Wilderness First Aid Courses
Features Of Our Courses
Knowledgeable Instructors
Taught By Real World Emergency Services Personnel
(Nurses, Paramedics & Firefighters)
Realistic Real World Scenarios
Realistic Moulage Make Up
Custom Training Solutions For Companies
Group Discounts
We Can Come To You
Or You Can Come To Us
Wilderness first aid is a relatively new field compared to regular or 'urban' first aid. For this reason, there are a number of boards and societies which have been formed in recent years to attempt to establish normalized standards for wilderness first aid certification and wilderness medicine in general. Currently, there is no "National Standards" for wilderness medicine, however one of the most popularly followed curricula is the "National Practice Guidelines for Wilderness Emergency Care" published by the Wilderness Medical Society. The Highlands Wilderness Training Institute follows these standards.
Individuals trained in Wilderness First Aid are taught to deal with many situations that may be encountered in the wilderness. Wilderness First Aid training courses focus on teaching the students to assess a situation, improvise solutions using available resources to stabilize the patient and identify the best way to get the patient to definitive medical treatment.
Students are encouraged to develop the habit of systematically thinking through and documenting their assessment decisions/plans. There are a lot of differences between what is taught in an urban Standard First Aid Course and a Wilderness First Aid Course. Urban courses are designed for the lay rescuer where 911 services are usually only minutes away, where as Wilderness Courses assume help could be hours or even days away. Because of this Wilderness First Aid Courses are a lot more in depth and provide a much higher level of knowledge as well as a higher and more technical skill set.
Our Instructors have seen first-hand the negative outcomes that result from wilderness medical emergencies where those involved lacked quality wilderness medical training our instructors take it upon themselves to offer quality wilderness first aid training, in an attempt to reduce the number of life threatening medical emergencies that occur in the wilderness each year. Wilderness First Aid courses should seriously be considered as an added benefit when you are looking for quality wilderness survival training. Survival skills are the first part to being prepared for the unexpected, but wilderness medicine and first aid is the second part that completes the preparedness training for the unexpected!
The Highlands Wilderness Training Institute instructors are members of the Wilderness Medical Society. HWTI programs follow the practice standards of the Wilderness Medical Society, ILCOR International Council On Resuscitation , American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Association of Emergency Physicians. The Highlands Wilderness Training Institute is a certified education centre for the Emergency Care and Safety Institute.
Wilderness First Aid Courses
BASIC WILDERNESS
FIRST AID
Duration: 2 Days
Cost: $195+HST
Prerequisite: Nil
Delivery Options:
In Person or
Combined Online & In Person
If you venture into remote areas then you need to be capable of providing prolonged care to yourself or any other people who are with you that could turn into potential patients on as little as a moments notice. The core theory behind our wilderness first aid courses is the belief that you will be required to render first aid skills with limited resources in remote areas for a prolonged period of time.
Take a few moments to review or wilderness first aid curriculums. ECSI Wilderness First Aid course provided by The Highlands Wilderness Training Institute is an intense yet fun journey through the world of wilderness emergency care and is recommended for all outdoors people. It covers the full range of situations, from scrapes and blisters to life-threatening emergencies.
In addition to wilderness medical care, it teaches accident scene management and how to communicate effectively with the outside world. (Or, how to give yourself the best odds that the rescue party turns up in the right place with the right equipment the first time.)
There are no perquisites for this course. However, it is recommended that participants take a separate Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) course. Basic wilderness first aid is a starting level wilderness first aid course that is well suited to individuals who often venture in to the great outdoors for activities such as hiking, camping, fishing and hunting.
It is often a minimum requirement for employment positions related to outdoor education and or outdoor leadership activities.
This course is often taken by groups such as cottagers, camp councillors or family members who enjoy the above mentioned activities. This course is two days in length and includes both classroom and practical hands on sessions that allow the student to put theoretical skills to use via practical hands on experience through the use of scenario based learning sessions and the use of moulage aka (Makeup).
•Rescuer Safety
•Initial Assessment Secondary Survey & Patient Assessment
•Vital Signs
•Detailed Exam and Focused History
•Skeletal Injuries
•Splinting
•Wounds - Soft Tissue Injury
•Shock, Bleeding
•Bandaging
•Diabetics & Seizures
•Burns
•Anaphylactic Reactions
•Heat Illness
•Hypothermia, Frostbite & Cold Issues
ADVANCED WILDERNESS
FIRST AID
Duration: 3 Days
Cost: $375+HST
Prerequisite: Nil
Delivery Options:
In Person or
Combined Online & In Person
Advanced Wilderness first aid is a wilderness first aid course that is more suited to individuals who work in or are planning travel to remote locations. This course is often taken by individuals and groups that have an occupational need to respond to emergencies in remote wilderness locations.
This course is often taken by groups such as those involved in Forestry, Logging, Guides and Outfitters, Conservation Officers, Search & Rescue members as well as members of Rural Fire Departments.
Advanced Wilderness First Aid is also a good choice for individuals who spend extended periods of time in the backwoods setting on outings such as multi day hikes and portages, Bush Pilots and those with a strong interest in the field of Wilderness Medicine.
Students will build on the skills learned in the basic wilderness first aid courses by adding new tools to there tool bag, including Oxygen & AED Automatic External Defibrillation. In additions students will learn advanced wound cleaning and closing skills, as well as how to safely administer medications in a wilderness context.
