The National Conference on Wilderness Medicine
Santa Fe, New Mexico
May 27 - 31, 2026
OPTIONAL WORKSHOPS
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED & CLASS SIZES LIMITED
The optional workshops listed below are offered in conjunction with the conference to enhance your experience. Reserve your spot for optional workshops on the main conference registration page.
WILDERNESS & URBAN SURVIVAL SKILLS
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM, $150
A unique opportunity to learn and practice both basic and advanced survival skills from a Navy Seal Instructor and other renowned survival experts who train our elite Special Forces. This all-day hands-on” workshop is a practical and fun, skill-building experience designed to prepare you to survive on land, in the sea, in wilderness and urban environments. Limited enrollment (register early!)
Participants will learn how to:
- Signal and “be found”
- Obtain food and water
- Build fires with primitive tools
- Escape a hotel fire
- Construct & improvise survival kits
- Protect yourself during a disaster
- Travel safely in developing countries and avoid being “ripped off”
- Find and construct emergency shelters
If you take this workshop, it is not recommended to take the “Urban &Travel Survival” or “Wilderness Survival Skills” workshops, as those will be a repeat of material from this workshop.
Instructors: Gary Kibbee, Scott Kuipers, and Philip White
PRACTICAL SPLINTING SKILLS
Thursday, May 28, 2026
1:15 - 2:30 PM, $80
Thursday, May 28, 2026
2:45 - 4:00 PM, $80
Orthopedic and soft tissue injuries are among the most common problems encountered in the wilderness. A properly applied splint can have a variety of positive impacts and may make the difference between being ambulatory and needing an air evacuation. Learn techniques for immobilizing fractures and severe sprains using SAM® Splints and other improvised devices (you will receive a SAM® Splint to practice with and keep).
Faculty: Kyle Allred, PA
Includes 1.25 additional AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
URBAN & TRAVEL SURVIVAL
Thursday, May 28, 2026
1:30 - 5:30 PM, $80
You have just lost all of your belongings and your passport in an earthquake or act of terrorism. Your hotel was destroyed, and your companion is missing. Few Americans are prepared to cope with this type of crisis. Urban and travel survival can be more challenging than survival in the backcountry. Learn how to travel safely and protect yourself.
Instructors: Gary Kibbee and Philip White
ROPES AND KNOTS FOR WILDERNESS MEDICINE AND RESCUE
Thursday, May 28, 2026
1:30 - 4:00 PM, $60
Master essential knots and rope skills for improvised medical care, rescue, swiftwater, and wilderness adventures. Learn life safety ratings, appropriate knots and gear for rescue loads, and practice hands-on techniques for land and water operations. Gain practical skills to enhance your effectiveness in wilderness environments and emergencies.
Instructor: Carl Gilmore
WILDERNESS NAVIGATION AND TRACKING
Thursday, May 28, 2026
1:30 - 5:30 PM, $80
Saturday, May 30, 2026
1:30 - 5:30 PM, $80
Learn wilderness navigation and tracking skills in this interactive workshop. Navigation skills include: terrain interpretation, topographic map navigation, utilizing a compass, and mapping apps accessed from a cell phone.
Then transition to learning the lost art of tracking and the ability to notice subtle disturbances in the environment left behind by others (called “sign cutting”). These skills are fun to learn and can be life-saving
Instructor: Scott Kuipers, Dora Kibbee
Wilderness Wound Management
Friday, May 29, 2026
1:00 - 3:00 PM, $80
Friday, May 29, 2026
3:30 - 5:30 PM, $80
A practical workshop on cleaning and suturing a laceration in a non-sterile environment. Participants will practice suturing, stapling, taping, and tissue gluing techniques on pig limbs. All supplies provided.
Instructor: Lanny Johnson PA-C
Includes 2 additional AMA PRA Category 1 Credits.™
PRACTICAL WILDERNESS MEDICINE SKILLS
Friday, May 29, 2026
1:30 - 4:00 pm, $65
Learn the art and skills necessary to perform effective backcountry assessment of an injured patient. Participants will also learn and practice improvised splinting techniques using materials commonly found in the backcountry.
Instructor: Carl Gilmore
WILDERNESS SURVIVAL SKILLS
Friday, May 29, 2026
1:30 - 5:30 pm, $80
This workshop is a hands-on skill-building experience. You will learn how to construct shelters, obtain food and water, build fires with primitive tools, signal, track, route-find, improvise clothing, and build survival kits.
Instructors: Gary Kibbee, Scott Kuipers
TRAVEL INTEL & IMPROVISED CARE FOR WILDERNESS AND INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
Saturday, May 30, 2026
1:30 - 5:30 pm, $100
As a medical professional people often look to you for direction in almost any emergent incident. With several decades of medical and rescue experience, the most complicated incidents I have encountered have been on my “off time” with no equipment available. In this class we will gather medical information in preparation for foreign travel and practice improvising the medical equipment needed for care and extrication. Stop the Bleed skills and TECC care will be practiced along with use of multi-victim triage.
Instructors: Gary Kibbee and Philip White
Includes Stop the Bleed certification and 4 additional AMA PRA Category 1 Credits.™
LEARN HOW TO REDUCE & SPLINT DISLOCATIONS
Saturday, May 30, 2026
3:30 - 5:30 pm, $65
Learn how to recognize, reduce, and splint dislocations of the shoulder, elbow, fingers, hip, and Patella.
Instructor: Lanny Johnson PA-C
Includes 2 additional AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
UPCOMING CME DESTINATIONS BY DATE
Apr 20 - 30, 2026
Apr 24 - May 3, 2026
April 26 - May 10, 2026
National Conference on Wilderness Medicine: Santa Fe, NM
May 27 - 31, 2026
Skills Course Rafting & Mt. Shasta
June 7 - 12, 2026
National Conference on Wilderness Medicine: Big Sky Resort, MT
July 25 - 29, 2026
Deluxe African Safari: Zimbabwe
Aug 29 - Sept 8, 2026
Aug 30 - Sept 9, 2026
Middle Fork of the Salmon Rafting
Sept 1-6, 2026
Sept 17 - 25, 2026
Sept 19 - 29, 2026
Sept 21 - Oct 5, 2026
Sept 22 - Oct 3, 2026
Fly Fishing for All Levels - Northern California
Oct 11 - 16, 2026
Oct 11 - 24, 2026
Jan 16 - 23, 2027
Japan Ski & Snowboard Adventure
Jan 25 - Feb 1, 2027
March 14 - 21, 2027
Apr 19 - 29, 2027
April 25 - May 9, 2027
May 2 - 11, 2027
Skills Course Rafting & Mt. Shasta
June 6 - 11, 2027
June 11 - 19, 2027
Deluxe African Safari: Zimbabwe
July 29 - Aug 8, 2027
Aug. 29 - Sept. 8, 2027
Aug. 29 - Sept. 6, 2027
Middle Fork of the Salmon Rafting
Sept 1-6, 2027
Sept 7 - 15, 2027
Sept 19 - 29, 2027
Sept 21 - Oct 5, 2027
Oct 7 - 18, 2027
Oct 10 - 23, 2027
Fly Fishing for All Levels - Northern California
Oct 17 - 22, 2027
Oct 31 - Nov 11, 2027
