How It Works
First, you must be a member of the WMS at the Standard or Premium level. After your membership has taken effect, then you can process the FAWM candidacy application and pay the application fee ($225). Once you're a candidate, you can begin claiming and accumulating credits. (Please note that the system permissions update overnight so please wait 24 hours before accessing any member or FAWM-specific pages).
If you are not a WMS member, and received FAWM information at an eligible event , then you can receive credit for that event by joining the WMS and applying to the Academy within 120 days of the event. To complete the program and become a Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, a candidate must accumulate a minimum number of credits as described in the following table.
|
Required credits for candidates attending 1 WMS conference |
Required credits for candidates attending 2+ WMS conferences |
Core Credits |
50-70 |
45-70 |
Elective Credits |
5-15 |
5-15 |
Experience Credits |
20-40 |
20-40 |
Total |
100 |
95 |
Core credits come from approved, credit-scored activities. Candidates must complete a minimum of 45 to a maximum of 70 credits from the list of "core" topics. Each core credit category has a maximum credit allocation (see Core Credits listing under Topics Covered). If a FAWM candidate completes multiple lectures with the same core credit category, they are allocated in the following order - WMS credits, WEM journal credits* and Non-WMS credits.
Elective credits come from approved, credit-scored activities. Candidates must complete a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 15 credits from the list of "elective" topics.
Additionally, each candidate must document between 20 and 40 experience credits in the Experience Report. The report breaks experience into the following categories:
Section I. - Certifications/Degrees (including military training)
Section II. - Publications and Research
Section III. - Education Activities
Section IV. - Public Service
Section V. - Other
* to maximize your core credit earning from a FAWM-approved activity as well as the WEM journal articles,wait to review and submit journal articles once you've earned at least 30 other core credits.