World Extreme Medicine

29/01/2026

UK search and rescue teams are already on the ground in Mozambique, supporting the national response to severe flooding affecting thousands of people across multiple provinces.

The UK International Search and Rescue (UK ISAR) teams are working closely with Mozambican authorities and humanitarian partners, providing specialist rescue support alongside public health risk assessments during a period of heightened vulnerability in the rainy season.

We’re proud to share that Jamie Pattison, Ben Watts and Deb Swan, who are part of our teaching faculty, are among those deployed as part of the UK response.

Their work reflects the real-world application of the skills, judgement and collaboration that underpin search and rescue and humanitarian operations globally.

Our thoughts are with everyone affected, and with all teams working in challenging conditions to support local communities.

Photo Credit: ukinmozambique (Instagram)

28/01/2026

Heads up! We’ll be closing bookings for the WEM Fund Prolonged Field Care Course on Thursday 29th January at 12pm (GMT).

This five-day residential course in Cumbria is built directly from real-world deployments, focusing on managing critically injured casualties when evacuation is delayed and resources are limited.

All profits from the course support the World Extreme Medicine Fund’s ongoing humanitarian medical work, including trauma training and medical aid delivery in Ukraine.

👉 Find out more and book here before it's too late:

Join the Prolonged Field Care Course at Muncaster Castle, Feb 2-6, 2026. Learn vital skills from conflict zones and support humanitarian efforts.

27/01/2026

Bothies BEFORE Bandages: A Quick Guide

1. Assess the Scene
Prioritise safety for yourself and the patient.
Identify and mitigate immediate environmental threats.
Remember: You can't help if you become a casualty too.

2. Create a Safe Environment
Establish shelter from wind, rain, or extreme temperatures.
Move to a stable location away from potential hazards.
Tip: A safe environment is your first line of defence.

3. Address Immediate Life Threats
Check for severe bleeding, airway obstruction, or breathing difficulties.
Treat life-threatening conditions before less urgent injuries.
Quick action here can be life-saving.

4. Prevent Further Injury
Immobilise potential fractures or spinal injuries.
Protect the patient from additional environmental damage (e.g., sunburn, frostbite).
Caution: Sometimes, staying put is safer than moving.

5. Manage the Injury
Once the environment is secure, focus on treating specific injuries.
Use available resources wisely - they may need to last.
Remember: In extreme environments, less is often more.

Save or screenshot this to reference, and if you want to learn more like this, check out our Expedition & Wilderness medicine courses: https://worldextrememedicine.com/product-category/extreme-medicine-courses/expedition-wilderness-medicine/

25/01/2026

Anyone who’s spent time in the polar regions, at high altitude, or on the ocean can attest to the dazzling power of the sun’s rays.

Snow, ice, and water are all very effective at reflecting light back up at us, and at higher elevations the thinner atmosphere means more UV light penetrates through. This can lead to fried eyes, otherwise known as ‘photokeratitis’ or ‘snow blindness’.

Read the full blog post and discover our winter courses via the link in the comments!

23/01/2026

Working at sea requires you to become a smooth operator...

Find out more and get your sea legs this May in Brixham via the link below!
https://worldextrememedicine.com/extreme-medicine-courses/ocean-medicine-course/

20/01/2026

“We’re not just treating animals... We’re safeguarding ecosystems.” 🌍

From field anaesthesia breakthroughs to ethical decision-making in wildlife rescue, veterinarian Corinne Palma joins Eoin Walker to explore how clinical medicine meets conservation in extreme environments.

Drones, DNA testing, and One Health, discover how modern vets are redefining care in the wild.

🎧 Listen to ‘From Clinics to Conservation’ now on the WEM Podcast, available on all popular podcast streaming platforms or via our website below:

https://worldextrememedicine.com/extreme-medicine-podcast/

19/01/2026

Blue Monday can be a pause... Or, it can be a decision.

