Students Become Wilderness First Responders

The third section for the Fall Semester in the Rockies (FSR) groups is happening at Three Peaks Ranch. The students of FSR 5 & 6 are just a couple of days away from finishing up their Wilderness First Responder course. The completion of their WFR comes at a perfect time for these students, as their next section will be a month of hiking in the canyon country of southern Utah.

The WFR not only allows students to respond confidently to illness or injury, the knowledge also helps them understand the need to prevent illness and injuries while traveling in the wilderness. Tomorrow night sees the students of FSR 5 & 6 out on their night rescue scenario.

Post & Photo by Marco Johnson

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Fall Outdoor Educator Semester Students practice their wilderness first aid skills.

Wilderness first aid skills are an important part of being an Outdoor Educator. One of the sections on the NOLS Outdoor Educator Semester (OES) is a WMI Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course. During the WFR students learn how to act in situations when injury or illness have occurred. While classroom time gives students a foundation in the different subjects of wilderness medicine, practical scenarios are where the skills are honed.

To the right, WFR students work through their patient assessment, the tool by which they will gather the information from which to then treat their patient.

As NOLS student groups will travel independent from their instructors at times these WFR skills allow students to respond to situations they might encounter during their course. These WFR skills also transfer over when students are on personal trips or working for other organizations in the Outdoor Education field.

Late September saw the 2009 Fall Outdoor Educator Semesters arrive at NOLS’ Three Peaks Ranch for their WFR training. On October 8, 2009 those students leave for their climbing sections having successfully completed their WFR training. Congratulations to the students of OESF 1 & 2.

(Entry & Photo courtesy of Marco Johnson)

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Three Jolly Good Fellows

In a recent showing of camaraderie, WMI's own Shana Tarter (Instructor and Assistant Director) and Gates Richards (Instructor and Special Projects Manager) joined Tod Schimelpfenig (Instructor and Curriculum Director) as Fellows of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine.

According to the Wilderness Medical Society's website, Academy Fellowship is awarded to "those who have achieved a demanding set of requirements validating their training and experience in Wilderness Medicine for the assurances of patients, clients, and the public at large."

Having three Fellows among their staff (and jolly, good ones, at that) is another thing that sets WMI apart from other wilderness medicine schools. That's something that nobody can deny!

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WMI Grad Makes Good

We think our alumni are top-notch folks. But don’t just take our word for it, read on to see how NOLS’ wilderness medicine education helps qualify medical professionals.

Bob Foster, a graduate of the Wilderness Medical Institute’s “Wilderness Upgrade for Medical Professionals” course in 2008, recently became Fremont County Idaho’s new Emergency Services Director.

Foster ‘s goal is to “provide high quality emergency care to EMS patrons and high quality training to EMS volunteers” in southern Idaho- including Driggs (home to NOLS’ Teton Valley Branch).

Be sure to check out the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute website for updates or to choose a training option that's right for you.

Congratulations to Bob Foster!

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Medical Wilderness Adventure Race

A Medical Wilderness Adventure Race (MedWar) combines wilderness medical challenges with adventure racing and was developed to give medical students, residents, health care professionals, and wilderness enthusiasts a practical, interactive, and enjoyable curriculum for learning wilderness medicine.

This race, “Mountain Assault,” in Park City Utah, was  sponsored by the University of Utah Division of Emergency Medicine, the Wilderness Medical Society and the Wilderness Medicine Institute.   Matt Hamonko MD, the wilderness fellow at U of U, put the event together.

The WMI Team was Dave Weber, myself, and Mike Ditolla. 

We carried what we would honestly take on a winter mountain day trip - honestly.  We left the Lifepack 12 and Gamow bag in the truck. Water, food, extra layers, navigation and survival items filled our packs.   You’re allowed to carry a reference book.  We considered Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine 5th edition, but it weighs in at 10.6 lbs, and was an awkward fit in the pack, so we relied on our brains, which served us well.

I’ve been racing biathlons recently, and the title of mountain assault made me consider bringing my rifle, but this is a non-violent medical event focused on saving, not shooting, so I left it at home.

We skied and snow shoed around 8 miles, navigating at times by GPS and stopping at 7 medical stations.  We evaluated frostbite, managed a diabetic skier, reduced a dislocated shoulder,  set up a pulley system to simulate a crevasse extraction, used a transceiver to find a buried skier, treated patients with altitude illness and hypothermia and dragged a patient a half kilometer across the snow.

It took us a few stations to realize that the other teams were focusing on the obvious problem while we were diligently performing a full patient assessment, as we train our students to do.   This cost us a bit of time, as did a faulty ski binding.  There are no rest or water stations on the route, and if equipment breaks, you have to deal with it as you would in the wilderness.

These races are held throughout the U.S. and Canada at many different times of the year.  You can find more information at www.medwar.org.

Tod Schimelpfenig

February 09

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Siskiyou Field Institute WFR

Wilderness First Responders, aka WFRs, are prepared to treat patients in any conditions. How do they get that way? They train that way! Even when western Oregon freezes over, WMI is there.

Watch as WMI students battle the elements to hone their skills in Selma, Oregon, at the Siskiyou Field Institute's Deer Creek Center.

Welcome to....Oregon? from John Hovey on Vimeo.

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Patient Assessment System

Someone is hurt. Someone is sick. The Wilderness EMT responds--but in the chaos of a rescue, it is easy to lose sight of the fundamentals. Emotions, weather, equipment malfunctions, and any number of other distractions can leave a responder confused about what to do.

Today, in WMI's California Wilderness EMT course, the Mariposa County Fire Battalion Chief weighs in on this issue. Thanks for the lesson, C.J.!

Patient Assessment from John Hovey on Vimeo.

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Credit Where It's Due

A recent study at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria has shown that the Bee Gees disco song "Stayin' Alive" provides an ideal beat to follow while performing CPR chest compressions. Big deal--Wilderness Medicine Institute instructors have been compressing chests to this beat this for years! Congratulations to these diligent doctors for proving what we already knew.

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Improvised Litters

A litter is a device for carrying someone, and in the context of wilderness medicine, it can be a lifesaver. Carrying a litter is painful, slow, backbreaking work, and that's the best case scenario, when you are using a commercially-designed litter for its intended purpose. When you must make your own, improvising with materials at hand, the difficulty grows.

In this video, see Wilderness EMT students testing some homemade litter designs in Sinks Canyon, outside of Lander WY.

Procession of the Litters from John Hovey on Vimeo.

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Week Three Madness

It is Week Three here on the Lander Wilderness EMT and everyone is feeling the strain. The stunning amount of information that the students must assimilate is one thing, but on top of the book knowledge they must master many practical skills as well. Right now, the students are practicing their spinal stabilization skills and learning about how to deal with trauma patients wearing helmets. Again, though, it is week three.

Week Three Madness from John Hovey on Vimeo.

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