Iris Saxer

Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician

Iris Saxer

"I've always had a passion for traveling in remote places and working in the wilderness," says Iris Saxer, describing a career that has taken her around the world. Her most recent adventure was four months in Antarctica studying penguin populations. While there, she was able to provide medical care to a co-worker who spoke only Spanish, reducing his shoulder dislocation since outside medical care wasn't an option."My wilderness medical training," says Saxer, "has given me the ability to calmly handle all emergencies, whether near or far from help."Saxer's interest in outdoor education began at Cornell University, where she taught virtually every course offered by the Cornell Outdoor Education (COE) program, eventually serving as COE's Associate Director. After nine years as a field instructor for NOLS, she finds NOLS Wilderness Medicine the perfect place to combine her passions. "I decided," she says, "that helping other people gain solid emergency care skills is the most worthwhile thing I can do as an educator."


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