Expedition and Wilderness Medicine Course
Take your training into the field and open up a whole new world of travel and opportunity.
This four-day Expedition & Wilderness Medicine course in the Lake District equips you with the core skills needed to operate safely and effectively in remote, resource-limited environments.
Set in the heart of one of the UK’s most iconic mountain regions, the course blends focused teaching, practical workshops, and immersive scenarios to develop your clinical decision-making, leadership, and communication skills under pressure.
You’ll move beyond classroom learning and into realistic expedition-style situations, gaining the confidence to assess risk, manage casualties, and work effectively as part of a medical team in challenging outdoor settings.
Expedition and Wilderness Medicine Course
Modules
Day One
You’ll begin with an introduction to expedition and wilderness medicine, covering core principles, human factors, and risk management. Teaching focuses on patient assessment, decision-making, and preparing for medical care when resources are limited.
Day Two
The focus shifts to practical skills, including trauma management, primary survey, bleeding control, fracture management, and casualty movement. Sessions are delivered through hands-on workshops and outdoor scenarios.
Day Three
You’ll explore common medical problems encountered on expeditions, including environmental illness, altitude medicine, water safety, public health, wound care, and mental health considerations. Learning is reinforced through case discussions and practical exercises.
Day Four
The course culminates in a realistic search and rescue scenario, where you’ll apply your learning to locate, assess, treat, and evacuate a simulated casualty. This final exercise integrates clinical skills, teamwork, leadership, and communication.
Please note: The timetable may vary slightly depending on conditions and group needs.
Your Teaching Faculty
Alex Gaspar
Cat Burford
Daniel Grace
Mike Smith
Ryan Atkinson
Keswick, UK
What's Included?
Field-Based Training and Practical Workshops
Teaching is delivered through hands-on workshops, group activities, and realistic outdoor scenarios designed to reflect the challenges of expedition medicine.
Expert Faculty and Instruction
You’ll be taught by experienced medical professionals with backgrounds in expedition, wilderness, and pre-hospital care, supported by instructors with extensive field experience.
Accommodation, Meals and Course Support
Your course fee includes accommodation and meals from the start of the course through to after lunch on the final day, allowing you to focus fully on learning and participation.
Please note that travel costs, travel insurance, personal equipment and drinks & food from the bar is not included in your course fee.
CPD and Course Certification
This course has been awarded 24 CPD hours by RCSEd. This course has been approved for Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM) credits through the Wilderness Medical Society. Actual credits awarded depend on personal credit needs and history.
On completion, you’ll receive a certificate of attendance recognising your training in expedition and wilderness medicine.
What past attendees say
“The faculty were all brilliant, and the wealth of knowledge, experience, and anecdotes from each of them was absolutely fascinating and really added to the course, knowing the people teaching had all done the things they were lecturing about. Thank you so much for a fabulous course. ”
“The course was structured brilliantly and never felt too exhausted or bored. Really well co ordinated ”
“The course exceeded expectations! Thank you for an incredible week of listening, learning, sharing, laughing, and fun and adventure :) The faculty were great!! ”
This course is designed for healthcare professionals and students who want to apply their clinical skills in expedition and wilderness settings. It’s particularly suited to those interested in expedition, adventure, humanitarian, or remote medicine. The course focuses on clinical decision-making, teamwork, and operating safely in challenging outdoor environments.
