Speaking of Polar Bears...

Last week at our Expedition Medicine National Conference in Washington, DC, a member of the audience came up to me after one of my talks.  Turns out this guy has a lot of experience working in remote places, and he told me a story about a colleague who was working in northern Canada and was surprised by a polar bear one morning.  Someone snapped a couple of photos of the incident, and this guy said he'd be happy to send them to me.

Needless to say, I was impressed by the photos...

In case you're wondering, the bear didn't actually catch the guy in the photos, but he sure raised his heart rate a bit.

If looking at these photos causes you to long for the frozen tundra and the bears of that region, take heart!  Our ExpedMed Polar Bear CME Adventure still has a couple of spots left.  You have the opportunity to visit the famed bears of Churchill, Canada and earn CME along the way.  The dates are October 16-20, 2011.  Below is a video created by our partners at Frontiers North Adventures...come along with us to visit the polar bears next month (if you dare).

Freelance MD: Upcoming Events

If you missed our recent Expedition Medicine National Conference, you missed a great event.

The above photo is of Dr. Tim Erickson, Vice Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Illinois-Chicago.  Dr. Erickson is renowned as a speaker and he didn't disappoint.  This photo was taken just after his famous "mushroom" lecture at our ExpedMed event.  Tim obviously enjoys his work!

Below is a short video and a schedule of upcoming events for both ExpedMed and Medical Fusion.  

The Medical Fusion Conference is just around the corner so please register early to ensure your place at this entertaining and educational event.  Thanks once again for reading Freelance MD and we hope to see you at one of our events very soon!

Upcoming ExpedMed and Medical Fusion Events

ExpedMed Polar Bear CME Adventure

October 16-20, 2011, Churchill, Canada
www.FrontiersNorth.com
Cost:  $3,969 plus $899 CME

Medical Fusion Conference

November 11-13, 2011, Las Vegas
www.MedFusionConf.org
Cost:  $979

ExpedMed Kilimanjaro CME Adventure

March 24 – April 6, 2012, Kilimanjaro
www.Tusker.com
Cost:  $5,630 plus $899 CME

ExpedMed Great White Shark Diving CME Adventure

August 27-31, 2012 - Guadalupe Island
www.SharkDiver.com
Cost:  $3,100 plus $899 CME

Expedition Medicine National Conference

September 2012 - Washington, DC
www.ExpedMed.org

ExpedMed Participant Interviews

Well, our Expedition Medicine National Conference is just a few months away so I thought it would be a good idea to post some past participant interviews.

The conference will be in Washington, DC, during September 16-18, 2011 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel and participants this year will receive 20 hours of Category I CME credits as well as our 700 page hardcover textbook entitled Expedition & Wilderness Medicine.

When watching these interviews, notice the diversity of the participants. They come from many different specialities and plan to use the training from this event in many different ways.  Some participants really don't travel to remote areas themselves, but they found the teaching useful even though they don't consider themselves "true" expedition physicians.

We'd love to meet many of our Freelance MD readers at our event this September, so if you want a fun and efficient way to earn your 2011 CME credits, swing by the Omni in DC this fall.

Expedition Medicine National Conference

I wanted to make sure that the Freelance MD community knew that our 2011 Expedition Medicine National Conference will be this September 16th-18th at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC.

This is the five-year anniversary of our event in Washington, DC and it's been gratifying to receive all the positive feedback about the event from the hundreds of physicians, nurses, paramedics, and other medial professionals who have attended past conferences.  Here's a sampling of quotes we've received on our evaluation forms:

“Great conference…first class…the first CME event I have ever attended where I felt I got my money’s worth."  -Richard Knight, MD, Emergency Medicine, Ft. Worth, Texas

“Great experience…incredible speakers who have traveled all over the world and are speaking and educating from firsthand experience…lessons learned are priceless! Thank you." -Sapna Parikh, MD, Fox News Medical Correspondent, New York, New York

“Sorry, all 5s on the evaluation doesn’t help much, but it was that awesome!” -Mark Schwab MD, San Diego, CA

“This was the first conference I’ve attended where I’ve gone to ALL the lectures and looked forward to the next day! The speakers were great – knowledgeable, passionate about what they do, entertaining. I also like the historical info on the infectious diseases and the personal adventure stories.” -Alexia Gordon MD, Virginia

“This conference is truly one of the best I have attended in 50+ years of actively practicing medicine. All of your speakers were outstanding. The material was very interesting and useful to my activities.” -Joseph English MD, Pennsylvania

This year, we have an incredible line up of expert faculty and topics for participants.  For those who have never attended one of our events, we take pride in advertising our faculty as the "best in the business" for medical education.  Our experts our selected based on their demonstrated expertise in their content areas, their significant field experience, and their teaching ability.

Since this conference is about medicine in wilderness areas and on expeditions, it does you, the participant, no good to hear canned lectures from speakers who have never been "in the field." At the Expedition Medicine National Conference all our faculty have significant field experience and are teaching what they actually do when they work in austere environments (not just what they've heard works in these locations). 

Each of our faculty also are excellent communicators and many have received national teaching awards for their demonstrated excellence as educators.  Our course participants remark each year how amazingly talented our faculty are at communicating their material, and how delighted they were to hear the presentations.

