Wilderness EMT?

[mtnrgr]

I finally may have some time to take a few college courses. Does anyone know if there is any Wilderness EMT or MOFA courses being offered soon in the south sound area? Or what community colleges offer EMT?

[Richard_Pumpington]

Do you plan on being a practicing EMT? Riding in

an ambulance? If not and what you want is the medical

knowledge for climbing/backcountry, then I would

recommend a Wilderness First Responder course. The

reason for this, is in order to achieve the Wilderness

portion of a WEMT, you must first become a EMT B

(basic)and then pay more for the wilderness portion

of the certification(not offered by any college that

I know of)through a private company. This will all

end up costing more than the WFR course. Also, when

it comes time to re-certify and your not a practicing

EMT, you will be tested on knowledge that you will

not have used since the original course(if you don't

use it, you lose it!). The WFR courses are 9-10 days

and 8 hours a day(short and intensive); the EMT course

will be a quarter long and many more hours and the

W portion will be a week long on top of that. It all

depends on what you want out of it. I went the way

of the WFR and when it comes time to re-certify,

(certification is good for 3 years for WFR & WEMT)

the class is only 16 hours.

[djd]

I went through the standard WA state EMT while being a fireman in the late 70's early 80's. It is good training but the practcal scenario's you will be tested on are not exactly wilderness based; in the last ~20 or so years, I haven't had to cut someone out of a overturned car while out hiking, climbing in the mountains, etc... :-) While I'm no longer current with this kind of stuff now, I would/will go for the WFR type based training like what SOLO offers(when I can). If you can't, I've talked to enough people about the MOFA stuff, it seems it is a cut above the standard first aid; they have wilderness scenario's, etc. As far as the EMT, I know that a few years ago several of the community colleges (either HCC or one of the Seattle ones) had EMT classes; do a web search and or phone calls.

The re-cert is also something to consider; I thought I read something somewhere that the AAAI(?) up in Bellingham had a re-cert program for the WFR type of classes...not sure off the top of my head.

For what it worth, over the many years I have without exception, heard nothing but good things about the SOLO program; I think it might be based on the east coast. They might have a class session in CO, not sure off the top of my head...There is also a program out of CO but I can't think of it right now; again do a web search...

Good luck.

David

[Figger_Eight]

TCC offers an EMT course, but like the guys above said, it doesn't offer anything more for a climber than a Wilderness First Responder does. In fact a WFR is more practical for almost all people anyways. One step down from the WFR course is the WFA (wilderness first aid). The MOFA course is a training provided by the Mountaineers - and like all their other courses - is most likely taught by someone who took the class the previous year, rather than someone who is qualified.

[jon]

People may disagree with me but I think MOFA is a waste of time. I had to take MOFA for a SAR requirement, and we set up a thing through the Mounties. I haven't taken the WFR but after my experience with MOFA I wish I would have spent the time taking something else like WFR. For the time spent I didn't come out really learning anything new, and the certification at the end was a bunch of crap, supervised by people who were obviously incompetent. If you've had no prior first aid experience MOFA may be a good option, but my guess is you've had some pretty comprehensive first aid training in Ranger school and something like WFR or EMT would be time well spent.

[Richard_Pumpington]

The WFR course is FAR superior to the WFA and much

more in depth. Several companies that offer courses

are Wilderness Medical Institute-Pitkin,CO(company

I used), Wilderness Medical Associates-Bryant Pond,ME

Wilderness Medicine Training Center-Winthrop,WA

SOLO-Conway,NH and American Alpine Institute-Bellingham,

WA, just to name a few. These are the most recognized

orginizations though.

[Doug]

This has probably been mentioned already, but if you do take a WFR course and you want to keep the certification current, check the organization's policy. Some schools will only allow you to re-cert through them. That , for some has proven to be a logistical nightmare.

Also, I believe that in this state to get an EMT, you need a sponsoring agency to finish the requirements (some hours of OJT).

MOFA is essentially American Red Cross 1st Aid & CPR and a few hours of how to treat wounds in an alpine environment (Ice Axe & trekking pole splints, sucking chest wounds caused by ice axes, etc.)

[imorris]

I believe that there is a reciprocity for WFR recert's between WMI and WMA. Both recognize each others' certifications if you need to recertify. To recert you can take a specific WFR recert class (weekend) or sit in on a WFA class (also a weekend). I'd recommend the former. It's about $250, so they're making a killing off all those WFR's who need recerts every two years. Really you should be practicing and updating informally more frequently than that. I'd like to see WFRs one year into their certification perform as well as those just out of the class.

-Iain

[forrest_m]

i'd like to offer a note of defense for the mountie's MOFA program. obviously it is nowhere near as comprehensive as a WFR course. you knew that just looking at the number of hours. however... having when you say it is just a red cross first aid course with some bells, i don't think you realize just how lame a standard red cross first aid course really is. the MOFA is like three times as many hours and does involve some real simulation. in my experience, the instructors are very experienced (YMMV) and the overall course materials at least are designed to get you to think through the problem and deal with the situation at hand, rather than follow any prescriptive list. for people who are new to wilderness first aid, the emphasis on improvising with what you already have in your pack is invaluable.

on another topic, does anyone know of a WFR course that is offered like some evenings and every weekend for a month or something? i really want to take the course, but i refuse to use up 3/4 of my year's vacation for it.

[mtnrgr]

Thanks for the info. I had the UT first responder, but it expired. I want to get into SAR when I get out of the Army, so I want more experience (i.e. EMT-B). Also, I trying out for Special Forces this fall, and I want to get into their medic course (Paramedic in 6 mo with a bunch of other stuff added) so I'm trying to get back in the learning frame of mind.

[tomtom]

FYI....

"The Puget Sound Environmental Learning Center is hosting a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course on February 18-26. Our course is being taught by the Wilderness Medical Institute of National Outdoor Leadership School and trains participants to respond to emergencies in remote settings. The 80 hour curriculum includes standards for urban and extended care situations. Special topics include but are not limited to: wound management and infection, realigning fractures and dislocations, improvised splinting techniques, patient monitoring and long term management problems, up-to-date information on all environmental emergencies, plus advice on drug therapies. Emphasis is placed on prevention and decision-making, not the memorization of lists.

This course is being offered to train our staff and graduate students, but we have not reached our minimum number of participants and need a few more people. We would welcome any individuals who would like to join us for this training. The cost of this course will by $350 in that PSELC is paying the travel and perdiem expenses for the trainers. This course often runs between $450-$500 per participant."

Please contact me if you are interested.

Paul Bannick

or

Kristin Poppo, Ph. D. Graduate Program Coordinator Puget Sound Environmental Learning Center 206-855-4311 "

[ltw]

You might also look into becoming a ski patroller.

The approx 110 hour course is very cheap ($70) for the course and materials. You get a lot of hands on practice both in scenarios and in real situations. The course is a good start and mimics a lot of wemt. If you are interested check with your local hill now, as ski offs are typically in the spring followed by the course in the fall.