Characteristics and Motivating Factors of Attendees of a Regional Student-Run Wilderness Medicine Conference

Abstract

Despite recent growth, opportunities for preclinical medical students to engage with the field of wilderness medicine remain geographically, financially, and logistically limited. Attendees of the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Student Wilderness Medicine Conference were invited to complete a post hoc web-based survey after the event. Results of the survey were analyzed to determine the demographic characteristics and motivating factors for attendance, as well as perceived conference performance and future behavioral intention of survey respondents. The majority of attendees were preclinical level medical students, 37% of whom were affiliated with their institutions' wilderness medicine interest group and 40% of whom were affiliated with an emergency medicine interest group. Intrinsically motivating factors such as personal interest and opportunities for educational enrichment were significantly more important in determining conference attendance than extrinsically motivating factors such as cost and networking opportunities. Data from this conference support many encouraging trends and suggest that regional conferences may represent a practical way to increase access to wilderness medicine in the preclinical medical student population and thereby influence career decision.