International Postgraduate Diploma in Expedition and Wilderness Medicine

Overview

Structured in conjunction with the Oxford Handbook of Expedition and Wilderness Medicine, the Diploma offers students the chance to gain a fully recognised qualification, while also having the opportunity to travel to challenging locations both in the United Kingdom and Morocco.

Topics covered include:

• Infectious disease, travel medicine and global health (Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, UK).
• Tropical and maritime medicine (Dartmoor, Devon, UK).
• Cold and mountainous environments (Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore, UK).
• High altitude and desert (Aroumd and surrounding area, Morocco).

Who is the course for?

The course is aimed at current healthcare professionals with a UK Bachelor’s degree in an appropriate subject or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

Those completing the course can join the College as a Member of the Faculty of Travel Medicine (MFTM) and continue their studies to master's level with an MSc Advanced Practice (Expedition and Wilderness Medicine) at Glasgow Caledonian University. They can also continue their studies to be awarded the Diploma in Mountain Medicine (DiMM) ICAR/UIAA/ISMM.

We offer flexible payment options across our diploma courses to support you in your studies. Please get in touch with us at expedition@rcpsg.ac.uk to discuss our personalised payment plans.

We also have approved ELC provider status. Should you be eligible to apply for ELCAS through the Ministry of Defence, please get in touch with the course coordinator in the first instance.

Full details about the course can be found below.

Progression to MSc Advanced Practice (Expedition and Wilderness Medicine)

Upon successful completion of the Postgraduate Diploma in Expedition and Wilderness Medicine, you'll be eligible to continue on to a final course of study, offered by Glasgow Caledonian University. The MSc Advanced Practice (Expedition and Wilderness Medicine) is awarded after you successfully complete a 60-credit dissertation module; this must be done over two trimesters in a six-month period. The dissertation would build on the work you started in your Postgraduate Diploma. For more information or to sign up, go to the GCU MSc Advanced Practice page.

Progression to Diploma in Mountain Medicine (DiMM)

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow is pleased to support two additional modules for RCPSG International Diploma in Expedition and Wilderness Medicine (IDEWM) graduates. Completing these two modules will allow students to fulfil all of the required learning outcomes to enable them to complete the Diploma in Mountain Medicine which is quality assured by ICAR/UIAA/ISMM

Course background

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow was established in 1599 and through time has developed into the only multidisciplinary Royal Medical College in the United Kingdom. The College is comprised of five distinct disciplines namely Physicians, Surgeons, Dental Surgery, Podiatric Medicine and Travel Medicine.

The aim of the College is to support Fellows and Members during their career from graduation to retirement. Additionally, the College aims to set the highest possible standards of healthcare by providing career support to all Members and Fellows both in the UK and across the world through education, training, professional development and assessment.

Expedition medicine (or wilderness medicine in the United States) has been a growing sub-speciality over the past two decades. Healthcare professionals are increasingly accompanying a wide range of overseas trips providing care in environments different from their usual workplace. In response to this, numerous courses became available, offering expedition medical training to both medics and non-medics.

In 2008 the Royal Geographical Society Medical Cell, in conjunction with Oxford University Press brought together a wide-ranging team of specialists and published the Oxford Handbook of Expedition and Wilderness Medicine, a practical field guide to remote medicine. Updated and extended second and third editions of this highly acclaimed book were published in 2015 and 2023. Two of the book’s editors, Jon Dallimore and James Moore, recognised the need for a more comprehensive and academically recognised level of training based on the contents of the OUP Handbook and developed the International Diploma in Expedition and Wilderness Medicine. It was felt from the outset that an academic course of this nature should be housed within a medical college, and being Fellows of the Faculty of Travel Medicine, both course directors were very pleased when their proposal to house the Diploma within

Launched in June 2016, this Diploma is the first of its kind and sets the benchmark for education in Expedition and Wilderness Medicine.

In common with other courses at postgraduate level, the programme develops cognitive, leadership and practical skills that will enhance candidates' professional practice and therefore improve patient management. The modules are designed to facilitate development of a candidate's maturity and leadership as expedition healthcare providers. These aims are achieved through keynote lectures, workshops and seminars facilitated by specialists in the expedition medicine field. The modular programme provides an academic base to prepare healthcare professionals for the role of expedition medical officer. They will learn to become autonomous, reflective practitioners who can operate in a range of pre-hospital environments – mountain/jungle/desert/altitude/maritime. The multidisciplinary teamworking nature of the course underpins the College's ethos.

