WILDERNESS-MEDICAL-SOCIETY - THE 1ST DOZEN YEARS

This manuscript has been prepared as the tenth Annual Meeting of the W ilderness Medical Society approaches. It consists of a chronological h istory of the society from its founding in 1982 as a ''Mom and Pop'' o rganization headquartered in Dr. Edward Geehr's study to its current s tatus as a national organization with a part-time executive director, two full-time employees, access to the resources of the American Colle ge of Sports Medicine, an international journal, a quarterly newslette r, and over 2800 members. Its educational programs now include annual summer and winter national scientific meetings plus at least one annua l national specialty meeting, local and regional meetings, curricula f or medical school wilderness medicine electives and prehospital wilder ness emergency care courses, position papers on relevant topics, and t eaching aids, including slide collections. It has an active program fo r sponsoring research in wilderness medicine and promotes the health o f travelers and global health through its Environmental Council.