Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine

WMS Members who proudly use the FAWM credential display the highest level of widely-recognized achievement in the field of wilderness medicine. They have demonstrated significant knowledge and experience in their discipline and serve the community in a distinguished manner.

The Fellowship program (Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine™ or FAWM) offers a means to identify those who have fulfilled a demanding set of requirements validating their training and experience in Wilderness Medicine. Society members enroll in the Academy and, by completing lessons from a pre-established Wilderness Medicine curriculum as well as receiving credit for specific identifiable experience, accumulate credit toward becoming a Fellow. Any current member of the Wilderness Medical Society who successfully completes the requirements will have the distinction of being a registered member of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine and entitled to use the designation Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM) and may reference it on resumes, business cards, and advertisements.

The program is designed to provide a combination of learning and demonstration of the advanced practice of Wilderness Medicine through experience, teaching, scholarly activity, and leadership. A broad understanding of wilderness medicine is required therefore candidates are expected to obtain required and elective credits in each of the broader subject areas.

Our RED MED and RALS courses are approved for credits towards the FAWM Certification

FAWM BROCHURE

How it Works

First, you must be an active Member of the WMS (Student and Friend Members are not eligible). Then, to begin your candidacy toward Fellowship, click on the button in the upper right entitled "Become a FAWM Candidate". This will take you to the Trading Post where you can pay the $225 Fawm Candidacy Fee. Once you're a candidate, you can begin claiming and accumulating credits.

To complete the program and become a Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, a candidate must accumulate a minimum of 100 total credits according to the following table through participation in eligible, credit-scored activities and accumulation of relevant experience:

Candidates must complete a minimum of 55 to a maximum of 70 credits from the list of "required" topics and earn a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 10 credits from the "elective" topics. To reward candidates credit for Wilderness Medical Experience other than attendance at reviewed events, completion of the Experience Report provides up to 40 credits. Each candidate must accumulate at least 20 credits from the Experience Report. The report reflects the candidate's experience in the following categories:

Professional Certification, Education, and Training
Military Training
Wilderness Medicine Related Publishing and Research
Wilderness Medicine Related Editorial Responsibilities
Wilderness Medicine Related Teaching and Mentoring
Public Service in Wilderness-centric Medical Services and Deployments
Wilderness Medicine Related Awards
Service to WMS
Accumulating Credits (see Credits tab above)
Accounting for a candidate's accumulating credits is accomplished according to the following repeating sequence:

Verification by WMS of the candidate's attendance at an approved, scored activity (see Eligible Activities tab above).
Online designation of attended sessions related to each activity by the candidate.
Online completion and editing of Experience Report information by the candidate.
Review of Fellow Status Reports by WMS (see Summary and Detail tabs above).
Requirements

In addition to accumulating the necessary credits, awarding of the Fellowship requires:

Completion of an initial qualifying, credentialing, or vocational degree-producing program in any recognized medical discipline or vocation (MD, DO, PA, RN, EMT, Pharm. D, RD, PT, Affiliate degree).  Others may be considered on an individual basis.
Completion of at least one year of professional practice in their medical vocation or discipline after completion of an initial qualifying program or school.

Candidates in Student and Friend membership categories are not eligible to receive their FAWM (though Student members can begin accumulating credits).

Download these documents and follow instructions (please do not submit these until you are a WMS Member and have paid your FAWM candidacy fee):