Medical Advisor (VOLUNTEER)

About BCM

Big City Mountaineers is a national non-profit organization committed to providing transformative experiences through connections to nature that strengthen life skills and build community for youth from disinvested communities for over 30 years. Our program offerings include day trips, overnight campouts, and weeklong backpacking and canoeing expeditions on the ancestral lands of many Native people in what today are the front and backcountry of California, Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota, New England, Oregon, and Washington.

Role Description

BCM’s Medical Advisor works with our program staff and board to support program safety in both a preventative role and response role. The advisor is consulted on student appropriateness for programs when they disclose previous or ongoing medical conditions that may impact their ability to engage in program activities, such as previous injuries, illnesses, or chronic conditions. The Medical Advisor also serves as an on-call resource whom instructors and staff may telephone from the field for advice in the event of a medical emergency.  (These calls will be first routed to internal full time staff for an initial assessment.)

Beyond direct program support, the advisor works with the national program director on program-wide priorities including: reviewing and updating BCM’s standing medical orders, consulting on program participation requirements and policies, and prescribing epinephrine for instructors and staff to administer on BCM programs. The advisor may be asked for input on training and professional development opportunities for staff or board members.

Qualifications:

• Must hold personal medical malpractice insurance policy, and provide proof of malpractice insurance that includes serving in this capacity
• Currently licensed as an MD or other medical professional able to prescribe medications in a relevant area of practice/ expertise
• Experience and interest in outdoor experiential education and programs
• Experience working with patients and families from diverse backgrounds and disinvested communities
• Familiar with wilderness medicine / practices
• Willing to serve as a volunteer for a minimum of a 1 year term
• Willing to consult program managers on an as needed basis about program participants’ medical history. 0 – 10 times per year. 20-30 min per call
• Willing to serve on an on-call basis to serve our program staff during the summer program season (May – August). Number of calls could be 0-10 per year. Time commitment: 5-30 min per call
• Willing to attend Program Risk and Safety Committee meetings once or twice a year in person or virtually. Time commitment: 2 hrs
• Residence in the United States

Preferred Qualifications:

• Spanish speaking
• Interest in offering training to our staff (once or twice a year, virtually or in person). Time commitment: 1-3 hrs
• Resides in or near one of our hub cities (Boston MA, Denver CO, Minneapolis/ St. Paul MN, Portland OR, San Francisco/ Bay Area CA, Seattle WA)
• Member of Wilderness Medical Society

Interested?

Please contact Fred Sproat, BCM’s National Program Director, at fred@bigcitymountaineers.org.