Student Wilderness Medicine Conference
During the Halloween weekend, the Aberdeen Wilderness Medical Society ventured to Warwick to participate in the 2014 National Student Wilderness Medicine Conference. We piled into a minibus and made the long, eight-hour journey south, for a weekend of workshops, camping, cookouts and ceilis! We arrived in the wee hours of Saturday morning, pitched our tent in the darkness and got some necessary kip before the festivities began.
On Saturday we were up bright and early fueled with copious amounts of tea and coffee for the day’s events. During the conference we spent each morning and afternoon in various workshops, determined by our pre-selected areas of interest. The range of workshops was wonderfully diverse. Many focused on the acquisition of practical skills, such as ‘management of hypothermia in the field’ and ‘improvised splinting for unstable musculoskeletal injuries.’ Other workshops gave us a glimpse into how we can one day incorporate expeditions and wilderness medicine into our own careers. There were sessions on life as a military GP, medics in motorsport, working with helicopters and diving medicine.
Each evening, a keynote speaker was scheduled to address all the participants. On Saturday we heard from Professor Chris Imray. He spoke about the Cauldwell Xtreme Everst Expedition he and team of researchers undertook to the summit of Mount Everest. They conducted numerous experiments on altitude physiology throughout the ascent and published an extraordinary number of papers on the body’s response to hypoxia. On Sunday Dr. Mike Stroud delivered an enthralling speech on his expeditions to the South Pole with the renowned explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and the physical extremes the expedition necessitated. By using isotope labeled water and collecting blood and urine samples, they were able to determine that their energy expenditure had exceeded 9,000 calories a day. We were particularly amused to hear that they added large amounts of butter to all the meals and snacks they consumed and still managed to lose weight and decrease their LDL levels! Both speakers were truly inspirational and it was a privilege to hear from such accomplished men.
In between all the information sessions, we did manage to have some fun too! On Saturday evening there was a Halloween céilí and bonfire, complete with a fancy dress competition. We also had the added advantage of escaping student accommodation for a weekend and camping in the English countryside. It was a fantastic weekend and I can honestly say, we are all eagerly looking forward to next year’s conference.
by Rhona Boyle
1st Year Medicine Aberdeen
