Special Environment - Winter Alpine
| Module title | Special Environment - Winter Alpine |
|---|---|
| Module code | HPDM077 |
| Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Malcolm Hilton (Lecturer) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 6 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 20 |
|---|
Module description
This module builds on mountain environment specific skills and knowledge acquired in the foundation expedition medicine module in year 1. The learning moves to a high fidelity environment in Iceland or Europe. The course integrates both medical and expedition content to replicate the challenge of a real expedition, with realistic simulation and a true ‘adventure’ feel to the course.
Module aims - intentions of the module
In this module, you will develop the skills and knowledge required for use in mountain environments. Students will develop their understanding of the risks, hazards, technical skills and medical knowledge needed to function safely as a medical provider in this environment. You will focus not only on the evaluation of health issues to be expected in the field, but the planning and preparation phase for activities in the mountains. You will reflect in more depth on the ethical, professional and legal challenges of delivering medical care in high altitude and mountain environments.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate an understanding of safe glacier travel, ice climbing and crevasse rescue techniques.
- 2. Demonstrate knowledge of alpine search and rescue techniques, then synthesis safe rescue and evacuation plans. This will involve critical appraisal of current techniques, limitations and risk assessment.
- 3. Demonstrate a critical approach to current practice in relevant topics in mountain medicine, and an understanding of the limitations in current evidence.
- 4. Evaluate and reflect on medical search and rescue team formation, and critically appraise the success or failures of these teams during the practical challenges during this module.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Understand the principles of camp set up and management and public health.
- 6. Demonstrate a knowledge and application of crewe resource management in medical teams.
- 7. Critically review the difference between environment specific skills and generic skills, and reflect on the significance of this when analysing personal development and learning.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 8. Demonstrate a mature knowledge base and skill level to enable safe inclusion as an active team member in expedition groups.
- 9. Demonstrate a mature clinical and logistical decision making approach to expedition work.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module's precise content may vary from year to year, an example of an overall structure is as follows:
Navigation
Planning, packing, camp craft and cooking
Team organisation and leadership
Rope skills
Glacier travel techniques
Ice axe self arrest
Crevasse rescue
Ice climbing techniques
Search and rescue theory and practice
Evacuation planning
Physiological changes in humans that occur on ascent to altitude
Physiological adaptations to high altitude
Safe ascent profiles
Acute Mountain Sickness: evidence for risks, prevention, prophylaxis
High Altitude Cerebral Oedema: evidence for risks, prevention, prophylaxis
High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema: evidence for risks, prevention, prophylaxis
Cold Injury
Pre-hospital trauma care and evacuation
Air evacuation
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 90 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 60 | Residential course in an area with snow and glaciers- lectures, seminars, master-classes, practical exercises. Practical exercises are scenario based and of evolving complexity and duration, using the reality of the environment to add fidelity. |
| Guided Independent Study | 90 | Reading and preparation for scheduled sessions and coursework. |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facilitated debriefs | 20 minutes per scenario, estimated 120 minutes over the residential course element. | 1-2,4-6,8-9 | Rolling group debriefs during and after practical challenges, with formal feedback from faculty and students. |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters level Written Assignment | 100 | Equivalent to 2000 words of written assignment | 1-9 | Written |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written assignment | 2000 words | 1-9 | Typically within six weeks of the result |
Re-assessment notes
Re-submission of the original assessment
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Basic Reading:
1. Doctor on Everest: Emergency Medicine at the Top of the World - a Personal Account of the 1996 Disaster - Kenneth Kamler
2. Oxford Handbook of Expedition and Wilderness Medicine. 2nd Edition Chris Johnson, Sarah R Anderson, Jon Dallimore, Chris Imray, Shane Winser, James Moore and David A Warrell - Oxford University Press, May 2015. ISBN: 9780199688418. £34.99
3. Wilderness Medical Society consensus guidelines for the prevention and treatment of acute altitude illness.
4. Luks AM1, McIntosh SE, Grissom CK, Auerbach PS, Rodway GW, Schoene RB, Zafren K, Hackett PH; Wilderness Medical Society.
5. Wilderness Environ Med. 2010 Jun; 21(2):146-55. doi; 10.1016/j.wem.2010.03.002. Epub 2010 Mar 10.
6. The High Altitude Medicine Handbook, 3rd edition, by Andrew J. Pollard and David R. Murdoch
7. Acute altitude illnesses BMJ 2011; 343 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d4943
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Last revision date | 19/09/2019 |
