This course is designed for healthcare professionals and students who want to develop the skills required to operate in hostile or high-risk environments. It is particularly suited to those interested in:

• Expedition and remote medicine

• Humanitarian or NGO deployment

• Security or hostile environment roles

• Prolonged field care

If you’re unsure whether this course is appropriate for you, we strongly recommend using the Course Fit Checker or booking a discovery call.

You don’t need to be an elite athlete, but a good level of physical fitness is essential. As a guide, you should be able to walk 15km carrying a 10kg pack and repeat this over multiple days.

The fitter you are, the more capacity you’ll have to focus on learning rather than fatigue.

This Hostile Environment Medicine course covers the medical, environmental, security, and human factors considerations of working in hostile and remote environments where resources are limited and evacuation may be delayed.

Learning begins from day one, with participants based on a private wildlife reserve in Namibia. Teaching takes place predominantly outdoors, reflecting the realities of operating in austere settings.

Course content includes:

• Firearms safety and managing ballistic injuries

• Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC – All Service Members) principles

• Emergency medicine protocols for austere and hostile settings

• Prolonged Field Care fundamentals

• Tracking, evasion, and wilderness survival

• Personal safety and situational awareness

• Casualty movement and extraction in remote terrain

• Managing trauma with limited resources

• Team dynamics and decision-making under pressure

Across the week, you’ll develop the mindset, clinical judgement, and practical skills needed to respond to life-threatening trauma and illness in hostile environments. Teaching focuses on stabilisation, prolonged care, and maintaining safety when definitive medical support is not immediately available.

Learning is delivered through a structured mix of focused teaching, practical workshops, and immersive scenario-based training, designed to reflect the complexity and uncertainty of real-world hostile environments.

The course takes place on a private wildlife reserve in Namibia’s Ovita Region. The environment includes open savanna, bush, and desert terrain, with wildlife present. All activities are carefully planned and supervised.

Accommodation is individual tents with solar panel lighting, mattresses, flush toilets, and showers onsite. 
One night will be spent in a remote, unsupported camp to apply survival and field care principles learned during the week.

Participants must meet the group at Hosea Kutako International Airport by 13:00 on Day 1. Transfers are provided.

Comprehensive travel insurance is mandatory and must include:

• Aeromedical evacuation

• Repatriation

• Cover for hostile or remote environments

World Extreme Medicine reserves the right to refuse participation if adequate insurance details are not provided.

Participants must bring appropriate personal clothing and equipment for operating in a hot, remote, and austere environment. Much of the course takes place outdoors, often over uneven terrain, and you should expect exposure to sun, heat, dust, and variable conditions.

A detailed kit list is available here and should be reviewed carefully before booking and travel. As a minimum, you should expect to bring:

• Lightweight, broken-in walking boots suitable for bush terrain

• Long-sleeved shirts and trousers for sun and environmental protection

• Warm layer for early mornings and evenings

• Wide-brimmed sun hat and sun protection (SPF 50 recommended)

• Head torch

• Personal first aid kit

• Reusable water bottles or hydration system

• Personal toiletries and towel

All essential safety equipment required for planned course activities is provided.
Participants are responsible for their own personal clothing, footwear, and comfort items as outlined in the kit list.

Poor kit preparation can impact both comfort and participation, so we strongly recommend reviewing the kit list well in advance. If you have any questions about kit suitability, please contact the team before travelling.

Ahead of the course, you’ll receive:

• Detailed joining instructions

• A WhatsApp group (shared approx. 8 weeks before the course)

• Optional pre-course reading and listening

The WhatsApp group allows participants to ask questions, share travel plans, and learn from faculty and peers.

If you wish to learn more or have any additional questions, we invite you to book a 20-minute discovery call with our team.

→ Click here to book a discovery call.

The call will be with the team who organise our courses and work closely with our medical teaching faculty. They’re best placed to explain what our attendees really get out of attending a course with us.

You can choose between a video or voice call — whatever suits you best.

Register for a time that works for you, and we look forward to speaking with you soon.

Prefer email? Then feel free to contact us.

The comprehensive curriculum and field scenarios are carefully designed to push your limits while mitigating risks.

We take every precaution to keep participants safe by:

• Rigorous gear checks before all expedition days
• Mandatory evacuation insurance policies
• Close coordination with local emergency responders