Today only, get £100 off all World Extreme Medicine courses and take a step towards what’s next.

Use code BLUEMONDAY before midnight (GMT).

Explore courses ⤵️
https://worldextrememedicine.com/product-category/extreme-medicine-courses/all-courses/

17/01/2026

Thinking about applying for the MSc in Extreme Medicine?

Join our FREE live session on Wednesday 21st Jan at 7:30pm GMT

→ Meet the course leaders
→ Ask your questions
→ Find out if it's right for you

🎓 Delivered with the University of Exeter
📍 Live online via Zoom | 💬 Open Q&A | Will be recorded and available on-demand for those who can't attend live.

You don’t need to commit; just come along, explore your options, and get clarity.

Link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BOkXSkRRTN-5lZNIUNSR1A

16/01/2026

On 21st January, Prof. Mark Hannaford, Founder of World Extreme Medicine, will take the keynote stage at WEP 2026, hosted by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology King Abdullah University Of Science And Technology - KAUST.

With over four decades of experience delivering medicine and leadership in the world’s most challenging environments, Mark will explore what real adaptation looks like when systems are under pressure, uncertainty is constant, and resilience matters.

From expedition medicine and humanitarian response to climate disruption and global health, his keynote connects lived experience with the big questions shaping our shared future.

Mark's Keynote date: 21st January 2026
WEP 2026: 13th - 22nd January | KAUST
Live stream available via KAUST Official on Youtube

Join the global conversation on how we adapt, respond, and move forward.

Find out more about this event:
https://wep.kaust.edu.sa

Mark Hannaford

14/01/2026

Winter Adventure Medicine is a field-based course designed to build confidence, leadership and clinical decision-making in extreme cold environments.

You’ll focus on cold injury and hypothermia, human factors, risk planning, evacuation and team performance under pressure.

📍 Northern Sweden
🗓 13th - 20th March 2026

Find out more and secure your place via the link below:
https://worldextrememedicine.com/extreme-medicine-courses/winter-adventure-medicine-course-sweden/

12/01/2026

Good intentions aren’t enough, preparation matters.

Our Humanitarian Medicine Course is a four-day, CPD-awarded introduction to delivering healthcare in crises and resource-limited environments. It’s designed for healthcare professionals who want a realistic, responsible understanding of humanitarian work.

Across the course, you’ll cover adapting clinical care in disrupted settings, public health and ethics, working with vulnerable populations, and how humanitarian systems operate in practice.

Northampton, UK | 23rd - 26th March 2026
23 CPD hours (RCSEd)

Find out more and secure your place here: https://worldextrememedicine.com/extreme-medicine-courses/humanitarian-medicine-course-northampton/

11/01/2026

What a welcome from the brilliant team at Muncaster Castle who are hosting our course set-up team in as we prepare to launch a brand-new initiative from The WEM Fund (WEMF).

We’re determined that the lessons being learned in Ukraine don’t stay in .

This February we’ll be running our new WEMF / World Extreme Medicine “Ukraine Lessons Learned” programme — built hand-in-hand with frontline Ukrainian medical professionals and shaped by our own volunteer faculty, drawing directly on what has changed in conflict medicine when evacuation is delayed and systems are under sustained pressure.

Designed hand-in-hand with front line medical professionals in Ukraine and with our own outstanding team of volunteers.

This five-day residential course is built directly from real deployments. It focuses on managing critically injured casualties when evacuation is delayed, resources are limited, and clinical decisions must be sustained over hours or days rather than minutes.

Teaching is grounded in lived experience, not abstract theory. Every element reflects the realities of prolonged casualty care in unstable, high-risk environments.

All profits from this course directly support The WEM Fund (WEMF) humanitarian medical work, including training, trauma support, and delivery of medical equipment in .

We would *really appreciate* it if you could share widely!

https://worldextrememedicine.com/extreme-medicine-courses/wemf-prolonged-field-care-course/