Wilderness
Medicine Practitioner Registry
(Fellow of the Academy
of Wilderness Medicine)
CORE
CURRICULUM
Eligible
Activities
Introduction
and Purpose
The Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) is
a vital and relevant organization supporting multiple medical
specialties. Its mission is to advance education, research
and healthcare as it relates to Wilderness Medicine and
the public good. Outdoor activities represent the most rapidly
growing area of recreational activity. Scientific exploration,
outdoor adventure, military campaigns, and industrial pursuits
lead greater numbers of people into the wilderness, extreme
environmental conditions, and regions remote from basic
or conventional medical support. The work that has been
and that will be accomplished by members of the WMS is vital
to the health and safety of all persons who find themselves
in need of care in an outdoor setting. Therefore, the Academy
of Wilderness Medicine, committed to validating meaningful
educational and training experiences leading to the continuing
professional development of individuals who provide medical
services in the wilderness setting, establishes a registry
of WM practitioners.
The
registry provides the means by which any qualified practitioner
meeting the criteria determined by the Academy can choose
to be formally listed and to have their WMS-related academic
work tracked and reported. Registered WMS members
are entitled to use the title Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness
Medicine™ (FAWM) to signify their special status.
Their status in the registry will be maintained in a WMS
database and signified by issuance of a certificate and
registry card.
The registry will formally recognize wilderness
medical professionals who have met certain criteria and achieved
qualifications differentiating them from others working in
the discipline. It will provide to the public and commercial
entities a listing of Wilderness Medicine practitioners who
have met eligibility criteria. The registry will support the
Academy and WMS strategic goals by using the core curriculum
of Wilderness Medicine categories, topics, and skills as an
educational basis for eligibility. It will advance the recognition
of Wilderness Medicine sub-disciplines supplemental to the
core requirements.
The
WMS will keep documentation and records on active members
who wish to achieve criteria necessary to earn the distinction
of Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM).
The WMS will serve as the official entity validating the
credentials of Fellows in the Academy. No distinction
is made among formally recognized academic medical disciplines
for awarding the FAWM.
Members
who have applied for and are actively pursuing registry
in order to receive recognition as Fellows (FAWM) are referred
to as registry candidates. Members who have successfully
completed all requirements for registry and FAWM (outlined
below) are referred to as Registrants or Fellows.
The
goals of the Practitioner Registry are to:
- Distinguish
Wilderness Medicine professionals who have met specified
criteria and qualifications differentiating them from
others working in the field.
- Provide
a listing of Wilderness Medicine practitioners who have
met registry criteria to public and commercial entities.
- Serve
as a source of reference for commercial and public organizations
to verify status of individual training.
Disclaimer
Consistent
with Academy principles, the WMS does not vouch for the
competency of any person listed in the registry. The Academy’s
role is limited to documenting and verifying that individuals
in the registry have met pre-established educational criteria.
Documented education and/or experience should not be used
to verify or validate an individual’s competency to
perform any specific task or skill.
Criteria
for Registry
In
order to be listed as a Fellow in the registry, an individual
must meet the following criteria:
·
Experience:
Registrants will have completed at least one year of professional
practice in their vocation after completion of initial
qualifying, credentialing, or vocational degree producing
school. Experience may be demonstrated by submitting a
photocopy of a membership certificate or similar documentation
in a professional society, association, institution or
employment to be kept on file by the WMS.
·
Currency:
Registrants will, at the time of registration, be current
with respect to licensure and/or institutional registration
in their respective vocational discipline. Proof
of currency may be demonstrated by submitting a photocopy
of any professional discipline credentials including but
not limited to state licensure or registration.
·
WMS
Membership status: Registry candidates and Fellows must
maintain active membership in the WMS in order to maintain
FAWM and registry status. Participation as candidates
in the registry is intended to be continuous from the
date of initial application. Candidates who allow their
WMS membership to lapse may resume accumulation of credit
upon renewal of membership so long as completion of registry
requirements occurs within the five-year limit described
above. Fellows who allow their WMS membership to lapse
lose their right to use the title FAWM and may apply to
the WMS for reinstatement with renewal of membership.
Appropriate fees will be assessed for reinstatement of
both Candidates and Fellows.
·
Core
curriculum: To qualify for the registry members will have
completed specific topics in all 12 major sub-discipline
areas in accordance with guidelines established by the
Academy. Credits toward registration will be recognized
by attending and successfully completing conferences,
seminars, workshops, activities and events that are sponsored
by the WMS or pre-approved affiliated organization (as
determined by the Academy Director, EXCOM, or WMS President).
The 12 sub-disciplines are listed below.
01 Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine
02 Tropical and Travel Medicine
03 High Altitude & Mountaineering Medicine
04 Expedition Medicine
05 Field Craft and
Equipment
06 Rescue and Evacuation
07 Sports Medicine and Physiology
08 Preventive Medicine, Field Sanitation & Hygiene
09 General Environmental Medicine
10 Improvised and Alternative Medicine
11 Disaster & Humanitarian Assistance
12 Wilderness Emergencies and Trauma Management
Requirements for General Registry:
1)
Application, fees, and approval by the Academy
Director
2)
Completion of the 100-credit hr. core curriculum
within a five year time period
3)
Professional Conduct Statement to be kept on file
by the WMS
4)
Submission of verifiable information related to
professional training, certification, and experience in
an accepted medical discipline.
