Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) offers an Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS) course to senior resident physicians and health care professionals throughout the world. AWLS was developed at the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1997. The intensive course is designed for health care professionals to augment their training and knowledge, and allow them to convert this knowledge in a limited resource wilderness environment.
Residents learn a foundation of knowledge through a unique combination of lectures and practical skills, enabling them to perform critical medical assessments in remote locations. On field days, they perform hands-on treatment of the most common injuries and illnesses encountered in the wilderness through mock scenarios. All of the field activities are accompanied by didactic sessions discussing the relevant pathology, physiology, and environmental concerns as well as treatment. Some of the field day locations for ARMC residents have included Mount Baldy, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Los Angeles County, San Diego County, Catalina, and most recently Joshua Tree.
“As one of the few medical centers in Southern California offering this training, it is an excellent opportunity for residents to gain an advanced skillset outside of the hospital setting and to learn field rescue and evacuation protocols in real-world remote locations,” said ARMC Director of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, Greg Fenati, D.O.
ARMC has provided graduate medical education for more than 70 years, providing a world-class educational experience. ARMC's residency programs emphasize a curriculum to ensure graduates are well trained for the challenges in health care today. The AWLS program further expands their study and practice of medicine to include limited resources in stringent environments.
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center is a 456-bed university-affiliated teaching hospital licensed by the State of California Department of Public Health, operated by the County of San Bernardino, and governed by the Board of Supervisors. It is ARMC’s mission, in an environment of learning and innovation, to serve our diverse community with high-quality compassionate care. The hospital, located on a 70-acre campus in Colton, California, operates the Edward G. Hirschman burn center, a level II trauma center, primary stroke center, a behavioral health center, and five primary care centers. ARMC also provides more than 40 outpatient specialty care services. ARMC is helping to achieve the Countywide Vision by addressing the community’s wellness and educational needs. ARMC is the primary teaching hospital for the California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM). The University welcomed its first class of students in 2018. The School of Medicine is an allopathic (M.D.) school, and is the first new, privately funded, not-for-profit medical school to earn accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) since 1949.