WEMT's???

[jessicaCNAEMT]

My biggest problem is courses aren't located close to me in most cases. The only one in MI is two hours away. I will check out SOLO, I have looked at WMA's classes and another schools.

[Designcafe]

I love training in any fashion possible, so let me add my two cents...

I took the tradional EMT-B and I programs. Then for continuing ed hours I have done the Wilderness First Responder and SOLO's Wilderness EMT add on module (for those who are already EMT's). I had a blast- even though the EMT module was in January- mostly outdoor-in the cold, the wet, the muddy... LOL it was a blast! I work both ambulance and as an on-site medic in heavy manufacturing plant where I spend my nights filled with amputations, avulsions, impalements and 2-3* burns. Wilderness training gave me a whole new set of tools and ways to think outside the traditional box to care for my patients. A fully stocked ambulance is one thing, my on-site job requires a lot of creativity under stress to really help the patient. I may be with them without (trained or transport)help for up to 20 minutes which in EMS can be a lifetime to someone injured.

Bottom line in my mind- take all the training you can get- it will never hurt and it can be tons of fun! Wilderness Medical Institute, SOLO, Your local Ski Patrol are all great places to find more training. I also do lots of online CE classes just to keep up with terminology and trends.

[AnthonyM83]

sounds like a waste of money to me.

What makes you say that?

[Dustdevil]

What makes you say that?

You're not expecting a reply from him, are you?

(look under his screen name)

[AnthonyM83]

Ah, blast!

Guess I won another one by forfeiture this time

[kristo]

I've been doing SAR for years now and until medical school, all my exposure to first aid/medicine was through that.

My first first aid courses were built on WMA's Wilderness Advanced First Aid courses, then I took the WMA Wilderness First Responder, then WMA's Wilderness EMT course (included EMT-B, about five weeks).

Back then, the WMA courses were fun. There was a lot of hands on, a lot of practise in using unusual things for carrying patients, irrigating wounds, etc. Some considerations on long transfers where the rescuers were on foot (eg. making the trip more comfortable for the patient).

One of the key elements in WMA's teaching is that due to long transfers, decreased availability of assistance/equipment in the wilderness, the graduates of their courses should approach patient care in a different manner than urban FRs/EMTs. Basically, the idea was that instead of going by the book, high-flow O2 and transport, we should think about what could possibly be wrong with the patient, what kind of problems we could anticipate (especially secondary to potential current problems, based on MOI, etc.) and what we could do about said problems. In short, we weren't supposed to be cookbook providers, we were supposed to think. I especially like WMA's emphasis on the risk vs. benefit decision making.

Sounds great in theory, but really, what can you expect from FRs or EMT-Bs in this aspect? Realistically speaking, you can't really expect them to form an educated opinion on what could be wrong with the patient, or what could become wrong. Even if they would, the options to treat it (i.e. the what to do about it field on the SOAP notes) is severely limited, for obvious reasons.

WMA also have Wilderness Advanced Life Support (WALS) courses for paramedics/nurses/PAs/NPs/doctors. Since those people have a stronger educational background, they can probably make better use of WMA's teachings.