SOLO Wilderness First Responder

I took a Wilderness First Responder course over the last two weeks (we broke for Memorial Day weekend).

The SOLO Wilderness First Responder is a 72 hour course (we probably spent a little more time than that). I learned a lot and got a lot of hands on experience. Anyone looking for medical training that has the time to go should consider a WFR course. I had no significant first aid experience (CPR and a contractor first aid 1 day years ago) and didn't struggle. I will say that the class of 17 had about half that had taken the Wilderness First Aid course prior to this course and seemed very familiar with the first parts of the curriculum. All in all one of the better learning experiences I've had in a while and I would recommend it to anyone looking for medical training. The course was lecture then hands on then scenario. We had scenario's every day of the course often 2 scenarios a day. This was a great way to get over being shy about asking questions, touching people, etc. Soemtimes fellow students were the victims, other times volunteers the instructor had come in. The final group or team scenario had us building a litter from whatever we (3 person team) could find/had in the woods and evacuating a patient with it. The final test was a written exam, then a practical exam with one more scenario which you did one on one with the instructor watching, then tearing down your treatment (all of the finals including splinting with improvised splints).

We did cover gunshot wounds a little. We didn't cover needle decompression. We also covered spinal injuries, splinting, in line traction of fractures, reducing dislocations, soft tissue wound treatment, head injuries, etc. Also a lot of coverage on non emergency medical issues. A lot of info over 9 days. See the SOLO website for a full description of the course. Or WMI or WMA, the courses are are all similar.

All in all a great course and I am a lot better prepared for an emergency than I was prior to the class. Still sort of digesting a lot of information so if there are any questions ask away.

Spence