The programme aims to develop practitioners who are able to make sound clinical and situational judgements in environments and situations prone to rapid change and uncertain outcomes. They should be able to apply best clinical practice or evidence-based theory to support their decision-making. It is hoped that graduates of this course will become leaders in this field and help to disseminate the information learned to their colleagues and the broader healthcare community.

Course structure

The credit structure for the programme totals 120 masters level credits by undertaking eight taught modules and four mandatory in person residentials, including the study of research methods. Each module will represent 15 academic credits and will include online learning in addition to relevant directed reading. The diploma course is usually completed over 18 months of study.

Part 1

Introduction, infectious diseases and global health

Introduction, infectious diseases and global health
Join us in our central Glasgow venue at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, in November for the opening week of the Diploma. This is your chance to meet the Course Directors and your fellow students, who you’ll be working closely with over the following modules. The residential week will feature a mix of lectures, case-base discussions and workshops. It will prepare you for your Global Health assignment, which you can work on via our online learning platform over the following weeks.

Research methods
The second module of the course is a 3000-word research proposal, completed via distance learning. With Course Directors and Tutors on hand to advise and assist, the module provides you the opportunity to inform expedition practice. Along with your fellow students, you'll develop your understanding of current issues and debates in epistemology and theoretical perspectives in research.

Navigation
Focusing on the development of your navigation skills, the third module will be distance learning-based and comes in two parts: a worksheet, featuring short questions on navigation and geolocation, and a logbook. The logbook will be a six-month project, aimed at developing your skills in accurate recording of relevant information when on expedition, along with medical factors that must be considered.

Cold and mountainous
Your second residential week will be held in March/April at Glenmore Lodge in Aviemore, Scotland. Based in the Cairngorm National Park, the venue provides an ideal location to build on your knowledge in hypothermia, mountain rescue, rope skills, meteorology and climbing skills, while working through various scenarios and workshops. The 3 x 1000-word assignments for this module are aimed at developing your knowledge in working in cold and mountainous terrain.

Part 2

Travel Medicine
The opening module of part two of the Diploma focuses on Travel Medicine; dealing with the prevention and management of health problems in international travellers. Delivered online, this module consists of 3 x 1000-word essays aimed at developing your skills in applying travel medicine knowledge to prepare expedition teams for healthy overseas trips.

Tropical and maritime medicine
The third residential week of the Diploma will be based in Dartmoor, Devon, England, in September. Featuring a night in hammocks and a session at the Diving Diseases Research Centre, you'll learn from experts in tropical and maritime medicine and gain practical experience in forest and aquatic environments. Following the residential week, 2 x 1500-word assignments will be available online. One a presentation briefing, and the other focussing on medical kits.

Thermal injuries
The thermal injuries module will be completed via distance learning, with a 1500-word assignment on cold injury and a 1500-word assignment on heat injury. This will give you the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of medical conditions relating to cold and hot environments. Through understanding of these core subjects, you'll be able to adapt your knowledge and experience to formulate prevention and treatment strategies.

Altitude and desert
The final written assignment will be a 3000-word essay on altitude related illnesses and this is followed by the last residential component of the Diploma. We will be located in Aroumd and surrounding areas, Morocco, in May. Held over eight days, you'll gain first-hand experience in how to provide expedition medicine at altitude and in the heat of the North African desert.

Educational aims of the Diploma
The aims of this postgraduate programme are:

1. To provide suitably qualified and motivated health professionals with theoretical and practical knowledge so that they can understand the health issues affecting people travelling in austere locations.
2. To increase the student’s knowledge and skills in providing medical care in a variety of environments.
3. To increase the student’s awareness of the effects of travel and expeditions on the host countries.
4. Cultivate the development of scientific understanding and critical skills to enable students to develop into reflective practitioners who practice using the latest evidence-based medicine and outdoor skills.
5. To meet the diverse needs of a range of learners from different professional backgrounds and healthcare systems.
6. Facilitation of independent, lifelong learning in line with professional body and university objectives.

Time commitments
It's anticipated you'll require between 12 and 14 hours of self-directed study per week. You may find some weeks require more hours and others may be less depending on your prior knowledge and experience. It's worth thinking about how you can fit this into the rest of your commitments before signing up for the course.

Criteria for admission
The general requirement is a good first degree i.e. a first or upper second-class UK bachelor’s degree in an appropriate subject or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard from a recognised higher educational institution.

Fitness to practice
All applicants for the International Diploma in Expedition and Wilderness Medicine are required to demonstrate good health and character in the interests of health and safety of students and the public. The programme will require a good level of fitness to cope with the rigours of living and working in challenging environments. Students will need to make a statement to establish that they understand a good level of fitness is a requirement on their initial course application form.

