Kerryn Wratt

FAWM, RP, FACPara, FAEEM, FFRRHHEd

President: Australasian Wilderness & Expedition Medicine Society

Lead Instructor: Advanced Wilderness Life Support. Basic Wilderness Life Support, Wilderness Rescue Medicine, Tropical Rescue Medicine

Other Qualifications and Awards: GradCertAeroMedRet, GradDipEmerHlth(MP), BParaStudies, DipAmbParaStudies, BSc(Zool), WMS Warren D Bowman Award 2021

Kerryn is a Critical Care Flight and Wilderness Paramedic based in Nelson, New Zealand. Prior to this he spent 2 years as CSO and then Critical Care Flight Paramedic Intern in Tasmania as well as 20 years in Victoria in a wide range of locations and roles. He grew up exploring the rugged mountains of New Zealand. His first taste of wilderness medicine occurred when managing a patient who had fallen on Franz Josef Glacier. This spurred Kerryn to pursue a career in paramedicine.

Kerryn had the opportunity to integrate his passion and his profession when he was granted a scholarship to investigate international models of medical response into wilderness settings in 2012. The resulting recommendations informed the establishment of Victoria’s state-wide paramedic wilderness response system. Kerryn then formed a company specialising in wilderness medicine and worked with others to introduce the AWLS program into Australia.

Kerryn has had the opportunity to facilitate the BWLS course on the Annapurna Base Camp trek in Nepal as well as volunteering with the HRA at Pheriche. Kerryn also lead the establishment of St John Papua New Guinea’s Ambulance Special Operations Team in preparation for the APEC leaders’ summit in Port Moresby. Recently Kerryn completed his FAWM and has led the establishment of the Australasian Wilderness and Expedition Medicine Society (AWEMS) as the peak body for the development of wilderness medicine across Australasia where he is the current president.