2023 Expedition Medicine National Conference Agenda Posted!

The agenda for the 2023 Expedition Medicine National Conference is now posted!

We are pleased to include a number of interesting and diverse topics covering wilderness medicine, tropical medicine, travel medicine, snake envenomations, medical evacuations, and more.

Please refer to the agenda below for the full list of topics and speakers for our upcoming conference!

Friday, April 21st, 2023

8:00-9:00 am  The Expedition Physician, Donner

9:00-10:00 am  Malaria, Townes

10:00-10:15am  Break

10:15-11:15 am  Backcountry Medical Kits, Donner

11:15-12:15 pm  Travel Vaccines, Freedman

12:15-1:30pm  Lunch

1:30-2:30 pm  North American Snake Envenomations, Bush

2:30-3:30 pm  Viral Diseases in Travelers, Freedman

3:30-4:30 pm  Geospatial Technology in Humanitarian & Disaster Response, Greenough

4:30-5:30 pm  Disaster on Everest, Kamler

Saturday, April 22nd, 2023

8:00-9:00 am Backcountry Water Disinfection & Purification, Donner

9:00-10:00 am  Schistosomiasis, Freedman

10:00-10:15am  Break

10:15-11:15 am  High-Altitude Medicine, Donner

11:15-12:15 pm  International Snake Envenomations, Bush

12:15-1:30pm  Lunch

1:30-2:30 pm  Cruise Ship Medical Evacuation, Callahan

2:30-3:30 pm  Fever in the Returned Traveler, Freedman

3:30-4:30 pm Spider Bites, Bush

4:30-5:30 pm Wilderness EMS, Hawkins

Dr. Ken Kamler speaks at the Arkansas Heart Summit!

Dr. Ken Kamler and Dr. Bruce Murphy

One of our ExpedMed faculty was in Little Rock this past weekend speaking at the Arkansas Heart Summit!

Dr. Ken Kamler was the keynote speaker at the Summit this year, an event that was attended by 400 clinicians from around the state of Arkansas.  On Friday evening, Dr. Kamler told his gripping story of the 1996 blizzard on Mount Everest that claimed the lives of numerous climbers.  Dr. Kamler was the only physician on the mountain that day, and his photos and anecdotes about the incident were riveting.

At the end of his talk, Dr. Kamler received a standing ovation from the crowd led by Dr. Bruce Murphy, CEO of the Arkansas Heart Hospital.

It was fantastic to have Dr. Kamler here in Arkansas, and it will be great to welcome him back to Little Rock this March 9-10, 2018 for the Expedition Medicine National Conference!

Mrs. Sara Bledsoe, Dr. Greg Bledsoe, and Dr. Ken Kamler at the Arkansas Heart Summit

Dr. Ken Kamler and the 1996 Everest Disaster

One of the true privileges I have as the director of the ExpedMed and Medical Fusion conferences is the opportunity to meet and associate with so many amazing individuals.  Over the past few years I have been blessed to spend time with some incredibly talented and exceptional colleagues.  These associations have inspired and encouraged me, and I have grown tremendously because of these relationships.

One of these talented and inspiring individuals in Dr. Ken Kamler, Vice President of The Explorers Club.  I first met Ken a number of years ago at an Explorers Club event in New York City.  Since that first meeting, Ken has become a dear friend who has written a chapter in our Expedition & Wilderness Medicine textbook and also spoken numerous times at our conferences.  

The lecture above is a video of Ken giving a presentation at TED about the 1996 disaster on Mount Everest.  This event was chronicled in Jon Krakauer's book Into Thin Air.  Ken was the only physician on the mountain during this episode, and even though I have heard his talk numerous times, I still find it incredibly gripping.

Take a few minutes to watch Ken's presentation.  You won't be disappointed. 

Thanks once again to Ken for his participation in our events and his inspiring career, and thanks to all the other talented individuals who make our conferences so successful.