Wilderness Medical Training

Wilderness First Aid

An informative, hands on approach for outdoor leaders, camp counselors, river guides, trip leaders, troop leaders, hikers, cyclists and all others who venture into the backcountry. This course is designed to provide backcountry competence in handling medical emergencies. Upon successful completion of this course students will be certified in Wilderness First Aid and CPR by the Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities (SOLO). While much of the material appears to be standard emergency care information, the backcountry emphasis with long-term care and evacuation complications makes this course unique, this 16-hour program covers topics ranging from preparation and prevention to assessment and treatment. Our instructors are experienced rescue personnel with extensive outdoor experience and have been selected not only for their expertise in emergency medicine and rescue, but also for their teaching skills. Classroom lectures and discussions are supplemented by practical work and problem-solving exercises. The emphasis is always on hands-on experience. Scenarios are an important part of this training.

Wilderness First Responder

The Wilderness First Responder curriculum uses the principles of long-term care, improvised resources, and varying environmental conditions as the framework for learning. This course was created by SOLO to provide outdoor leaders, guides, and rangers with the knowledge needed to deal with crises in remote settings, this 80-hour certification course meets DOT National Standards and addresses the issues of medico legal concerns, blood borne pathogens and infectious diseases. The Patient Assessment System, the foundation of the course, trains students to determine what is going on with backcountry patients. Other sessions provide instruction in traumatic situations as well as medical emergencies. Environmental issues such as hypothermia and heat injuries are dealt with in great detail. Practical simulations and labs provide practice in backcountry leadership and rescue skills. The course is an intensive 80-hour curriculum with a typical day consisting of a mixture of hands-on practical skill work and didactic lecture sessions. To optimize learning potentials, SOLO complements these sessions with a variety of mock scenarios and simulations that are both physically and mentally challenging.