#WEM19 and we went all out, meaning medics attended the most EXTREME Pre-Hospital and Retrieval Medicine conference day we have ever held – it’s Pre-Hospital Medicine, but not as you know it!

Day 3 of our World Extreme Medicine Conference was jam-packed with some of the world’s most respected medics sharing their experiences and knowledge on what extreme pre-hospital medicine has meant to them. Delegates learnt about pre-hospital care at its most extreme, allowing them to become more confident when faced with quite often complex and unscheduled care provision, plus we explored how emergency medicine and prolonged care is delivered in the most remote environments – from the Arctic to Zero G. On top of this, the hugely popular interactive simulation that tests how you react to a multiple casualty terrorist attack was back – better than ever before.

Are you ready to learn how to Thrive in Adversity? Here’s a taster of what took place on Day 3:

• Marc O’Griofa was on the mainstage for his session ‘Prolonged Field Care: When the Golden Hour goes to S#@T in Austere Medicine’. Aimed at both combat and austere pre-hospital medics who may have to look after a casualty or patient for a prolonged period of time prior to evacuation, this session discussed how we can best prepare for the plan we never want to use.
• One of our most popular workshops from last year returned – ‘Facial Injury on Expedition! Dislocated Jaw Joint! What Do I Do?’. Expedition dentist, Burjor Langdana delivered a stepwise pictorial immersive lecture where delegates learnt how simple reduction and stabilisation of jaw feature could get you out of a pickle (and avoid a medevac).
• For those interested in our NEW category ‘I’m a Casualty, Get Me Out of Here!’ – The art of rescue and evacuation from challenging environments, major incident planning and extended casualty care, joined Mads Gilbert, Marc O’Griofa and Jon McCormack as they discussed practising medicine away from the comforts of a hospital.
• ‘The Cases That Haunt Us’ was a highly recommended talk from Caroline Leech, Emergency Medicine Consultant and Major Trauma Lead, who took to the main stage and talked openly about dealing with trauma that medical professionals witness nearly every single day.
• Following on from their exclusive launch of the ‘Resilience’ video series at the #WEM18 conference, we had the pleasure of welcoming back Matt Walton and Mike Christian to lead the workshop ‘Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire’ that explored long-term exposure to trauma and the impact that can have. They also looked at some of the proactive measures you can take to ensure a successful long-term career.
• Sharing their passion for all things Space Medicine, our panel of experts including NASA Astronauts Serena Auñón-Chancellor, Don Pettit, Mike Barratt and NASA Aquanaut Marc O Griofa, plus Bonnie Posselt, medical officer in the RAF, specialising in aviation and Space Medicine hosted a fascinating discussion on Emergency Medicine in Zero G.
• Delegates learnt fundamental hands-on field-proven skills in our interactive ‘Extreme skills’ workshops including:
  • Burns Treatment Workshop – a fully interactive and detailed hands-on moulage, conducted by Paramedic Trauma Lead Eoin Walker. It provided you with the essential pre-hospital skills you need to treat burns when the usual resources are out of reach.
  • Wound Dressing Workshop – ideal for front-line nurses looking to develop their clinical skills and perfect for doctors and paramedics who get fewer opportunities to practice this skill (plus you can keep the dressings to practice at home).
  • USS Workshop – a fascinating workshop covering basic knobology, focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST), Morrison view, Perisplenic view, Suprapubic view, Subxhyphoid view, extended to chest evaluation and general principles of US guided vascular access.

Not to mention our sell-out interactive simulation ‘Caught in the Middle of a Multiple Casualty Terrorist Attack…’ that was back bigger and bolder. This was the ultimate training ground for encountering the issues you’re likely to confront when practising medicine in remote, under-equipped and extreme environments. Not one to miss.

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Join us this year where for the first time in WEM history, we’re hosting #VirtualWEM20 a virtual conference on Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th October 2020 – so you can be inspired from the comfort of your sofa (or, frankly, from wherever in the world you can get online). Book your place today!

2018 we went all out, meaning delegates attended THE most EXTREME Pre-Hospital Medicine conference day – it’s Pre-Hospital Medicine, but not as you know it!

Day 3 of our World Extreme Medicine Conference was jam-packed with some of the world’s most respected medics sharing their experiences and knowledge on what extreme pre-hospital medicine has meant to them. Delegates heard first-hand of how lives had been saved in urban, remote and low-resourced environments using only the most basic of equipment, as well as learning practical skills in the hands-on workshops allowing them to become more confident when faced with quite often complex and unscheduled care provision.

Here’s a small taster of what Day 3 included:

• You’re Caught in the Middle of a Multiple Casualty Terrorist Attack… How do you react? Our sell-out interactive simulation was back, but this time bigger and bolder, with more sim bodies and a larger simulation. This was the ultimate training ground for encountering the issues you’re likely to confront when practising medicine in remote, under-equipped and extreme environments. Not one to miss.
• The Paediatric Blast Injury Field Manual is an ambitious project managed by Dr Emily Mayhew through the Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership with Imperial College and Save the Children. This vital tool has become an invaluable resource for doctors in war and conflict zones, enabling them to provide the best possible care with limited resources and equipment.
• The Burns Treatment Workshop was a fully interactive and detailed hands-on moulage, conducted by Paramedic Trauma Lead Eoin Walker. It provided you with the essential pre-hospital skills you’d need to treat burns when the usual resources are out of reach.
• ‘Pre-Hospital Paediatrics: Don’t panic! Learn how best to stay calm and remain an effective medic when you’re in the ‘calvary’. A highly recommended talk from the brilliant Pete Williams who used his Paediatric Emergency Medicine experience to provide thoughtful and invaluable insights and knowledge.
• Charlie Mize, leading expert on the retrieval of critically-ill and injured patients from austere environments at high-altitude shared some of the experiences he’s had while attempting to save lives in some of the most remote parts of the Himalaya. His talk ‘Critical Care & Helicopter Retrieval in the Mountains of Bhutan’ explored the challenges inherent in the creation of helicopter critical care retrieval teams in a low-income setting, how those challenges were met and how they succeeded in creating a locally-run, financially-sustainable team.
• Sharing their passion for ultrasound, Luca Carenzo, an emergency critical care physician and disaster medicine and Gaynor Prince, an Emergency Physician from Perth, Australia hosted a fascinating USS workshop covering basic knobology, focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST), Morrison view, Perisplenic view, Suprapubic view, Subxhyphoid view, extended to chest evaluation and general principles of US guided vascular access.
• Ending the last session of Day 3 on an uplifting and positive note, Will Duffin, a Bristol-based GP, educator, innovator and adventurer delivered a thought-provoking talk examining the extreme medicine paradigm in reverse. How can we take the ‘spirit’ of adventure and an adventure mindset back into our day job as NHS clinicians to make us more resilient, effective and fulfilled? What lessons can we learn from some of the great adventurers that would help us in the way we approach healthcare?

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Join us this year where for the first time in WEM history, we’re hosting a virtual conference (17th & 18th Oct) – so you can be inspired from the comfort of your sofa (or, frankly, from wherever in the world you can get online). Book your place today!