I'm on the safety committee of our local river conservation non-profit. We do an annual river cleanup, and from time to time run organized river trips. Lately we have been discussing preparedness and response to accidents. Everybody agrees that CPR training for trip leaders would be good to have. I am advocating also for basic first aid training -- we are much more likely to need to administer first aid than CPR.
Our local river runs through a settled rural area, and is not wilderness by any stretch of the imagination. Still, there are plenty of spots where access for emergency services would be limited by terrain or absence of roads. IMO we need to be prepared for delayed response by the rescue squad, and even for evacuating an injured person by canoe.
Red Cross standard first aid is pretty elementary and oriented to civilized areas with quick 911 response. Some years ago I took SOLO wilderness first aid. I found it much more applicable to river trips, and the hands-on skills lessons were downright fun. It would be nice if all our trip leaders could take SOLO WFA, but it costs $245 (not in the budget for a shoestring non-profit) and requires a time commitment of two very long days.
Then I found out about online WFA and WFR classes offered by Survival Med. https://survivalmedonline.org/ The instructors are MDs or first responders with backcountry experience. They have affiliation with the University of Utah wilderness medicine program. The courses are online, self-paced, and WFA costs only $35. Certification is good for 3 years. They offer courses specific to various regions of the US. Courses include a basic wilderness life support textbook in PDF format for use with smart phones, as well as lifetime access to wilderness medicine podcasts. Here's a link to the curriculum outline: https://cdn.aelieve.com/13ef9cbb-survival-med-wfa-curriculum-092622.pdf
Does anybody have experience or comments regarding this or similar online WFA training? It looks pretty good to me, and I am considering putting out $35 to check it out. Your thoughts will be appreciated.
Our local river runs through a settled rural area, and is not wilderness by any stretch of the imagination. Still, there are plenty of spots where access for emergency services would be limited by terrain or absence of roads. IMO we need to be prepared for delayed response by the rescue squad, and even for evacuating an injured person by canoe.
Red Cross standard first aid is pretty elementary and oriented to civilized areas with quick 911 response. Some years ago I took SOLO wilderness first aid. I found it much more applicable to river trips, and the hands-on skills lessons were downright fun. It would be nice if all our trip leaders could take SOLO WFA, but it costs $245 (not in the budget for a shoestring non-profit) and requires a time commitment of two very long days.
Then I found out about online WFA and WFR classes offered by Survival Med. https://survivalmedonline.org/ The instructors are MDs or first responders with backcountry experience. They have affiliation with the University of Utah wilderness medicine program. The courses are online, self-paced, and WFA costs only $35. Certification is good for 3 years. They offer courses specific to various regions of the US. Courses include a basic wilderness life support textbook in PDF format for use with smart phones, as well as lifetime access to wilderness medicine podcasts. Here's a link to the curriculum outline: https://cdn.aelieve.com/13ef9cbb-survival-med-wfa-curriculum-092622.pdf
Does anybody have experience or comments regarding this or similar online WFA training? It looks pretty good to me, and I am considering putting out $35 to check it out. Your thoughts will be appreciated.