Note: This course will require the completion of Pre-Course study work submitted PRIOR to the beginning of the class. Then we will have 3 days of in-person training with multiple instructors.
Course Content
Typically, mornings are devoted to lectures, discussions, and quizzes, with afternoons devoted to outdoor practical skills and scenarios. Evenings are reserved for study and assignments. Expect rescue scenarios with made-up victims and simulated wounds to prepare you for backcountry emergencies. Sessions may be videotaped for enhanced learning.
- Introduction/Registration; Review Study Packet,
- Patient Assessment System,
- Basic Life Support (including Healthcare Provider-level CPR),
- Circulatory System, Respiratory System, Nervous System,
- Lifts, Moves, and Extrications,
- PAS Drills
- Musculoskeletal,
- Dislocations,
- Spine Management,
- Wounds and Burns,
- Splints I – Extremities, Splints II – Spines, Simulation
- Allergies and Anaphylaxis,
- Environmental Injuries
Textbooks
All teaching materials are provided by Wilderness Medical Associates International at no additional cost. This includes SOAP Notes, our textbook, Wilderness and Rescue Medicine, and The Wilderness Medical Associates Field Guide.
Certification
All eligible students who complete this course will receive Wilderness Medical Associates’ International Wilderness First Responder, Anaphylaxis, and BLS/Healthcare Provider-level CPR certification. These certifications remain valid for three years. This certification can be used to challenge the DOT First Responder Exam, which is at the discretion of the local or state EMS authorities.
Recertification
The Open Recertification course may be used as a WFR recertification option for those with a current WMA International or other qualifying WFR. Only WMA International graduates are eligible to use this course as a WEMT recertification. For the WEMT recertification to be valid, WEMTs must have either a current license or certificate as an EMT-B or higher. Contact us for more details.
Within three years, graduates of this course may recertify by taking theWilderness Advanced First Aid, Bridge (WAFA to WFR), or repeating this course.
Prerequisites
To be eligible for a WFR recertification through this course, candidates must have completed a wilderness medical training course of at least 64 hours. Cumulative training hours from different courses are not eligible. Training must have been completed within three years of participation in our Open Recertification course. Any exceptions to these conditions must be verified prior to the course by contacting the Wilderness Medical Associates office. Proof of current certification is required at the start of the course. Students without proof of certification or approval from WMA International will not be eligible for WFR certification. Only WMA International trained WEMTs are eligible for WEMT recertification through this course.
Upon sponsor registration, sponsor will send students the course ID number and password to access their online pre-course materials two to four weeks prior to the first day of their course. Students should complete the study guide in preparation for the course. It was designed to familiarize students with the essential points in the curriculum. Instructors will collect it at the beginning of the course but it will not be figured into the final grade.
Students must be at least sixteen years old to participate in the three-day Open Recertification course. Those under age eighteen will require the written consent of a parent or guardian.