Media Release
Udupi, Mar 11: The Wilderness Medicine Conference was the first of its kind at an academic institution. It was held at Dr TMA Pai Hall, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal by the Centre for Wilderness Medicine and department of emergency medicine, KMC, Manipal.
Dr Sharath Kumar Rao, pro vice-chancellor (Health Sciences) MAHE, Manipal was the chief guest of the programme. He commended the effort and spoke about the relevance of Wilderness Medicine, particularly in Manipal which is flanked by the sea on one side and the Western Ghats on the other. He expressed his hope to see the Centre for Wilderness Medicine grow in the future and cater to the needs of the region, especially in austere environments like the sea and the forests where medical aid is difficult to provide.
Dr Padmaraj Hegde, dean, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Dr Anand Venugopal, COO, Teaching hospitals, MAHE, Manipal, DrAvinash Shetty, medical superintendent, Kasturba Hospital, Manipal, Dr Karunakar Kotegar, director of international affairs, Dr Krishnanandha Prabhu, associate dean, KMC Manipal, Dr Pramodini Bawaskar, Cdr.Vishwanath Rajan, Scuba Evolution Goa were present.
Padma Shri awardee, Dr Himmatrao Saluba Bawaskar, practicing in Mahad, Maharashtra was the keynote speaker, best known for his practice-changing work on scorpion sting. Bawaskar spoke briefly about his wilderness experiences and the importance of these topics to under graduates, post graduates and doctors working in the primary health care setting while also recognizing pre-hospital professionals role in saving lives.
Dr Jayaraj Mymbilly Balakrishnan, professor and head, department of emergency medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal welcomed the gathering. Dr Freston, assistant professor from the department gave a brief overview about the centre’s activities including one health & conservation, research and training programs like wilderness life support, dive medicine and search & Rescue training. Dr Vimal Krishnan S, Associate Professor from the department proposed vote of thanks.
Day 1 of the conference sessions were conducted by expert speakers were on lightning strike, hymenopteran envenomations, animal attacks, scorpion stings, cave diving and snake bites.
On day 2, the wilderness medicine workshop included a practical demo of setting up a medical kit for an expedition and wilderness survival equipment in the morning while in the afternoon the participants were taken into the near by jungle for a wilderness medicine simulation challenge.
The conference and workshop was well received by over 200 delegates for the conference and 60 plus participants for the workshop.