5)
Current and On-going WMS membership.
Requirements
for Sub-disciplinary registry:
1)
Completion of the general registry as described
above
2)
Completion of additional WMS curriculum activities
related to one of the WM sub-disciplines recognized by
the WMS as established by the Academy.
3)
Completion of a pre-approved hands-on field experience
related to the sub-discipline that is sponsored by the
WMS or an affiliated organization. Submission for approval
is to be made to the Academy Director.
Certificates
of completion may be issued to members who have completed
requirements for general and sub-disciplinary registry within
a specific sub-discipline but have not completed the remaining
requirements for general registry.
Credit
toward registry may be obtained by submitting verification
of completion of Journal of Wilderness and Environmental
Medicine CME articles. The Academy may award full or partial
credit for the work for some articles depending on review
of content.
Online
lessons will be made available by the Academy whereby participants
in the registry may login, complete an online educational
experience, including a topic-specific examination, and
receive full or partial registry credit. Topics offered
online will be those that represent areas that are otherwise
difficult to complete at conferences and traditional academic
experiences.
·
Professional
conduct statement: At the time of application, participants
will
read and sign a statement affirming their understanding
of the limitations of the registry with respect to professional
qualifications and credentials. The statement addresses
the professional conduct that is expected of them, as registered
WM practitioners in remote, austere, and wilderness environments.
A Fellow of the
Academy will:
-
Participate in activities
that enhance the welfare of the members’ organization,
clients, or profession.
-
Participate in activities
that fall within the scope of fiduciary, ethical, and legal
obligations to their organizations and their clients.
-
Effectively disclose
all potential and actual conflicts of interest with the
understanding that such disclosure does not preclude or
imply ethical impropriety.
-
Recognize individual
boundaries of competence and remain forthcoming and truthful
about professional experience and qualifications.
Fees:
Upon fulfillment of the initial requirements
to qualify for
registration,
candidates will pay an initial $95.00 registration fee. After
the first year, Candidates and Registrants (Fellows) will
pay a subsequent $25.00 annual fee to maintain their FAWM
status. An additional administrative fee of $50 is assessed
to members requesting retroactive review for credit of previously
acquired WMS educational activities (see below). A $50.00
administrative fee will be assessed for candidates and Fellows
that allow their WMS membership status to expire and request
reinstatement in the registry. Fee structures
are subject to review and adjustment by the Academy and approval
by the EXCOM without notice. Changes will occur no more frequently
than annually.
Other
considerations of the Registry
·
The
Academy Director, Assistant Director, or WMS Executive
Director will approve all candidates and registrants.
·
Appeals
or disputes will be made in writing to the Academy Director.
If not able to be resolved, these will be reviewed by
the EXCOM with final decision authority resting with the
President, WMS.
·
The
registry is open to all active regular members of the
WMS.
·
Fees
are the same for all applicants.
·
The
WMS does not accept responsibility for the competence
or performance of any Fellow (Registrant).
·
The
WMS and the Academy reserve the right to, within the guidelines
of the
Academy, establish the criteria for the registry, review
and change these guidelines annually, and acknowledge
only those educational activities sponsored, approved,
and/or sanctioned by the Society
·
Fellows
(Registrants) have the right to use the insignia FAWM
and may reference it on resumes, business cards, and advertisements.
This is not to be construed as a credential.
·
The
WMS is under no obligation to keep the names of individuals
listed in the registry confidential and those accepting
inclusion in the registry thereby give permission to list
their names publicly in Society related publications and
websites.
·
Retroactive
review for credit: Candidates meeting initial criteria
for registry may request that previously completed WMS
educational events be applied toward registry credit.
The Academy Director must approve all such retroactive
reviews, which will be subject to an additional $50.00
administrative fee (see above). To be eligible for credit,
educational activities will meet the following criteria:
-Will
be less than 5 years old at the time the application
for retroactive review is received.
-Will
have been conducted at an official ACCME approved WMS
educational conference or other event in which formal
WMS CME credit (as denoted by the issuance of a WMS
CME certificate) was awarded
-As a
service to our FAWM candidates, the 31 December 2005
deadline for requesting retroactive review of activities for
FAWM credit has been eliminated. The Academy will continue
to accept requests for retroactive review for courses going
back 5 years from the date the application is received. The
same FAWM eligibility rules continue to apply.
-Completed while a WMS member in good standing (no requirement
for continuous membership)
Candidates
will submit photocopies of WMS CME activities to be considered
which will be reviewed and confirmed with WMS records. Minimum
registry criteria described above, including experience,
professional qualification, WMS membership currency, professional
conduct statement, and fees may not be waived. Appeals will
be submitted to the Academy Director for re-consideration
and review by the EXCOM as necessary. The WMS President
has ultimate authority to resolve disputes.
Note:Credit
toward fellowship may be accumulated while in a student
status however subject to the same rules of membership and
enrollment. However, FAWM Residents in training are
eligible for Fellowship.
