Meet some of the rad humans that make up our MedTreks team!

Earlier this year, we gathered in Ashland, Oregon, for our Wilderness Medicine Instructor Course – five full days of teaching, practicing, learning, and running a whole lot of scenarios.

One of our faculty members, Sarah Sarfaty, taught for five straight days.

And then, on the very last day, when any reasonable person probably would have been ready to go home and put their feet up, we asked her:

“Hey Sarah… would you mind sitting in front of a camera for another two hours and teaching some wilderness medicine skills?”

Because she’s Sarah, she said yes.

So off into the forest we went.

There was no professional production crew. No teleprompter. No elaborate lighting setup.

It was Sarah teaching, our dear medical student Brandon Reid playing patient, and Ari behind the camera in the forest outside Ashland.

And perhaps the most impressive part?

Sarah recorded every single skill in one take.

Patient assessment. Tourniquet application. Primary and secondary surveys. Patient movement. Improvised splinting techniques.

One after another.

No scripts. No retakes.

Just a really good educator who knows her stuff.

And that is one of many reasons we are so excited to officially introduce Sarah Sarfaty as the new Education Director for MedTreks.

Growing the Education Side of MedTreks

For years, MedTreks has been built around a very core mission: to strengthen the wilderness medicine and global health skills of medical professionals.

And we believe that the best learning happens outside the hospital walls.

Healthcare professionals spend so much of their careers inside clinics, hospitals, conference rooms, and traditional educational settings. We wanted to create something different – opportunities to continue learning while exploring the world, challenging yourself, connecting with other medical professionals, and remembering that medicine exists far beyond the four walls of a hospital.

That philosophy has shaped our CME adventures around the world.

And now, it is also shaping the next chapter of MedTreks Academy.

MedTreks Academy is the education arm of MedTreks, bringing together the courses, certifications, instructors, and educational experiences that have grown alongside our adventures.

As our educational programs continue to expand, we knew we needed someone who could help us protect what makes them special while also helping us build what comes next.

Sarah was a natural fit.

Meet Sarah Sarfaty

Sarah has been part of the MedTreks world as an educator, wilderness medicine instructor, and someone we trust enormously in the field. (More on Sarah here!)

But what makes Sarah such an important part of our team goes beyond knowing the medicine.

She knows how to teach it.

Wilderness medicine requires a different kind of thinking. You don’t necessarily have a CT scanner down the hallway, an entire supply closet at your disposal, or another specialist a phone call away.

You have to assess the patient in front of you, understand the environment around you, use the resources you have available, and make thoughtful decisions about what happens next.

Teaching healthcare professionals to become comfortable in those situations requires more than presenting information on a slide.

It requires experience, creativity, patience, good communication, and the ability to make complicated concepts feel practical.

Those are exactly the qualities Sarah brings to MedTreks.

Below we are sharing one of the videos that Sarah created that Friday afternoon after the instructor course – where she had zero prompts, no notes and just shared her practical tips on how to do an excellent primary patient assessment survey.

What Does an Education Director at MedTreks Do?

Sarah’s role will extend across the growing educational side of MedTreks.

She’ll help oversee the development and delivery of our wilderness medicine education, support and mentor our instructors, strengthen our curriculum, and help ensure that the educational experience remains consistent and high-quality as MedTreks Academy continues to grow.

She’ll also play an important role in programs including our International Wilderness Life Support (IWLS) certification, Wilderness First Aid courses, online education, instructor training, and the CME curriculum incorporated into MedTreks adventures around the world.

Perhaps most importantly, Sarah will help us continue asking the question we’ve asked from the beginning:

How do we make medical education genuinely useful, engaging, and relevant to healthcare professionals practicing outside traditional environments?

We want people to walk away feeling more capable.

The Next Chapter of MedTreks Academy

As MedTreks continues to grow, we’re incredibly excited about where our education programs are headed.

But growth only matters if we continue surrounding ourselves with people who believe in what we’re building.

People who are excellent clinicians. People who are excellent teachers.

So please help us officially welcome Sarah Sarfaty, Education Director at MedTreks.