Wilderness First Aid (WFA): This course is designed for the outdoor enthusiast, trip leader, remote travelers, or land agency field staff who want more than what an urban first aid course provides. The WFA course is a great introduction to wilderness medicine and basic life support skills. This training focuses on prevention, assessment, and treatment of environmental illnesses, recognizing and stabilizing life threats caused by trauma, and calling for a rescue in the event of a wilderness emergency. Courses are held in-person over two days and include WAT and CPR.
Wilderness First Responder (WFR): This course is the standard level of medical training for professional outdoor recreation industry field staff that work multi-day, overnight trips in remote environments, military, technical rescue personnel, and those working in disaster relief. Our comprehensive, contextual and practical curriculum has gained popularity among outdoor enthusiasts, endurance athletes, and adventure travelers who push their boundaries in remote areas with limited resources, unreliable communication, and the potential for delayed or self rescue.
Course participants will develop strong patient assessment skills, adopt treatment tools to stabilize life-threatening conditions, and learn how to provide extended patient care in austere environments. Most importantly, this training will prepare individuals to prevent many environmental illnesses and proactively manage pre-existing conditions in the field. Individuals will also develop the confidence to professionally call in a rescue in the event of a backcountry emergency and manage the evacuation of a medical or trauma patient. Southwest Remote Medicine teaches Wilderness First Responder in a hybrid format. This consists of both a 30 hour self-paced online instructional component, and 50 hours in-person practical component. Upon successful completion WFR certification is good for 3 years includes WAT, and CPR.
Wilderness Anaphylaxis Training (WAT): This certification is included in all Southwest Remote Medicine courses. It is good for 2 years. It is not offered as a standalone course.