For 2011, the following faculty will be teaching at our Expedition Medicine National Conference:

Dr. David Shlim, co-editor of the CDC "Yellow Book" and Travel Medicine expert from Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Dr. Michael Callahan, Infectious Disease specialist from Harvard and Darpa

Dr. David Townes, Associate Professor at the University of Washington and co-editor of Expedition & Wilderness Medicine 

Dr. Eric Johnson, past president of the Wilderness Medical Society and international expedition physician

Dr. Alan Magill, president of the International Society of Travel Medicine and co-editor of the CDC "Yellow Book"

Dr. Peter Hotez, Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine at George Washington University 

Dr. Christina Catlett, Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR)

Dr. Tim Erickson, Director of Clinical Toxicology and Vice Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Illinois-Chicago

Topics scheduled for our 2011 course include malaria, travel immunizations, hypothermia, high altitude medicine, dive medicine, lightning injuries, reptile envenomations, expedition toxicology, rabies, and disaster medicine among others.

All participants will receive 20 Category I CME credits and a free copy of our textbook Expedition & Wilderness Medicine (sells for $150).

Anyone interested in a possible career change into international health or simply wanting to learn more about some very cool topics (and meet some very cool faculty) is encouraged to attend this event.  I'll be there and I hope we have a good turnout of people from the Freelance MD community.

Carpe Diem: Freelance MD 2011 CME Conference Schedule

It's 2011 and we've got lots of fantastic CME physician conferences scheduled.

Over the next few months we'll be offering numerous opportunities for our Freelance MD members to connect with one another at live events around the country, and earn a little CME as well.

With everything that's happening I thought I would write a quick post detailing our upcoming events for the next 18 months so everyone is able to get them on their calendars. Every year, just before a major event, I get a steady stream of emails from individuals saying "if I only would have known."  For whatever reason they didn't find out until too late about one of our events and they're left waiting until the following year to join us.  Don't let that be you!  For any of our events you can contact us here at Freelance MD or call our registration center at 866-924-7929 to reserve your place.  

Here are the upcoming events that everyone will be talking about...

Expedition Medicine National Conference: September 16-18, 2011

This September 16th-18th will be the five-year anniversary of our Expedition Medicine National Conference.  We hold this event every year in Washington, DC and always receive rave reviews.  Here are a few of the comments from past participants of our Expedition Medicine National Conference:

“Very well done – well organized! Great venue! Speakers are excellent. I would recommend this course and plan to attend again!" -Craig Hollinger MD, California

“This was a wonderful conference!  For the first time, I’ve met so many doctors who also like wilderness and adventure!  The speakers were amazing!” -Margaret Budzianowska-Kwiatkowski MD, British Columbia

"This conference is truly one of the best I have attended in 50+ years of actively practicing medicine. All of your speakers were outstanding. The material was very interesting and useful to my activities.” -Joseph English MD, Pennsylvania

Participants at this event will receive 20 hours of Category I CME taught by renowned experts from around the world and all will also receive our Expedition & Wilderness Medicine textbook ($150 value) free.  The event will be at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC.

ExpedMed CME Polar Bear Adventure: October 20-25, 2011

In October, ExpedMed will be teaming up with Frontiers North Adventures to take a handful of hardy souls to visit the polar bears of Churchill, Canada.  During the months of September and October, Churchill is the best place in the world to see polar bears in the wild.  We'll be staying at the famed Tundra Buggy Lodge and earning 25 hours of Category I CME (20 hours online prior to the trip and 5 hours of live instruction during the trip). 

This trip is going to be one of those rare experiences that create lifelong memories, and yes, spouses and non-medical people are welcome.

For more information on this trip, feel free to call our registration number (866-924-7929), visit the Frontiers North website, or read our information page on the trip here at Freelance MD. 

Medical Fusion Conference: November 11-13, 2011

I've mentioned it before but it's worth repeating, our 2011 Medical Fusion Conference will be November 11th-13th at the amazing Aria Resort on the Strip in Las Vegas.  We'll be announcing our 2011 faculty very soon, but suffice it to say that this year will be an incredible opportunity for you to learn more about how you can use your medical training in unique ways.  Topics for 2011 include internet entrepreneurship, monetizing your blog, cosmetic medicine practice, becoming an independent consultant, writing and publishing, concierge medicine, and much more.  Stay tuned to Freelance MD for more announcements regarding this event, and book early since space is limited.

ExpedMed CME Kilimanjaro Climb: March 24-April 6, 2012

For those of you who want to strike something off your "bucket list" and earn CME along the way, you really need to check out our ExpedMed CME Kilimanjaro climb.

ExpedMed has partnered with Tusker Trail to provide an excellent opportunity for participants to learn Expedition and Wilderness Medicine while climbing one of the world's most famous peaks.  Tusker is one of the premiere safari and climbing outfits in the world, and were our chosen team to support ExpedMed's 2009 Kilimanjaro summit.  

Check out this trip early as space is very limited, and be watching Freelance MD for more information on this incredible opportunity to have a little educational adventure in 2012.

So there you have it.  Four excellent ways for you to connect with others and learn skills that will further your career.  If you have any questions, feel free to let us know and of course, if you're interested in attending any of these events, please book early as they always fill up very quickly.

Begin a Career in Wilderness Medicine: Dr. Eric Johnson

I sat down with Dr. Eric Johnson at our Expedition Medicine National Conference to ask him about his career in Wilderness Medicine.  

Dr. Johnson is a past president of the Wilderness Medical Society and has twice served as a physician at the Everest Base Camp Clinic.  In this interview, Dr. Johnson discusses his involvement in Wilderness Medicine, how individuals can get involved in Wilderness Medicine, and then gives his thoughts on our Medical Fusion Conference.

TV News Report on the Expedition Medicine National Conference

The Expedition Medicine National Conference

For those who might be interested in seeing one of our CME conferences in action, I've posted this television news report that was done on our Expedition Medicine National Conference in 2007.  The news station is Fox 5 WNYW out of New York City.

Even though the report was a couple of years ago, most of the information is still current.