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Wilderness Medicine Training Effect on Perceived Confidence Practicing in Deployed Environments.
Capt Mackson Martin1, Maj Jill D London1, Anna T Wiley2
1Family Medicine Residency Program, Offutt AFB, Bellevue, NE 68123, United States.
Military Medicine
|November 29, 2025
Summary
Wilderness medicine training significantly boosts military physicians' confidence in providing care in low-resource deployed settings. This training is valuable even for those without prior deployment experience, enhancing readiness.
Area of Science:
- Operational Medicine
- Medical Education
- Wilderness Medicine
Background:
- Military physicians lack standardized training for deployed, low-resource settings.
- Existing courses like Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) Tier 4 and Prolonged Casualty Care (PCC) Guidelines have limited availability or lack hands-on components.
- Operational medicine training is often restricted to specific institutions, limiting broad accessibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess if wilderness medicine training enhances military family medicine physicians' confidence in providing patient care in low-resource deployed environments.
- To determine the impact of formal or independent wilderness medicine training on self-reported confidence levels.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study surveyed 305 attendees of the 2023 Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians (USAFP) Annual Meeting.
- The anonymous online survey measured wilderness medicine training history and confidence in deployed care.
- Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Somers' d, and ordinal logistic regression.
Main Results:
- Physicians with formal wilderness medicine training reported significantly higher confidence in providing care in low-resource deployed settings (38.5% vs. 25.7% "Very" or "Extremely" confident; P=.003).
- Even among those with no deployment experience, formal wilderness medicine training correlated with increased confidence (18.2% vs. 2.1% "Very" or "Extremely" confident; P=.005).
Conclusions:
- Wilderness medicine training is linked to a statistically significant increase in self-reported confidence for military family medicine physicians in low-resource deployed settings.
- Findings suggest a need for further research into the translation of wilderness medicine training to improved patient outcomes in operational medicine.
- Future studies should explore specific impactful components of wilderness medicine training and its effects on other medical specialties.
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