Wilderness Medicine Curriculum

The curriculum is designed to be flexible to allow each fellow to create an experience that best meets their needs. There are required and optional experiences for the fellow to choose from.

Required Experiences:

  • Base Hospital Physician Certification; consists of an 8-hour course, 10 proctored radio calls, an EMS ride-along, and an open-book test (last week of July)
  • Assistant Course Director, 2-week medical student elective in Yosemite: EM 140.31 (late August into early September)
  • Assistant Medical Director, Two Cities Marathon, (early November)
  • National Park Service Parkmedic program involvement. Provide online medical control for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park (SEKI). Participation in the following:
    • National Parkmedic Primary Certification Course (biennial) or Parkmedic Refresher Course (January)
    • EMT Refresher (June)
    • Multi-Casualty Incident (MCI) Drill (July)
    • Continuing Education in SEKI for NPS rangers (monthly, one required)
    • Parkmedic administrative meetings (monthly, one required)
    • USFS EMR course
  • Course Co-Director, UCSF High Sierra Wilderness and Travel Medicine Conference (brochure) (Spring)
  • Quarterly Wilderness Medicine Journal Club
  • Completion of a research or scholarly project

 Additional Optional Experiences:

  • Fresno County Sherriff’s Search and Rescue Team member
  • Skylife Medical Direction and ride-along experiences
  • Training opportunities with the National Park Service
  • Protocols for the National Park Service EMS providers
  • Tactical medicine involvement (NPS)
  • Involvement in a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) project for the NPS or Central California Emergency Medical Services Agency (CCEMSA)
  • Attendance at a national or international wilderness medicine conference
  • Participation in hospital-based and community-based disaster response planning
  • Community Service. Some of the organizations that have collaborated with the Wilderness Medicine program in the past are:
    • National Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT)
    • Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)
    • Ski Patrol for China Peak
    • Fresno Madera Medical Society
    • Local Lions, Kiwanis, and Rotary Clubs
    • Fresno Fly Fishers for Conservation
    • Boy Scouts of America (BSA)
    • Valley Public Broadcasting Station (PBS)
    • Fresno State Premedical Programs
    • Mini-Medical School Programs (UCSF Fresno, UCSF Main Campus)
    • Central Valley School Nurses Association
    • Health Services Association of California Community Colleges
    • California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
  • International wilderness medicine experiences
  • Reviewing for the Journal of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine is strongly encouraged.