The outdoors can offer us so many things. Stunning vistas, adventure, quality time with loved ones, and a chance to disconnect from our busy lives. However, being out in the wilderness, especially in remote areas away from civilization, while often a wonderful experience, there’s always a bit of risk involved. If you or a companion happens to become unwell or injured while in the backcountry, a lack of access to medical care can pose a huge issue. That’s why it can be incredibly beneficial, and possibly even life-saving, to be equipped with the right tools and knowledge to handle these kinds of situations.
By taking a Wilderness First Aid course, you’ll learn how to prevent, recognize, and treat injuries that could occur while out in the wilderness so you can ensure you and your loved ones are always safe. The course takes two days and you don’t need to have any previous medical knowledge to take this introductory course either, not to mention you’ll have fun doing it.
If you’re still not convinced, here are all the benefits of taking a Wilderness First Aid course before your next outdoor adventure:
Learn Practical Skills for Life
In a Wilderness Medicine course, you’ll learn about common illnesses and injuries that are likely to happen in the outdoors and what to do if they occur. Some of the topics you’ll learn about include:
While this knowledge will undoubtedly be useful out in the backcountry, you’ll likely find it may also come in handy in other areas or times throughout your life. Once you learn these skills, you’ll have them for life.
Become Self-Sufficient
Out in the wilderness, access to professional medical care isn’t always available. Remote areas can make it difficult for help to get to you and at times, you may not even have cell reception to call for help. Having the knowledge and skills to treat injuries when help is delayed or unavailable and knowing how to improvise with the gear you have with you is paramount, and sometimes just may be the difference between life and death.
Increased Confidence
Confidence comes from having knowledge and experience. Before you take a course, you may not know very much about first aid, which can lead to panic and uncertainty in emergency situations. However, through real-life scenarios and hands-on training during the course, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills necessary, giving you the confidence to handle medical emergencies out in the backcountry.
Debunk Common Medical Myths
The internet has become the sole source of information for everything these days, however many sites aren’t credible and there’s a lot of misinformation and wives’ tales floating around. When it comes to medical advice, this can be dangerous and possibly make a medical situation much worse. No, you definitely shouldn’t suck snake venom out of a bite no matter what you read on the internet or saw in a movie. By taking a Wilderness First Aid course, you’ll learn the correct ways to treat a variety of medical issues and injuries safely, effectively, and according to the latest medical research.
Learn from the Experts
Our core team of professional instructors are experts in wilderness medicine and have extensive experience in both the backcountry and patient care. For all medical courses, we partner with Wilderness Medical Associates (WMA). WMA has been the leader in wilderness medicine and rescue for over thirty years. The cutting-edge curriculum is regularly updated by our board of healthcare professionals, has been taught on all 7 continents, and is recognized internationally. Those who take our wilderness medicine courses are provided with the highest level of education possible, preparing them with the confidence, skills, and knowledge to take charge in any emergency situation.
Earn a Certification
When you’ve completed the course, you’ll earn a Wilderness First Aid certification as well as a CPR certification which looks great on your resume when applying for leadership roles, is essential for many jobs in the outdoors, and is invaluable knowledge and experience to share with your family and friends.
