5-night Dogsled Vacation

CME Dogsled Adventure for Docs & APPs

Dr. Tom Viren - CME course

Dogsled Retreat & CME Course, Hosted by emergency room physician Tom Viren & numerous guest speakers

This retreat combines a lodge-based dogsledding vacation with an extraordinary CME experience! This course has been designed by family physician Tom Viren who works in emergency rooms in northern Minnesota and has experience living and guiding in remote wilderness settings. Please note that this is not a Wilderness Medicine Course, but rather focuses on topics most providers will find useful in our daily practices and is taught in a wilderness setting.

Based at Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, this retreat features a daily mix of seminars and discussions on medical topics along with dogsled excursions to scenic sites in the surrounding wilderness trail network. The dogsledding experience is completely hands-on: you'll be driving your own team, and harnessing and caring for your sled dogs as well if you'd like. Participants are welcome to enjoy some back-country skiing, snowshoeing and ski-jouring (being towed on skis by dog-power!) with gear provided by Wintergreen (or feel free to bring your own skis). And while you'll enjoy great meals by Wintergreen's chef and cozy lodging in our lakeshore cabin, you'll also have the option of experiencing a night of winter camping in heated wall tents if you'd like.

CME topics are varied with respect to content and designed to appeal to a variety of specialties. We offer 15 credits of category 1 AMA, and AAFP credits. The seminars are informal and, since the group is small (8-12 participants), are largely interactive and discussion-based.

This years curriculum is evolving and currently includes;

Tickborne disease with emphasis on emerging conditions such as alpha-gal syndrome and Powassan virus.

Arthropod illnesses; West Nile Virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis and complications such as meningitis and encephalitis.

Animal Bites/dog zoonoses.

Speakers include:

Christa Eickhoff MD, FACP board certifed in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease

Completing the course provides you 15 credits of CME with AAFP and AMA. For more info: Dr. Tom Viren, 218-259-5459

Corvidae Medical Expeditions (CME) was founded by a former National Outdoor Leadership School instructor and Wintergreen guide turned physician who wanted to combine his past and present lives. At Corvidae we combine our experience and love of the wilderness with our many contacts in the outdoor field to bring you amazing CME courses.

COMMENTS FROM PREVIOUS COURSE:

"Great CME conference."

"Great presenters."

"Tom Viren should serve us coffee to our rooms, with real cream."

"Great conference - Great location."

"Great time, would recommend this CME to anyone."

Questions? Call us anytime (218) 349-6128

For remaining openings, click "BOOK ONLINE" below:

Book Online

Clothing Options

Trip Highlights

What you get:

Quality CME in wilderness setting
Experienced leaders
Beautiful scenery
Camaraderie & great fun

What you don't get:

Traffic
Smog
Crowds
Metabolic Syndrome
Black flies or other summertime bugs!

Trip Dates

pm Sun Feb 8 to am Fri Feb 13

$2900, all-inclusive package rate, per adult for pairs in double room with private bath. Singles needing private adjoining hotel room $250 more.

Check-in 4-6 p.m., check out 9-11 a.m.

A typical itinerary for this very special trip includes:

Day 1: 4-6 pm check-in at Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge, kennel tour, clothing check, welcoming dinner by our chef followed by fireplace orientation meeting with Dr. Viren to discuss goals for the retreat

Day 2 a.m.: optional kennel care, breakfast, "Dogsledding 101" class, launch your dogteam for a guided dogsled training run, lunch break in the lodge

Day 2 p.m.: early afternoon CME seminar, late afternoon dogsled excursion to the Kawishiwi Falls scenic site, return to lodge for R&R, dinner, evening CME discussion and optional evening presentation by Wintergreen director Paul Schurke on his Arctic expeditions

Day 3: optional kennel care, breakfast, CME seminar, launch dogteams for dogsled day trip to the Old Growth Pines for a trailside campfire lunch, return to lodge mid-afternoon snack break, CME seminar, dinner, optional evening sauna in Wintergreen's Finnish wood-fired sauna

Day 4: optional kennel care, breakfast, CME seminar, optional skiing and snowshoeing with instruction and gear provided by Wintergreen, indoor lunch, afternoon dogsled excursion to the Crockett Lake caves, return to lodge for R&R, dinner, optional winter camping in heated wall tents near the lodge for those who want

Day 5: breakfast, CME seminar, van shuttle for special tour of the International Wolf Center, lunch in Ely, afternoon van shuttle to Hegman Lakes trailhead for hike (on foot, skis or snowshoes as desired) to ancient Indian pictographs site in the protected Boundary Waters canoe area, return to lodge for celebration dinner and evening

Day 6: "Musher's Graduation" breakfast, wrap-up discussion & CME course critique, check-out anytime early morning to mid-day