Wilderness EMT course

dry-fly

dry-fly

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Sounds very interesting
 
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Sounds very interesting
 
Not sure about Wilderness Medical Associates but I did go to Remote Medical International for my Wilderness EMT. Hit me up if you have any specific questions about their program, I'll be glad to answer anything I know info for.
 
I can only speak for my part of the world, but in eastern Canada, WMA is the most repsected company for wilderness medicine training.
 
Wilderness Medical Associates (WMA), Wilderness Medical Institute of NOLS (WMI), and SOLO are considered 'the big three' of wilderness medicine education. Based on their years in the business and number of students taught annually

This is rapidly changing though, as many other groups are providing quality wilderness medical education too. RMI is really good, I know a number of their grads who were really pleased. I went with SOLO cause they were near by.

A good question to ask is what types & scope of scenarios they have as this is key for wilderness med. For example WMI does a ton of intensive scenarios while others less.

You can't really go wrong with any of the 4 listed here.
 
dry-fly said:
Hey all, has anyone here taken a wilderness course Anyone ever do this kind of work??

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

Well, I was an expedition doctor during the Annapurna I South Face Expedition in 2005 (Himalaya, Nepal) so if you have any questions feel free to ask.

I used to work in the remote areas of Africa as a doctor too.
 
I have not taken a wilderness EMT course as of yet. However, I am enrolled in wilderness first responder for next semester. It is a weeklong course during spring break. I have completed EMT-B but have yet to take my registry. I will update and let you know about the course after i complete it. And hey, if i like it after i take registry ill go for the WEMT.
 
WEMT - worth it?

I'm thinking about enrolling in the EMT Upgrade course with NOLS in the summer to get the WEMT certificate. Just wondering if this is just jumping the gun (still looking for an EMT-B job). It sounds awesome, right up my alley, but $600-$700 ain't chump change.

Anyone have anything to say about the certificate and how useful it is? I want to go to paramedic school next year and would consider the tuition well worth it if it helps getting accepted.
 
As an EMT you can take a Wilderness Module (40) hours with SOLO for your WEMT. I did mine at SOLO Southeast in western NC at NOC - Nantahala Outdoor Center.
http://www.noc.com/noccom/outdoor-school/solo-wilderness-medicine/
NOLS-WMI also has a Wilderness Upgrade for Medical Professionals http://www.nols.edu/wmi/courses/wildupgrademedpros.shtml

I added the course information below.

Wilderness Module for Medical Professionals
A 5-Day Bridge Course From the Street to the Outdoors
Acquire the skills needed to manage a wilderness emergency. The SOLO Wilderness Module is a 5-day program that upgrades current street first responders to the WFR level. EMTs, doctors, nurses, PAs and paramedics will receive Wilderness EMT (WEMT) certification upon completion. This is a fast paced and highly recommended course for medical professionals that already have an advanced knowledge of patient care and seek a better understanding of wilderness protocols and procedures. The focus is on learning the skills to improvise medical treatments when separated from definitive care by distance, time or circumstance.

The Module covers subjects such as:

Principles of Long-Term Patient Care,
Wilderness Patient Assessment System
Principles of Long-Term Soft Tissue Injuries
Principles of Long-Term Musculoskeletal Injuries
Environmental Emergencies (Hypothermia, Frostbite, Non-Freezing Cold-Related Injuries)
Heat Stroke
Heat Exhaustion
Dehydration
North American Bites and Stings
Severe Weather,
Lightning & Avalanche
Barotrauma and Marine Bites & Stings
Case Histories and Mock Rescues

This course counts for 40 hours of continuing education. Cost $349.00
The closest NOLS class for me would have been TN, cost $600.00

The main SOLO campus is in Conway, NH. SOLO Southeast is near Bryson City, NC and SOLO Colorado is at Apex Mountain School in Avon, CO. I would love to take a NOLS-WMI course if I can find one closer to Florida.

I believe the Wilderness component adds to your EMT skills, I know it did for me. I also think that having your WEMT is an advantage when looking for a job, especially in the more rural areas of the country. Good luck!
 
