training for "regular folks"

[chuckman]

ARC basic first aid or first responder is good enough for 99.99% of the population. Just happens, the people on this forum are part of the .01% where TCCC could be of benefit.

[SteveL]

Contact your local fire/EMS department and see if they offer first responder training. Some do and some don't. If you have more than one department close by (city, county, neighboring city/county) be sure to check with them all.

[Alexx]

i have taken basic first aid and CPR at the local CC. they left me with more doubt than confidence. but maybe i would have better luck with a more detailed class

thanks

I have taken that basic first aid-CPR class on this web site www.ncprc.com and for regular folks they have lots of good stuff to learn. At minimum we should all know CPR procedures, it may save someones life.

[FightingTupperware]

i could use a refresher course thats for sure.

[the_master_midget]

a Wilderness first aid class is an excellent option. The wilderness first aid class is put on by American red cross so you can go to their website and look for local classes I did mine at the local sportsman's warehouse. Pretty good on how to be resourceful with a little thought. Plus its cheaper I think I paid $150 for the class vs. $800 for EMT schooling. Obviously the EMT schooling is going to be more in depth but its also trade related safety. I am currently enrolled in EMT class.

[mallowpufft]

a Wilderness first aid class is an excellent option. The wilderness first aid class is put on by American red cross so you can go to their website and look for local classes I did mine at the local sportsman's warehouse. Pretty good on how to be resourceful with a little thought. Plus its cheaper I think I paid $150 for the class vs. $800 for EMT schooling. Obviously the EMT schooling is going to be more in depth but its also trade related safety. I am currently enrolled in EMT class.

Another good option is the NSP's Outdoor Emergency Care class. Usually runs between $100-$150 from your local ski area.
They'll usually do it for the cost of the book if you agree to work for them.
I got suckered in when I was 16 and it was the only way I could afford to ski. I've been doing it now for 13 years and I've been a "pro" for the last ten. Getting paid to ski is good stuff.

The course does have a heavy focus to the mountain but spends time in general wilderness first aid as most ski areas also offer summer options. It doesn't get in to the cool stuff like reducing dislocations or emergency bone sets but it does teach effective methods for rapid stabilization and transport under adverse conditions. In the last three seasons I've seen a couple pneumothoraxes, open tib-fibs, unresponsive, a couple fractured femurs and God only knows how many shoulder/wrist/knee injuries. I've also used my training to not flip out when a client at work stopped breathing and I had to perform CPR because everyone else was too busy freaking out.
I lucked out when I took my class and got it with a Nordic instructor who believed in carrying enough stuff to improvise whatever he needed with him.
The course as a whole is somewhere between first responder & EMT as far as the education. NSP also offers mountain travel & rescue classes that teach basic orienteering and the like and then put you in the woods in a 2-5 (depends on your instructor and class willingness) day simulated survival experience. I did the 2 day class last March and we hiked up a mountain in the rain, ate lunch and were then told that one of the students broke both his legs and was mildly hypothermic and we had to transport him down w/o further injury but we had to rewarm him first. It was a blast.
I've also met 5 or 6 other preparedness minded people on the Patrol and it's nice having some folks who don't think I'm straight crazy for being as prepared as I want to be.

The biggest problem is that I now feel like I want more training for when SHTF so that I can be a more valuable asset to a group or my family so I'm planning on getting my EMT then Wilderness First Responder (WFR's get to do reductions and set bones).

[FightingTupperware]

thanks for the leads.