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| SPOTLIGHT ON STUDENT LIFE :: Wilderness Medicine Club |
Wilderness Medicine ClubRebecca Backer founded the Wilderness Medicine Club because "As a guide at Outdoor Adventures I recognized the importance of taking care of myself and others when doing extreme sports in remote areas. It's critical to know how to respond to unforseen circumstances." Backer is a self-described rafter, hiker, and rock climber, and she often travels far enough away from medical facilities that in an emergency professional help would not be readily available. Says Backer, "This group is geared toward increasing the level of knowledge about medicine in the outdoors. The club is for wilderness users, guides, EMTs, pre-health students or anyone who goes into remote areas where they are responsible for the well-being of other people." Backer says members will learn how to recognize and manage common medical problems in remote areas and gain a new appreciation and respect for the challeges they take on. Since the club has recently been established, Backer is planning meetings for fall quarter 2009. "Ideally, I'd like to have two meetings or events every month," says Backer. "One will be a meeting in a classroom where we'll bring in expert speaker. This could be someone from the Wilderness Medical Society, a member of search and rescue, a wilderness EMT, a professor, or just an avid outdoor adventurer with a good story to tell! The other event will be an outing, such as a hike or a rafting trip, where we will bond as a group and also bring along someone who can teach us field skills, wilderness first aid, and improvisation." For more information, contact Rebecca Backer. |