Aspiring and established expedition medics should acquaint themselves with recent guidelines (2015) related to expedition medic competencies which are relevant to anyone providing medical care in remote, austere environments. WMT courses are designed to align to this guidance Journal of Extreme Physiology and Medicine which is available free online
WMT courses count towards annual CPD requirements. This advice page aims to clarify how this works. Information on this page will help you to get support to attend a WMT programme on the basis that you will accumulate CPD credits for learning relevant to your personal development plan, current practice and educational aspirations. Wilderness Medical Training courses are usually recognised educationally by post-graduate deans and many delegates are granted study leave and expenses. WMT Medic courses attract doctors of all grades and specialties, nurses, physiotherapists and other health professionals. We also include more detailed background information from the GMC’s guidelines on CPD.
In summary:
1. One credit of CPD is equivalent to one hour of learning activity, although GPs can claim two credits per hour of education if it results in changes to their patients, practice or the doctor.
2. A minimum of 50 hours CPD is expected of doctors annually.
3. There is no requirement for this learning to be formally accredited by a professional body. Doctors can record their own CPD which is based on the activity and the impact that it has on the doctor, their patients and the service. Self-accreditation of relevant activities and documented reflective learning should be allowed and encouraged. Credits are self-assessed and verified during appraisals. See this GMC webpage on CPD and this online GMC pdf which gives more detail.
4. CPD requires doctors to maintain and improve their standards across all areas of their practice – this includes all the professional roles that doctors currently perform and those that they plan or aspire to perform – which could include advising a patient who’s travelling (re: immunisations, compiling a medical kit, special risks like acute mountain sickness and malaria for example) or acting as a doctor on an expedition.
5. CPD should include activities both within and outside the employing institution, where there is one, and a balance of learning methods which include a component of active learning. Many deaneries recognise WMT training as robust and highly educational and grant study leave and/or expenses for students to attend our courses.
6. To maintain and improve their practice, doctors must be involved in different types of activity. CPD activities should support career development. WMT courses use a number of recognised educational methods including lectures, case based learning, discussion groups and peer learning, practical skills acquisition and learning to utilise medical skills in different environments.
7. When completing appraisal documentation you can identify wilderness, expedition or remote medicine as a learning need and elaborate on the subjects to be covered during a WMT course.
Examples include:
Travel medicine – Update on immunisations. Choosing suitable antimalarials. Assessing fevers in tropical travellers. Management of bites and stings. Pre-existing health problems.
Environmental medicine – Cold injuries. Altitude illnesses. Heat-related illnesses. Avalanche danger and casualty location and extrication.
Pre-hospital medicine – Injury assessment and management. Pain control in a pre-hospital setting. Choosing suitable medical supplies.
Orthopaedic injuries. Maxillo-facial problems and trauma. Ophthalmic trauma and eye conditions.
Practical skills – Patient packaging and transport. Use of radios for relaying medical information. Practical splinting. Improvised vehicle extrication and accident scene safety.
Visit this link for further reading taken from and abridged from the General Medical Council guidelines on CPD.
Workplace-Based Assessment in Remote and Global Medicine
The authors have “developed forms to facilitate workplace-based assessments (WBPAs) for trainee doctors working in remote and global medicine. This document explains the rationale for developing these tools, gives an overview of their intended use, and outlines the basis for the content and format of the forms and their accompanying guidance.” Download the PDF WPBA_Remote and Global Medicine_V1.