Competition in the Wilderness Medicine Industry

This year's Wilderness Risk Management conference, held in Raleigh-Durham, NC, was a productive event for Aerie. Each year, we use the conference as an opportunity to meet with leaders of other wilderness medicine training providers, most notably WMI and WMA . After speaking at length with Tod Schimelpfenig, Curriculum Director of WMI, and Dr. David Johnson, President and Medical Director of WMA, about a wide range of issues, from industry standardization to curriculum decisions, I am again convinced of their organizations' outstanding quality. It is petty, disingenuous and self-defeating to suggest otherwise. Although some dangerous outliers exist, the defacto wilderness medicine industry standards are extremely high. This fact alone inspires Aerie to maintain our excellence. All organizations benefit from industry quality, and will suffer from its lack. While WMA and WMI are our competitors, they also help define our industry, which is equally if not more important than the challenge of competition. Wilderness medicine students are looking for quality education, and the industry needs to provide a product that serves their needs and represents the industry well. Our students move between organizations to certify and recertify, and then they represent the industry by taking their education out into the field and practicing their skills. We are happy that many of our competitors provide such outstanding courses, benefiting our common students and the industry as a whole.