The program is divided into four week-long sessions that should be completed within a two to three-year time period and is intended as continuing education for doctors, mid-level providers, nurses, and medics who work in or aspire to work in austere environments. The required coursework is an ideal blend of didactic and practical education in wilderness medicine, technical rescue, and self-sufficiency in the backcountry. This skill set crosses a multitude of disciplines including expedition medicine, search and rescue operations, mountain guiding, ski patrol, and mountain recreationalists. Due to the demanding physical nature of the DiMM field sessions, some basic prerequisites are required to ensure a safe learning environment for all participants. Enrollees are expected to have experience with backcountry hiking, beginner/intermediate-level rock climbing safety systems, snow travel, and cold weather camping.
Definitive mountain medicine authorities serve as faculty at both the WMS Winter Conference and Summer Conference portions, and the other two week-long field sessions (Alpine & Rock) are aimed at acquisition of practical mountain rescue skills. The experts at Remote Rescue Training teach these dynamic technical courses. In these phenomenal settings, participants learn technical rescue skills necessary to access and transport patients in rugged mountain terrain.
Following attendance in each session, DiMM candidates are required to complete and pass an open-book online exam within 60 days. The academic nature of the Diploma requires participants to pass both written and skills examinations in order to complete the program. During skill sessions, instructors perform reasonable remediation for any participant that does not meet the minimum skill standards set by ICAR/UIAA/ISMM and the WMS DiMM. If the participant still has not passed these skills by the end of the session, as determined by the instructors, he/she will be required to re-take that session at their own cost. The participant will be given a maximum of two attempts to successfully complete any certain skill session and two attempts to pass a specific written exam. If the participant does not pass a certain written exam or skill session after these attempts, the Diploma cannot be awarded.