The world’s leading provider of education, conferences, consultancy, & medical cover in extreme medicine.
Every year we help thousands of medical & healthcare workers push the boundaries of their abilities & enable them to thrive & deliver in remote, & hostile environments. Born out of a campfire discussion in the Namib Desert, with one aim – to bring the most adventurous medical training to healthcare workers. Over 20 years later, we have grown to provide a range of services that have supported human
itarian agencies, charities, government organisations, and film & TV networks around the globe. All while staying true to our adventurous roots. It’s our mission to continue to widen the access to extreme medicine, by providing the best experiences and training so you can unlock new opportunities to positively impact individuals and communities. Your clinical skillset could become your passport to a life of adventure. Join us on the side of a mountain or deep in the rainforest and start pushing boundaries on what you thought was possible.
19/04/2026
You’ve done the work, now give it a platform!
The WEM26 Poster Competition is your opportunity to bring your research, ideas, and case studies into a global conversation, alongside clinicians, educators, and professionals working at the edge of medicine.
If you’ve been sitting on something worth sharing, this is your moment to put it out there.
From cold exposure to trauma in confined spaces, working at sea demands a different level of awareness, adaptability, and decision-making.
THIS is where you build it.
Join us in Brixham this May and develop the skills needed to operate confidently in maritime environments alongside a team who’ve been there and done it.
What does humanitarian medicine actually look like in practice?
This course is designed around the real decisions you’ll face in the field, from adapting care in resource-limited environments to understanding public health priorities, logistics, and team dynamics in complex settings.
You’ll build the judgement, awareness, and confidence to contribute effectively when it matters most.
From microgravity physiology to managing medical events in orbit, this course explores how medicine works when gravity disappears and evacuation isn’t an option.
Imagine going to the Moon… and just coming back like it’s a normal Friday.
Artemis II, welcome home 🌍
10/04/2026
From drowning and cold water exposure to trauma in confined spaces and casualty movement offshore, this course is designed to help you operate where conditions aren’t controlled.
If you want to go deeper into the physiology, the response, and how to manage these situations in real environments, that’s exactly what we cover on our Ocean Medicine course in Brixham.
The Artemis II crew have looped around the Moon and are now on their way back to Earth 🚀
They’ve broken records, lost contact with Earth for 40 minutes, watched an eclipse from space…
and somewhere in the middle of all that, they’ve also been the experiment.
Looking at how the human body handles deep space, radiation, and being very far away from help.
And now comes the bit people don’t talk about as much… The coming back.
From microgravity to gravity.
From spacecraft to ocean.
From floating to suddenly very aware of your body again.
Because space might feel like its own category, but a lot of the challenges are surprisingly familiar, such as limited resources, delayed communication, no immediate evacuation, and the human body doing its best to keep up.
It’s not that different from other extreme environments (just with a slightly better view).
If you’ve ever wondered how medicine works when you take all the usual safety nets away, our Space Medicine course gets right into it.
Most space films get the visuals right, but very few get the human right.
With the release of Project Hail Mary, there’s been a lot of conversation around the science, the spacecraft, and the scale. And yes, it delivers on all of that.
But what makes it stand out is something else entirely...
It captures what happens when everything familiar is stripped away and it’s just you, your training, and your ability to think clearly under pressure. The uncertainty, the lack of a backup plan, the need to make decisions when there’s no easy way out.
That’s where space medicine lives.
“I think it’s phenomenal… the chaos of moving around in zero-g the first time. They did a great job.”
— Kjell Lindgren, WEM Space Faculty
What makes that insight so powerful is that it’s not coming from a script, it’s coming from lived experience.
Because space medicine isn’t theoretical. It’s built on understanding how the human body and mind perform when pushed to their limits, and what happens when systems fail and you have to adapt in real time.
And interestingly, those challenges aren’t unique to space. You’ll find them in expedition medicine, humanitarian response, and remote environments all over the world.
That’s exactly what we explore on our Space Medicine course.
đź“Ť Muncaster Castle, Cumbria
đź“… 1st - 4th June 2026
âž• Now extended to four days with new content!
This isn't about becoming an astronaut at all, but about understanding how medicine works when conditions are unpredictable, resources are limited, and human performance is everything.
We’ve been working on something new… and we’re so excited we can finally share it!
Finse Fest 2027 is now live ⛷️🥳
In collaboration with Polar Guides Ltd, Finse Fest is set at Finsehytta in Norway, this is a four-day winter gathering built around polar medicine, expedition skills, snow-based travel and evening films, all brought together in one of the most remote environments we work in.
It’s designed to feel a little different... less structured than a typical course, with space to move between sessions, time out on the snow, and evenings built around storytelling, film and conversation.
Hosted by Lars Ebbesen, across the weekend, you’ll find:
❄️ Practical sessions in polar medicine and expedition skills
🎿 Time on the snow, including guided and self-led skiing
🗣️ Conversations around human performance and resilience
🎥 A curated evening film programme
📸 Expedition photography from Martin Hartley
And much more!
Tickets are now live, with options ranging from evening-only access through to full residential experiences at Finsehytta.
Opportunities like this don’t come around often.
Baylor College of Medicine is recruiting a Senior Faculty member to take on the role of Chief Scientist for the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH), a NASA-supported initiative at the forefront of human spaceflight research.
This role sits at the intersection of science, exploration, and real-world application, leading research that supports human health from low Earth orbit to deep space missions.
For those working across extreme, expedition, or operational environments, this is a rare chance to step into a position shaping the future of space medicine on a global scale.
If you’ve built your career in challenging environments and are looking to take that experience further, this is well worth exploring.
Baylor College of Medicine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Equal Access Employer.
Please note: World Extreme Medicine is not affiliated with this organisation. All enquiries and applications should be directed to Baylor College of Medicine and TRISH.
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World Extreme Medicine, formerly known as 'Expedition & Wilderness Medicine'​, is the leading provider of expedition, wilderness and remote medicine training courses for medical professionals, both here in the UK and also in a number of carefully selected overseas locations.
WEM organises the renowned World Extreme Medicine Conference; showcasing all the latest in remote medicine and where inspiring medical minds meet, share experiences & promote cross-disciplinary working.
Partnered with the University of Exeter WEM is proud to offer the world’s most Extreme International Diploma/ MSc in Extreme Medicine encompassing Expedition Medicine, Disaster & Humanitarian Medicine and Pre-Hospital care. The MOST adventurous degree in the universe!
WEM also provides event medical support and its customers have included the BBC, ITV2, Ginger Productions and the Commonwealth Games to name but a few.
WEM was founded by expedition leader Mark Hannaford FRGS and expedition medic Dr Sean Hudson MBE and supported by change maker David Weil.
