Loading the player...
The Lewis and Clark Expedition: A Medical Miracle
** Please note this program was featured at Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of California’s 64th Annual Convention, Fun in the Sun 2025, held in Newport Beach, California. If you attended this event in person or purchased the digital edition, you will not qualify for CME credits by participating in the program. **
The Lewis and Clark Expedition of North America in 1803-1806 was far more than a 2-year and 4-month camping trip. The captains served as physicians to the group with little training and a box full of medicines that were mostly toxic. Yet they lost only one member! What were their medical problems, and what was the medical thinking of their day? Dr. Peck will answer this and more as we delve into a fascinating era of American history.
Learning Objectives:
Disclosures: None reported
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). The Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of California (OPSC) is accredited by the AOA to provide osteopathic continuing medical education for physicians.
Grievance Policy: Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of California (OPSC) strives to provide continuing medical education programs to fulfill the needs of the attendees and to meet the AOA Uniform Guidelines and AOA Accreditation Requirements. Comments, questions, or complaints should be forwarded to OPSC, by calling the OPSC Office at (916) 822-5246 or by email at opsc@opsc.org.
David J Peck, D.O. earned Bachelors and Master degrees in Biology/Secondary Ed from Arizona State University, and taught high school biology prior to graduating from COMP in 1987. He was board certified by the AOBFP and practiced in San Diego with Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group for 21 years in their Department of Urgent Care. Dr. Peck’s love of history and medicine led him to author two books on the epic Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1803-06. “Or Perish in the Attempt” covers the hardship and medicine of the expedition and “So Hard to Die”, which he co-authored with his wife, Marti Peck, Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology), is an in-depth analysis of the medical and psychological issues surrounding the mysterious death of Captain Meriwether Lewis at the young age of 35, only three years after his return from the expedition. Dr. Peck has presented to numerous medical and historical meetings, including the Annual Barlow Lecture for the George Dock Society for the History of Medicine (LA County Medical Association), the annual conference of the Iowa County Medical Examiners and the Montana Historical Society. He co-produced a Montana PBS documentary on his book, “Or Perish in the Attempt” in 2016.
