College of MedicineNewsStudent CommunityFrom Cougar Attacks to CPR: MD Students Put Wilderness Medicine Skills to the Test at MedWAR

From Cougar Attacks to CPR: MD Students Put Wilderness Medicine Skills to the Test at MedWAR

Group of eight people outdoors in a wooded area, smiling together. Two individuals hold up a person in the center on a makeshift seat, who is giving a thumbs-up. Everyone is dressed in outdoor clothing.

First- and second-year medical students from the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine’s Wilderness Medicine Interest Group put their skills to the test in this year’s local MedWAR (Medical Wilderness Adventure Race) in Spokane. The unique event combines wilderness medicine challenges with adventure racing, where teams navigate unmarked wilderness courses.

Eight people standing on a gravel path outdoors with trees in the background, smiling while holding one person horizontally using a piece of fabric.
Four people standing in front of a green wooden building with a sign reading ‘Welcome Pacific Northwest,’ holding items and smiling, with a red backpack on the ground
Eight people standing on a gravel path outdoors with trees in the background, smiling while holding two people horizontally using a piece of fabric.

MedWAR tests medical knowledge by having teams perform patient care in a variety of scenarios. This year’s challenges included responding to a cougar attack, a femoral artery bleed, fallen climbers with head trauma and a broken arm, anaphylaxis, altitude sickness, and a heart attack including CPR. Teams have to plot coordinates to find the scenarios as well as question banks that access general wilderness knowledge.

By successfully navigating complex medical scenarios in challenging terrain, WSU’s future Coug Docs demonstrated their readiness to provide care in any environment.