This course is three days in length and includes both classroom and practical hands on sessions that allow the student to put theoretical skills to use via practical hands on experience through the use of scenario based learning sessions and the use of moulage aka (Makeup)
•Medical / Legal Concerns & Communicable Diseases
•Rescuer Safety & Emotional Care of Patient
•Initial Assessment Secondary Survey & Patient Assessment
•Vital Signs
•Detailed Exam and Focused History
•Heart Attack & Stroke
•Skeletal Injuries
•Splinting
•Femur FX
•Wounds - Soft Tissue Injury
•Shock, Bleeding and Prolonged care
•Bandaging
•Diabetics & Seizures
•Burns
•Allergic & Anaphylactic Reactions
•Heat Illness
•Hypothermia, Frostbite & Cold Issues
•Clearing C Spine
•Dislocations
•Near Drowning
•Lightening Injury
WILDERNESS
FIRST RESPONDER
Duration: 5 Days
Cost:
Online $595+HST
Onsite $695+HST
Prerequisite: Nil
Delivery Options:
In Person or
Combined Online & In Person
Wilderness First Responder is a very extensive in depth curriculum that is targeted to those who work as emergency responders often required to deal with patient evacuation and treatment in and from wilderness locations.
Others who might be interested in this course include those who work at remote job sites environmentalists, Camp Life Guards, out tripping leaders wilderness guides or camp medics or anyone else who spends an extensive amount of time in the remote wilderness who wants and in-depth knowledge of wilderness medicine and how to recognize, diagnose and treat medical emergencies that are often commonly related to wilderness activities and adventure sports.
Students will Learn advanced skills such as how to use a blood pressure cuff, a stethoscope, minor wound closure using sutures, the use of oxygen and other advanced skill set equipment, backboards reducing fractures, pulse oximetery, basic wilderness pharmacology how to give injections and much much more.
•WFR Introduction
•Medical / Legal Concerns & Communicable Diseases
•Rescuer Safety & Emotional Care of Patient
•Initial Assessment Secondary Survey & Patient Assessment
•Anatomy & Physiology
•First Aid Supplies
•Vital Signs
•Detailed Exam and Focused History
•Heart Attack & Stroke
•BLS Course
•CPR Review & Test
•Airway Adjuncts
•AED Intro
•Skeletal Injuries
•Splinting
•Femur FX
•Wounds - Soft Tissue Injury
•Shock, Bleeding and Prolonged care
•Bandaging
•Diabetics & Seizures
•Gastrointestinal Problems
•Burns
•Chest Trauma
•Allergic & Anaphylactic Reactions
•Toxins - Bites & Stings
•Heat Illness
•Hypothermia, Frostbite & Cold Issue
•Clearing C Spine
•Dislocations
•Pt. Packaging
•Moving Litters & Pts.
•Near Drowning
•Wound Care: Irrigate, Closure Steri-Strip) Stitches, Injections,
•Triage
WILDERNESS EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN
W-EMT
Duration: Varied Based On Learning Method
Cost: $1800+HST
Prerequisite: WFR
Delivery Options:
Combined Online & In Person
Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, or WEMT, is the second highest level of wilderness emergency medical training available in North America (second to Wilderness Advanced Life Support (WALS)), or other courses for advanced providers such as AWLS, and RMAP (Remote Medicine for Advanced Providers). The W-EMT program places a greater emphasis on long-term patient care in the backcountry where conventional hospital care can take days to reach a victim.
Providing care in the wild can be a daunting task, since the golden hour is usually out of the question, and one may have to treat or stabilize a critical patient for hours until help arrives or you can get them the care they need. Backcountry medicine often speaks of the golden day—a patient's survival chances for critical injuries drastically drop off around 24 hours without hospital care.
WEMT's and Wilderness First Responder can perform more advanced interventions, such as giving patients prescribed medications outside the scope of an urban EMT or First Responder with off-line medical direction.
WEMTs also are allowed some acts outside the scope of practice of urban EMTs, such as stopping CPR after all efforts have been exhausted, dislocation reductions and ruling out spinal injuries.
**Note: Students who are considering the W-EMT program should be committed to putting their best efforts forward and also be willing to undertake the required time commitments and self study.practice time that is required to complete this curriculum.
How Does The Online Course Option Work?
At The Highlands Wilderness Training Institute we realize that one of the hardest challenges our students must over come when seeking to upgrade their wilderness first aid and outdoor survival skills knowledge is the time commitments and scheduling issues required to attend a full-time course for 3, 5 or more days at a time. In an attempt to to make quality training available to those who work full-time and must juggle family commitments we have developed an online course delivery program which should meet the time constraints of even the most time strapped working parent, outdoor guide or professional.
All of our online courses follow a simple delivery model that requires only very basic computer skills.
The only hardware required is a basic home computer with internet access. Online courses are designed so that the student can take the course at their own pace and on their own schedule. There is no time-deadline so long as the course is completed within one year of the start date. Students will complete lesson modules 1 at a time and each model is followed by a short quiz to test their understanding of the material. If unsuccessful at the quiz the student is given an opportunity to re-write. Upon successfully completing the required online modules the student will contact their course instructor and arrange for a suitable time to complete the practical in person portion of the course.
Practical components can often be completed in one two or three days depending on the level of the course they are taking online. The key benefit to the student is that they are not required to take time off of work for a 5 day course, they can complete the online portion at home and then attend the school for 2 days on a weekend to complete their practical training and testing, at which time they will be issued their certificate of successful completion.
To register for an online course please contact our office via email or phone. We will then send you an electronic registration confirmation letter as well as your password and username to access the online classroom.