic lectures and hands-on workshops."
After attending similar conferences elsewhere, members of the organization were determined to offer a program taught by northerners for northern practitioners. A collaboration with NOSM that provides continuing medical education credits for some participants has made the conference the first of its kind in Northern Ontario.
Participants
Participants include physicians, nurse practitioners, an OPP emergency response team member, a surgeon, a nurse manager and paramedics. Many are also experienced naturalists and avid outdoorsmen, while others are NOSM faculty members. Each brings specific knowledge to the mix, which makes for a well-rounded learning experience.
"If I find somebody cold in the bush and I have no idea how to start a fire, it doesn't matter what my medical knowledge is. I'm basically useless," said Dr. Mike Bedard, a NOSM faculty member and physician at the Manitoulin Central Family Health Team.
That kind of thinking follows WildER Med participants into the bush where they work in mixed teams. It can be an adjustment for health-care providers who are used to interacting with a specific team in their hospital or clinical setting.
"As a physician, I find that typically I'm being taught just by physicians," said Dr. Maurianne Reade, a NOSM faculty member and physician with the Manitoulin Central Family Health Team. "But in wilderness medicine, there are so many different skills that we can share, so we're able to teach each other, which is pretty exciting."
WildER Med and conferences like it push health-care practitioners out of the urban hospital setting, where they are fully supported with essential equipment, supplies and staff, into a rural setting where they must utilize the resources available.
Bedard believes that the organization can fill a niche that hasn't been addressed in the North.
Wilderness medicine courses are becoming more common with organizations such as the Wilderness Medical Society in the U.S. and Wilderness Medical Associates in Canada offering tutorials on everything from travel first aid to advanced life support. But, too often, participants must travel out of the region to get the training required. Manitoulin Island, claimed Reade, is an equally unique environment in which to train.
"We have our own Northern Ontario exotic location here. We don't have to go seeking our learning from places like Maui," she said. "We can actually share knowledge amongst us and be able to do it among different levels of professionals with different skill sets. That's an exciting opportunity."
Spinoffs
Bedard believes there can be a number of positive spinoffs from offering courses locally. Ultimately, the Island organization aspires to instill confidence in medical students and residents to practice in rural emergency scenarios, which may work to the advantage of northern communities.
"If the residents or students gain a little foothold and realize this isn't so bad, and suddenly these concepts are translated into the rural emerg, maybe they'll be more apt to stay in the North," he said.
Following the success of this fall's conference, Manitoulin Wilderness Medicine Educators has already started planning a second course scheduled for early October 2011 with the OPP's emergency response team and the Ottawa High-Angle Rescue Team confirmed as presenters.
The conference will be limited to 30 participants, with registration starting on Feb. 1. More information can be obtained by visiting www.wildermed.org.
As the conference grows, organizers anticipate it will become a more regular event, perhaps even a seasonal forum that would continually present new challenges.
"Each season brings its own set of problems, so this time it was fall, but next time it may be spring, winter, or summer," Oswald said.
www.wildermed.org
Lindsay Kelly is associate editor of the Manitoulin Expositor.
