SIG of the Year Contest

Introduction: The typical WMS Student Interest Group is an organization of medical students and other members of the campus community who share a common interest in wilderness medicine. A SIG's mission is to encourage and support programs that improve the knowledge of its membership in matters related to human activities in wilderness environments, and to promote appreciation and stewardship in those areas. In particular, a SIG seeks to promote the development of clinical skills necessary for wilderness medicine, to expose members to practical applications of wilderness medicine, and to provide a forum for the exploration of medical careers which involve the principles of wilderness medicine.

Goals: Given the above stated mission for WMS Student Interest Groups, we propose an incentive program at the international level that will better enourage SIGs to incorporate wilderness medicine education into their club activities. The goal of this yearly incentive program, entitled "The SIG of the Year Contest," is twofold: (1) to further encourage SIGs to become forums for learning and practice of evidence-based wilderness medicine, and to encourage this education to occur within a fun, safe, and creative environment; and (2) to promote awareness and appreciation among the WMS general membership of Student Interest Group activities and of the growing medical student interest in wilderness medicine.

Contest Rules:

• Participation in the SIG of the Year contest will be open to all active SIGs.
• Rules of the contest will be emailed to all SIGS, and posted on the student website by November 1st yearly (SIG registration deadline).
• Educational resources for successful activities will be provided to all participating SIGs via the student website ( SIG manual | Educational Slide Series).
• To enter, SIGs will be asked to submit a brief description (including topic, steps in organization, sponsors, participating faculty, number and type of student participants) and photographs of any SIG activities that include a wilderness medicine education component. One photograph from each event should contain an image of the WMS logo, in any format.
• Submissions should be emailed to the National Student Representative. Entries will be judged by the WMS Student Leadership Committee based on creativity, educational quality, and participation (but not quantity).
• A winner and runner-up will be selected by majority vote 45 days prior to the WMS Summer Conference.

Prizes: The SIGs of the Year will be recognized during the Summer Conference via a twenty-minute presentation to the general audience, to include:

1. General introduction to mission and history of WMS Student Interest Groups by the National Student Representative.
2. Presentation of winning submissions by SIG leader(s).
3. Awarding of commemorative plaque.

In addition, the following prizes are proposed (subject to change):

• Winning SIG
  • Waived Summer Conference registration for SIG leaders (max 2).
  • Reduced Summer Conference registration for SIG members ($120).
  • Copy of Auerbach’s “Wilderness Medicine”.
  • Assorted gear from Summer Conference retailers.
  • Commemorative plaque

• Runner-up SIG
  • Reduced Summer Conference registration for SIG members ($120).
  • Assorted gear from Summer Conference retailers.
  • Commemorative plaque