Ocean Medicine Course
Brixham, UK
27 May 2024 08:00 - 30 May 2024 15:30GBP £995.00
Bring a breath of fresh air and some new insight to your work with this five day practical ocean medicine course on the open water.
Designed to equip you with all the skills you’ll need for leading any ocean-going events or expedition, you’ll learn both onshore and at sea.
Discover how to deliver medical aid on the water, deal with salt water exposure, dive safely and how to assist an ocean rescue.
“Thank you. The course was excellent. The instructors were really excellent. I will be recommending this to any medics/ allied HCP that are interested in water related topics/ expeditions.”
Ocean Medicine course attendee
Be ready to take on any challenge the sea can throw at you.
Key facts
This immersive Ocean Medicine training course prepares medics for taking a support role within extended or remote sailing expeditions, marine challenges, dive trips or working with extreme athletes.
World Extreme Medicine Ocean Medicine course alumni have left to take part in expeditions across the globe, responded to natural disasters and emergencies and gain placements with organisations such us Raleigh International, UK-Med, RE:ACT Disaster Response and Médecins Sans Frontières – whilst others have set off to swim Cape Horn, row unimaginable distances and help others achieve their lifetime ambitions on the water.
You must be either a:
- Medical or Allied Health Professional OR,
- A student in your last two years of study
Location: Brixham, Devon
What’s included:
- Tutoring, accommodation and meals
- Downloadable course resources
- Safety equipment
What’s not:
- Travel costs
- Travel insurance
- Personal equipment
- Drinks and food purchased from the bar
What to expect
The Ocean Medicine course is hosted in the historic town of Brixham, known for its maritime heritage and contribution to ocean exploration. We’ve developed the best curriculum around through consultation with a group of world-renowned ocean explorers, sports people and logisticians
Our faculty include senior doctors – a Navy doctor, professional Skipper and Dive medic – plus a senior paramedic and RNLI trainer, former Marine and Adventure Sports Scientist/Logistician, all of whom are pioneers in their field.
The course content is rich and highly practical and you’ll spend time on the water and working in small groups. You’ll transition your existing medical skills into an aquatic environment, gaining the necessary extra practical skills and be able to combine these to offer enhanced safety, competence and value at sea.
Course content
- Expedition Planning for Ocean Environments
- Navigation at Sea
- Fire Fighting
- Situational Awareness
- Personal Equipment
- Emergency Equipment and Flares
- Knots and Pulleys
- Managing Trauma in Confined Spaces
- MSK Injuries and Taping
- Immersion and Drowning
- Hypothermia
- Cold Water Shock
- Small Boat and RIB Handling
- Moving Casualties at Sea
- Cold Water Acclimatisation and Sea Survival
- Communications
- Helicopter Protocols
- Nutrition at Sea
- Dive Medicine
- Medical Scenarios & Simulation
What you need to know
This Ocean Medicine training course starts early, so we suggest you stay in the area the night before.
We recommend booking an extra night on Sunday at Grenville House, and can arrange this for you if you contact [email protected].
During the course lectures and workshops will be delivered indoors while practical workshops and real- time scenarios will be delivered outdoors (subject to change depending on weather/safety) You should therefore plan to be outside for at least 3 hours a day and ensure you pack adequate kit which anticipates a changeable British climate.
As a minimum we recommend you bring:
- Waterproof: Jacket and trousers, walking shoes and boots, and gloves
- Appropriate outdoor clothing: Wind breaker jacket, walking trousers, t-shirts, warm fleeces, warm hat, warm gloves, long johns if you have them plus sun hat, sunglasses and sun cream
It can be freezing cold or boiling hot operating on ribs or pontoons weather dependent
- Spare clothing: 2 sets of appropriate outdoor clothing in case you get wet
- Wetsuit (if you have one – preferably 3mm+)
- Buoyancy aid (if you have one – please do not bring any autoactivating life jackets)
- Swimsuit
You do not have to get in the water if you are nervous but the course offers a controlled environment and as such an excellent opportunity to extend your comfort zone
- Casual comfortable clothing (for indoor lectures, workshops and evenings)
- 20-25 litre dry bag
- Water bottle and flask for hot drinks
- Personal toiletries (including a towel)
- Head torch (if you have one)
- Laptop or notepad
Feedback from previous courses
What went well on your Ocean Medicine course?
“Brilliant course material covering a wide variety of things both medical and non medical.”
“The faculty were very enthusiastic and tailored the teaching to what was relevant to us as medics in this environment.”
“The mix of practical and theory made it easy to stay focused, despite a lot of content.”
What was the single most valuable thing you learnt from your Ocean Medicine course?
“All the diverse aspects of ocean medicine and realising so much more is possible and becoming aware of some aspects I had never thought of before.”
“The practical sessions of rescuing casualties from the water and increased awareness of supplies/kits for extraction and medical management at sea.”
“That there is a lot more I can do with the basics than I had realised, and that I don’t need to be a medic to make a difference in these scenarios.”
About us
World Extreme Medicine trains, supports and informs medics looking to expand their skills and tackle new challenges.
A chance conversation about the impossibility of finding good expedition medics resulted in our Founding Director, Mark Hannaford creating the very first, bespoke Expedition Medicine course in the UK – over 20 years ago. Since then, we’ve spent the last two decades providing on-demand education, on-location training, international conferences, and expedition support for people outside normal medical environments.
Our network of around a quarter of a million experts, practitioners and instructors is here for you – inspiring, informing and connecting you with like-minded people and new opportunities.
Whether you’re a doctor, nurse, dentist, vet, paramedic, medical student or allied health professional, you can join us and discover new frontiers of your practice both at home or in the field.