Students should not have impediments, legal or otherwise, which would prevent them from taking part in all aspects of the programme.

Internationalisation
The Diploma in Expedition and Wilderness Medicine is suitable for international students who are qualified healthcare practitioners with suitable academic backgrounds. Applications from international students must meet the specified entry criteria which would include evidence of current registration with the statutory professional body from their country of origin.

An applicant whose first language is not English or who has not been educated wholly or mainly in English will be expected, before commencing the programme, to demonstrate an appropriate level of competency in the English language. Please contact us for more details about what proof we require.

Applications may also be considered if candidates can demonstrate an appropriate academic background and experience in a relevant field (satisfactory equivalence is unlikely in this instance for medical subjects). These candidates will be expected to undertake a short course of self-directed study, prior to the start of the programme, in order to gain the skills required from master's level learning. Academic references will also be required.

Equality and diversity
In common with other organisations, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow believes everyone deserves respect. During your studies, the College will ensure the following:

• All people are treated with dignity and respect.
• People with different needs and circumstances should be supported to achieve their potential.
• Diversity is valued as different people bring new and different perspectives, knowledge and culture. This difference brings increasing strength.
• Discrimination or exclusion based on individual characteristics and circumstances is unacceptable and represents a waste of talent and denial of opportunity.
• Individuals’ rights, including the right to hold different views and beliefs, are respected.
• All staff, students and providers work towards the points above.

Course dates and fees

Dates

The course breaks down into two parts. Part One consists of four modules (including two in person residential weeks). Part Two, again consisting of four modules (including two in person residential weeks), leading to the postgraduate diploma (PGDip).

• Should you wish to leave the diploma on successful completion of part 1, you will be awarded a postgraduate certificate (PGCert). Should you wish to complete the full diploma, you will have up to five years to complete part 2.
• Key dates and deadlines for the next intake are as follows:

PART 1 SCHEDULE FOR COHORT 10:

• Introduction, Infectious Diseases and Global Health (Module 1):

Online Learning – Navigation (Module 2)

Online Learning – Research Methods (Module 3)

Cold and Mountainous (Module 4)

PART 1 SCHEDULE FOR COHORT 10:

Online Learning – Travel Medicine (Module 5)

Tropical and Maritime (Module 6)

Online Learning – Thermal Injuries (Module 7)

Altitude and Desert (Module 8)

Fees

• Total Diploma fee: £7,900. This includes course costs, covering the following:
• Distance learning support and assessment for all eight modules.
• Five days practical teaching and assessment at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (this does not include accommodation).
• Six days practical teaching and assessment at Glenmore Lodge, including food and accommodation.
• Six days of practical teaching and assessment at Bioasis, Dartmoor, including accommodation in a tented camp with all food included
• Eight days practical teaching and assessment in Morocco, including transfers, all food and accommodation.
• Fee will be paid as follows:
• £1,095 deposit required with application.
• £2,855 to secure your place on Part One.
• £3,950 to secure your place on Part Two.
• We offer flexible payment options across our diploma courses to support you in your studies. Please get in touch with us at expedition@rcpsg.ac.uk to discuss our personalised payment plans.
• We also have approved ELC provider status. Should you be eligible to apply for ELCAS through the Ministry of Defence, please get in touch with the course coordinator in the first instance.

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

The residential weeks for this diploma will open in the College's hometown of Glasgow. Held in our prestigious building in the city centre, this first residential week will allow you the chance to get to know the College and staff involved in the course, along with utilising the well-equipped library and teaching facilities. Along with a focus on global health and infectious diseases, this opening week will also give you the chance to meet and bond with your fellow students, along with giving you an insight into the full details of the programme.

Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore, UK
The cold and mountainous module is held at Glenmore Lodge, Scotland's National Outdoor Training Centre. Students learn medical skills appropriate to the mountain environment and range of mountaineering skills including navigation and operating in winter conditions.

Bioasis, near Ivybridge, Devon, UK
For our tropical and maritime module, you'll be heading to Devon, in the Southwest of England. The Bioasis camp is located on a private estate and is is in close proximity to the Diving Diseases Research Centre in Plymouth, caving at Pridhamsleight and the River Erme for swift water and maritime practical exercises. Outdoor learning will take place in forested areas with one night spent sleeping in hammocks.

Aroumd and surrounding area, Morocco
Ourfinal module will take you to the stunning Atlas Mountains of Morocco to develop your high altitude and desert skills. Our longest module will begin in Aroumd, about 70km south of Marrakech, where you'll spend two nights in mountain huts, followed by a trek and finally two nights sleeping in a desert camp. All food and accommodation will be provided.