I've taken the WEMT course with WMA and it was a blast. Lot of interesting stuff was covered. I'm sure it varies depending on your instructors but we did some great stuff. Extricating from tight spaces where you can't move obstacles, wound cleaning in the field, dislocations in the field and a bunch of other things. The main focus my instructor put on aside from the standard syllabus was improvisation. We use tentpoles and duffle bags to splint and anything else you can think of to do wound care and for the final scenario my instructor actually got a plane fuselage and put it in the woods to incorporate a search plane crashing in the middle of the wilderness call. I had a ton of fun and learned a lot. Like i said it will depend on your instructor but track down a good instructor (and a lot of the WMA guys are good and some are quite the characters from what i hear) and you will learn a lot and get a unique perspective on Wilderness EMS and take some of it to every call you do. Enjoy.
 
Wilderness First Responder/EMT

There are three or four organizations that provide WFR. I will get a list together along with website links and put them on here in a day or so. In the meantime my Outdoor Leadership Instructor (Who sponsors our WFR course) made mention that the ODL program along with our college's EMS department are looking for a Stokes Basket. It started out just looking for one but now I am looking for two, one for each department. If you or anyone you know of might have one that you/they would give/donate or sell for really cheap send me a private message.
 
That list would be awesome. I'm looking for an add-on class to add WEMT to my EMT-I near me.
 
Wfr

The organizations that i am going to list offer Wilderness First Aid thru Wilderness EMT and beyond
 
Organizations That Offer Wilderness Medical Courses.

1. National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)-
Offers Wilderness First Aid (WFA), Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA), Wilderness First Responder (WFR), and Wilderness EMT (WEMT).
WFR- http://www.nols.edu/wmi/courses/wildfirstresponder.shtml
WEMT- http://www.nols.edu/wmi/courses/wemt.shtml

2. Wilderness Medical Associates International (WMA)-
Offers WFA, WAFA, WFR, WEMT, Wilderness Advanced Life Support (WALS), and Offshore Emergency Medicine (OEM)
WFA- http://www.wildmed.com/outdoor-professionals-and-enthusiasts/wilderness-first-aid.html
WAFA- http://www.wildmed.com/outdoor-professionals-and-enthusiasts/wilderness-advanced-first-aid.html
WFR- http://www.wildmed.com/outdoor-professionals-and-enthusiasts/wilderness-first-responder.html
WEMT- http://www.wildmed.com/medical-professionals/wilderness-emt-upgrade.html
WALS- http://www.wildmed.com/medical-professionals/wilderness-advanced-life-support.html
OEM- http://www.wildmed.com/outdoor-professionals-and-enthusiasts/offshore-emergency-medicine.html

3. Remote Medical International (WMI)-
Offers WFA, WFR, WEMT, and Remote Medicine Upgrade & Re-certification (RMUR)
WFA- http://www.remotemedical.com/wilderness-medicine-training/Wilderness-First-Aid-WFA
WFR- http://www.remotemedical.com/wilderness-medicine-training/Wilderness-First-Responder-WFR
WEMT- http://www.remotemedical.com/wilderness-medicine-training/Wilderness-EMT-WEMT
RMUR- http://www.remotemedical.com/wilderness-medicine-training/Upgrade-EMT-Wilderness-Recertification
 
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RNL said:
Well, I was an expedition doctor during the Annapurna I South Face Expedition in 2005 (Himalaya, Nepal) so if you have any questions feel free to ask.

I used to work in the remote areas of Africa as a doctor too.
Click to expand...

Do you know of much work like this? I've mostly heard that most wilderness medical jobs are volunteer based. But I'm wondering what opportunities, if any, there are for a wilderness medic as far as trips/expeditions. Or is this background education mostly found in national park jobs?
 
It's a requirement for leading trips at a lot of schools/adventure guiding companies. The EMS side of it is usually a responsibility in addition to your usual duties of making the trip go smoothly, teaching outdoor skills and dealing with teen drama.

For expeditions, my experience has been that medical experience is a way of getting yourself in the door for an expedition you really want to go on. You almost never get paid and often have to come up with your own expenses. But it does get you in, even when there are better players competing with you.
 
TME Training in Dover, TN is doing the ASHI Wilderness EMT upgrade May 2-6, 2016. Same guidelines as the others, same content, much cheaper rate. Carries a 2 year certification. 3 1/2 days in the classroom and 24 hours in the wilderness. Call 731-924-8478 for more info.
 
I took mine through Remote Medical International and loved it. I lined up a job at a western based hospital in Kabul doing public health work and ER tech/EMT work with it but eventually had to decline it because of a health issue. It also helped I had done aid work abroad already. I met some awesome people who helped me with that and made lifelong friends. I do have a bias and I am familiar with NOLS by name and they are also quite good.
 
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