Two more great days.  Everyone remains healthy and motivated.

Students were down at the Rio Negro (about a half an hour walk through a beautiful forest) most of the day yesterday, learning to move patients out of difficult situations (a slippery-bottomed river) and care for them in less than ideal environments (a hot, sandy/ rocky shoreline).  Wilderness medicine differs from hospital-based medicine primarily because it assumes that resources will be limited, environmental conditions will be challenging, and distance from definitive care will be significant.  

Today students reviewed human anatomy and physiology and were taught to administer supplemental oxygen, how to suction patients' airways, and how to construct improvised litters with materials on-hand.  Tomorrow we cover CPR and head injuries, and then we are off for a well-deserved weekend.

Tonight, Aerie instructor Roman Sanchez arrives from Colorado.  Roman has been teaching for Aerie for years, is a ski patroller and works on an ambulance in Ward.  One of the goals of the Semester is exposing students to instructors who work professionally in the rescue, medical and outdoor leadership fields.  During their stay in Costa Rica, they will interact with seven different Aerie staff, including three MDs and four EMTs/ paramedics who work as ski patrollers, river guides, and ambulance/ flight medics.