Discover your potential and open up new opportunities by completing the Trailmed Assessment Centre! Intended for medical professionals including doctors, nurses and paramedics with a genuine desire to progress in the field of Event and Expedition Medicine.
We’re delighted to invite you to the valleys of Wales to meet the team and get to know each other!
This two way process is designed to give you an insight into life as a TrailMed Medic, both on overseas expeditions and national events. It also allows us to assess your suitability for upcoming positions and opportunities. Hosted by Unique Expeditions Remote Medical Training, the programme combines rigorous training and practical assessments. You’ll be participating in various activities, indoor and outdoor, both mental and physical. We want to see how you cope with unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations, how you work in a team and deal with the many puzzles and challenges you’ll be thrown into. More importantly, the course is a lot of fun so expect to enjoy yourself!
​
Teaching topics covered:
-
Pre-event planning
-
Teamwork and leadership
-
Human factors
-
Risk assessment
-
Medical kit
-
Navigation
-
Evacuation
-
Medical scenarios
-
And much, much more...
Assessment:
Assessment will be continuous throughout the three day course, with a mixture of scenarios, team and individual tasks. This will be a great opportunity to reflect on your skillset and improve your skills. Elements that we will be looking at are:
-
General Attitude
-
Teamwork and interpersonal skills
-
Practical skills and experience
-
Outdoor skills and problem-solving
Gain the essential knowledge and skills to handle medical emergencies in challenging outdoor settings, from backcountry trails to mountaintops and everything in between.
But that's not all! As a Trailmed Assessment Centre graduate, you'll receive preferential enrollment for TrailMed events and expeditions. Imagine joining a diverse community of passionate adventurers, exploring breathtaking landscapes while putting your newly acquired skills into practice.
Meet our Course Directors - Dr Joshua Allison
Dr Allison is a highly experienced expedition and event medic. He has worked on numerous expeditions across all environments, from high altitude, to desert to jungle.
​
Josh is one of the co-founders of Unique Expeditions and is passionate about inspiring the next generation of remote medics. Unique Expeditions courses emphasise training medics who will thrive in challenging environments, as well as be able to provide excellent medical care.
Co-director - John Carr
John has been running TrailMeds international medical cover for the past 3 years as well as working solo and as CMO on a wide selection of International events.
​
Alongside the Diploma in Mountain Medicine John holds the Winter ML certificate and attempts to get as much personal mountaineering done as possible.
​
Educationally you might also see him teaching ambulance clinicians, or on the faculty for the Diploma in mountain medicine at UCLAN or the BMC’s mountain medicine weekend.
Take a look below for an idea of what the three days will look like. As this course involves an element of assessment, some of the itinerary is intentionally vague and there will be some surprises.
Itinerary
​
​
Day 1
Arrive at Brecon Bunkhouse from 09:00, meet the instructor team and fellow participants.
​
Set up your camp in the woods and prepare for the course.
​
Teaching - Overview basics of Event & Expedition medicine - from pre-event planning to day-to-day issues and emergencies.
​
Introduction to scenarios and assessment.
​
Get to know your team and kit for the course.
Relax around the campfire, enjoy some dinner and get to know each other.
Day 2
Start the morning with some Human Factors and Teamwork exercises. Mid-morning we will begin a full day simulated Event medicine experience including:
​
-
Risk assessments
-
SOPs
-
Casevac planning
-
Pre-assessment
-
Medical kit and vehicles
-
Team management
-
Navigation tasks
-
Medical scenarios
​
Rain or shine we'll be out on the hills all day and won't return to camp until after dark for some relaxation around the campfire.
Day 3
Medical scenarios and assessment continues for the morning.
​
Receive individual feedback from our instructors.
​
De-brief, pack-up and finish by 12:00.
Kit List
You will need:
Tent
Sleeping mat
Appropriate sleeping bag
Camping stove with fuel & food
Plate, mug and cutlery
Warm clothing including a down jacket
Waterproof top to bottom
Walking boots
Day pack
Head torch
​
*If you need to hire additional items we can facilitate this as long as you let us know beforehand.
Details
We'll be camping at Brecon bunkhouse in the Bannau Brycheiniog Mountain Range in South Wales.
There is fresh water and showers as well as a campfire and classroom for teaching.
​
Expect to be self-sufficient with your camping and cooking needs. Like any good expedition medic you will need to bring your own food, stove and fuel.
If you don't have wheels pop a post in the forum to make contact with someone who may offer you a lift. If you'd like to take the train, the nearest train station is Abergavenny. It's a 45 min drive from the station to the campsite, the forum is the best place to ask for lift shares.
​
Got more questions? They're probably answered on our FAQ page... and if not then feel free to pop a post in the forum and one of our team will reply to you. If it's a question you'd rather ask privately, you can get in touch with us via the 'Contact Us' page.