Wilderness First Aid

Leave fear and panic behind with this interesting, hands-on introduction to wilderness medicine, taught over a total of four one-day classes. If you enjoy the outdoors as a hiker, climber, hunter, biker, skier, kayaker (…the list can be exhaustive), or you work at a wilderness camp, or simply just enjoy exploring the outdoors as a recreation, then this course is for you.

Designed for people of all experience levels, it is best suited for those who venture where emergency medical services are somewhat limited in coverage, scope or practice or simply unavailable. However, everything is applicable to everyday life as well. This class is not an herbal medicine or survivalist class, but topics discussed are certainly useful in a survival setting. The first day you will learn an organized system to thoroughly assess an emergency situation, as well as how to provide effective first aid treatments for injuries and illnesses common in the outdoors, and how to make appropriate evacuation decisions. The subsequent days will vary in topics, but overall they provide a comprehensive scope of care on par with other industry-standard courses offered throughout the country of similar duration. A brief list of topics includes… patient assessment, orthopedic injuries and splinting, head and spinal cord injury, bleeding control, wound management, altitude sickness, hypothermia, heat illness, burn management, anaphylaxis and management of preexisting medical conditions in an austere environment.

If you have a particular activity you practice outdoors which requires specific gear and wish to bring it along, please do. If you have a prepared wilderness medicine bag, feel free to bring it as well. Much of wilderness medicine is preparation and improvisation. You'll learn both in the classroom and in an outdoor setting regardless of weather, so come prepared for wet, muddy, cold or hot environments!