Wilderness medicine exercise immerses resident physicians in realistic scenarios

HERSHEY, Pa. — Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center recently staged a wilderness medicine exercise to prepare resident physicians to handle a range of illness and injury scenarios. The exercise involved residents from the departments of emergency medicine and family and community medicine, as well as the Division of Sports Medicine.

The residents divided into five groups, each of which dealt with a different injury scenario: a bear mauling, a lightning strike, an allergic reaction to multiple stings, a suspension injury or an injured hunter. They were tasked with treating simulated patients who had extensive moulage (mock injuries).

The exercise took place at Hidden Valley Scout Reservation in Perry County. The leaders discussed and reviewed the participants’ actions in a debrief session afterward.

Resident physicians are medical school graduates who are training in a specialized area of medicine. As an academic health center, Hershey Medical Center employs 586 residents.