Do you have what it takes to survive?

Last year had many of us pondering that question – but I don’t mean COVID-19 or the next zombie apocalypse.  What if you were vacationing on a tropical island and found yourself in a survival situation…would you have what it takes to survive?  Could you trap food or gather the right edible plants?  Would you know how to find and purify water?  Could you build a shelter or a fire without modern tools, while stabilizing an injured teammate?  Meet Carmen and Matt Corradino, our hosts and co-instructors at Mount Victory Camp.  They’ve been teaching life-sustaining, eco-conscious skills in the St. Croix rainforest for over 10 years (see Caribbean Earth Skills link below).  Having studied and taught at the famous Tom Brown, Jr. Tracker School, they have extensive experience living and teaching in primitive conditions.  Combine that with our team’s experience providing medical care on every continent, and you have the perfect setting for a jungle medicine course!  St. Croix is the best-kept secret in the Caribbean.  In addition to the rainforest and pristine beaches, diving, snorkeling and sailing here are first-rate.  Historic forts and sugar mills speckle the verdant hilly terrain.  The fusion of cultures, quiet streets, turquoise waters, and a laid-back attitude set St. Croix apart from other more crowded Caribbean islands.  It’s been said that St. Croix is a “bucket list” destination.  Learn jungle medicine with Kinetic while honing your survival skills on this amazing island.  We want you to have what it takes to survive!   

Check out Mount Victory Camp,  https://www.mtvictorycamp.com/accommodations.html

Or Caribbean Earth Skills, https://www.caribbeanearthskills.com/

And our Kinetic Adventure Medical Education Jungle Medicine course, https://cmeinmotion.com/adventures-in-jungle-medicine/

Women’s History Month – Women in Aerospace Medicine

Courtesy of Women in Aviation Medicine

In honor of Women’s History Month, we wanted to give a shout out to those hard-working women on the frontiers of Aerospace Medicine.  You’ve probably heard about famous female aviators like Amelia Earhart (first female to pilot an aircraft across the Atlantic) and Eileen Collins (first female Space Shuttle pilot).  Women who choose aerospace medicine as a career are perhaps less famous but vital in keeping our aviators and astronauts mission-capable (alongside our male teammates, of course).   These women are the Aviation Medical Examiners who help ensure airmen are fit to fly in the National Airspace and the Aerospace Medicine physicians who oversee military medical readiness.  Female flight surgeons and researchers keep astronaut crew healthy at NASA (and space agencies across the world).  Some even become astronauts, like Dr. Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor.  While the list of history-makers is too long for this post, last month the FAA announced their first female Federal Air Surgeon, Dr. Susan Northrup.  Women are quietly making Aerospace Medicine history – not just in March.  To learn more about what else women are doing to advance Aerospace Medicine, check out the Women in Aerospace Medicine group.  WAM hosts regular virtual mentoring sessions with female leaders across the spectrum of professions that support aviation and space medicine.  Find them here:  https://sites.google.com/view/womxninaeromed/home

What’s in your medicine container?

Sure, you probably said, “Medicine, of course”.  Ok, fair point.  But when the container is empty, why not recycle it into a small emergency kit?  This photo is an example from Chris Heberer, who recently attended one of our webinars.  He jammed an amazing amount of emergency supplies in there – even tea!  These compact, lightweight kits are great to throw in your day pack, your car or even your jacket pocket.  They can contain anything you might need on your next adventure (as long as it fits in the container).  We’ve seen multi-tools, bandages, matches, cotton balls covered with petroleum jelly, assorted medications, fishing line and lures, CPR face shields, rehydration salts and more.  Many of these are items that you have around the house already.  What’s in the best kit?  There is no single right answer.  The best kit is the one that you will carry and use.  These don’t cost much to make, and you can re-customize them any time.  They make great gifts, too!  

Photo credit: Chris Heberer, 2020

What do Polar medicine and Yale have in common?

Cheryl in Antarctica, 2020

If you answered “They’re both in cold climates”, you didn’t win any prizes, so keep reading!  Did you know that Yale School of Medicine has an online PA program?  This innovative Master of Medical Science program combines online classes, in-person labs, and hands-on clinical rotations (which are conducted throughout the country, near the student’s home community when possible).  Kinetic recently had the opportunity to talk to their Wilderness Medicine Student Interest Group about practicing medicine in polar environments.  We had a blast talking to the PA students about what it’s like to care for patients when you are days to months away from definitive care!  What we enjoyed even more was observing how the students had clearly become a cohesive, interactive group despite their online learning platform.  Thanks to Erin Hillis (PA Online Class of 2022), and Mary Showstark, PA-C (Associate Professor Adjunct and Wilderness Medicine Student Interest Group faculty) for providing an opportunity for us to share our Polar experiences and learn more about the Yale PA Online.  

Check out the Yale PA Online Program here: https://paonline.yale.edu/about/

Would you know what to do?

A small group of us went mountain biking to practice socially-distanced recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of our riders couldn’t un-clip from her pedals at the top of a hill, causing her to fall 10 feet down a ravine. When we reached her she was conscious with damage to her helmet, obvious rib fractures and difficulty breathing. We were an hour from help. Would you know what to do if this happened to you? Be prepared. Take a class with us, learn some new skills, and cure your burnout!

We have two webinars ready for you, and updated pricing for Fiji next year. New adventures will be posted as soon as our favorite locations can take travelers again. See you out there! CMEinMotion.com.

%d bloggers like this: