I love speaking to audiences, large and small. I give keynote talks at large medical conferences, present multimedia shows at outdoor stores, and speak to small groups. I have given talks at my local library and in far away locations in Peru and the Alps. I have chaired four medical conferences, including a travel medicine program in Haiti and a national scientific meeting for Wilderness Medical Society. I have two favorite keynotes:
Anatomy of a Search: Lessons from Mountain Rescue is a thrilling window into my years as a Crag Rat, the legendary mountain rescue team on Oregon’s deadly Mount Hood. I don’t just show the coolest pictures and videos, but also explain about risk and responsibility, volunteerism, cost recovery and teamwork. The lessons can be applied to nearly anyone’s life–even if you are not dangling from a cliff in a snowstorm rescuing an injured skier.
Mountain Rescue Doctor: Merging Your Passion and your Profession is a talk about how I’ve managed to build a life by blending a career in medicine with mountain culture. I think balance in life is vital to well-being. I discuss how I was able to build a life as an author, father, soccer coach, mountain rescuer, and doctor and all the while preserve the most essential elements of life: family trips, good health, great friends and big adventures.
I have an arsenal of informative, fascinating, entertaining talks that can be focused to medical or non-medical audiences. Some talks I’ve given in the recent year:
- Deep Snow and Tree Well Immersion Asphxiation
- Hypothermia and Frostbite
- Acute Mountain Sickness
- Medical Kits for Work and Play
- Great Gear for Work and Play (outdoor equipment)
- Wild Kids: Introducting Your Kids to the Outdoors
- Wild Kids: Pediatric Wilderness and Travel Medicine
- Avalanche Awareness
- Critters that Bite and Sting
- Fun in the Sun: Heat Illness and Solar Injury
- Pain management in the Wilderness
- Advanced Life Support in the Wilderness
- International Travel Medicine: Know Before You Go
- Improvised Splints and Litters
Christopher Van Tilburg, MD 