Stories from the Wilderness
The Stories You Carry Home: Why Remote Medicine Stays With You
There are some stories from my years with Wilderness Medical Staffing that I’ve heard more than once and still never get tired of hearing. Maybe it’s because they remind me why we started doing this in the first place. Recently, one of our earliest medical providers...
What a Cup of Coffee Reminded Me About Alaska
A simple cup of coffee in Nome brought back memories of rural Alaska, elders, community care, and the people behind Medicine at 50 Below.
If Not You, Who?
When I applied for my first job as a new nurse practitioner directly out of a master’s program and green as grass, the Program Director in Tanana, Alaska said, “Nothing much really ever happens out here. We haven’t had a trauma in years.” Hmmm... I can handle that, I...
Death in Remote Alaska Communities
Death as we know it in mainstream America is, well, different than what I experienced in the remote regions of Alaska where the earth and the animals and the sea life and humans are so intricately connected. Death there is a continuation of life, and neither feared or...
What Happens When a Provider Finds Their Way Back
There are moments in this work that stop me in my tracks. Recently, during one of our team conversations at Wilderness Medical Staffing, I asked my weekly a “Why?” question, one meant to spark reflection. Why do you do what you do? Why does it matter? What I received...
The Doctor will See You Now
“The doctor will see you now.” If only that were true. I was forced to stop when I wrote this and reflect. How often have I felt not “seen” by my medical provider? How often have I experienced a rushed doctor or nurse practitioner or PA who either made no...
Archetype of “Healer”
Carl Jung said that one of the great archetypes, along with others such as Mother, Wise Woman/Man, and Hero, was the archetype of “Healer”. We who go into Medicine recognize early on that we are Healers. Native American elders see it in the children who are born with...
What the Alaska Elders Taught Me
There are concepts in the medical field originating from remote areas that are not understood well and are certainly not spoken of. One of these concepts is the idea of culture and how different cultures impact the way we practice medicine in those areas. We cannot...
Why I Wrote this Book
I was recently asked by an interviewer, “Why did you write this book?” Now, this is a really common and reasonable question to be asked, and an author is supposed to know the answer before they write a book. Right? Any sane writer would’ve had already come up with...