Eric A. Weiss might be handy to bring along on your next backpacking trip. An assistant professor of surgery in emergency medicine, he has written several books about medical care in the wild and administered care for a National Geographic team excavating Mayan ruins in Belize. Now, he’s established Stanford’s first wilderness medicine fellowship, passing on know-how about everything from treating altitude sickness at the base of Mount Everest to improvising stitches with duct tape.
Arthur Kaminski, an emergency medicine physician from Detroit, is the first fellow. He got his start in wilderness medicine when he constructed a makeshift splint for his companion’s broken arm during a trek in the Brazilian jungle. This year he’ll conduct research on divers’ blood chemistry to identify the most effective treatments for the bends.
Weiss says he hopes the fellowships produce physicians who can be a resource for organizations like Doctors Without Borders and search-and-rescue operations. The yearlong program includes a two-month field experience in which the fellows apply their knowledge.
