Standard Courses

Wilderness medicine for everyone

Our Standard Courses offer certifications for medical professionals in wilderness and remote settings. These courses prepare both new providers and licensed medical professionals to provide care in these environments. Whether you’re starting out or looking to improve your skills, our Standard Courses are a great place to start.

Standard Courses

Wilderness medicine for everyone.

Wilderness First Aid

Wilderness First Aid is the ideal course for outdoor enthusiasts on overnight or short-term wilderness adventures. Students will be able to recognize medical emergencies and will become familiar with basic life-saving skills, patient assessment, and basic field care for common injuries.

Wilderness Advanced First Aid

The Wilderness Advanced First Aid is the perfect entry-level course for outdoor adventurers and outdoor professionals who may need to provide patient care when help is delayed for hours to days. The course focuses on basic lifesaving skills, patient assessment, field care for common injuries and illnesses, environmental illnesses, and proper reporting for rescue assistance.

Hybrid Wilderness Advanced First Aid

This course option includes a required e-learning section with 20+ hours of interactive online learning followed by 2+ days (18-20 hours) of in-person training. The Wilderness Advanced First Aid is the perfect entry-level course for outdoor adventurers and outdoor professionals who may need to provide patient care when help is delayed for hours to days. The course focuses on basic lifesaving skills, patient assessment, field care for common injuries and illnesses, environmental illnesses, and proper reporting for rescue assistance.

Bridge – Wilderness Advanced First Aid To Wilderness First Responder

Build on your Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) skills to transition to the scope of practice and competency of a Wilderness First Responder (WFR). This course must be taken within three years of WAFA certification to qualify. Pre-course review is required to ensure you have the foundational knowledge to successfully bridge from a WAFA to a WFR in 4 days.

Wilderness First Responder

(7, 8, or 9-Day course)

This course option is entirely in-person during this 7, 8, or 9-day course. The Wilderness First Responder is a comprehensive medical training for outdoor educators, guides, professional search and rescue teams, and others who work and adventure in remote settings. Learn the essential skills, knowledge, and critical thinking required to assess and manage medical problems in low-resource environments for days and weeks if necessary.

Hybrid Wilderness First Responder

This course option includes a required e-learning section with 30+ hours of interactive online learning followed by 5 days (45 hours) of in-person training. The Wilderness First Responder is a comprehensive medical training for outdoor educators, guides, professional search and rescue teams, and others who work and adventure in remote settings. Learn the essential skills, knowledge, and critical thinking required to assess and manage medical problems in low-resource environments for days and weeks if necessary.

5-Day Wilderness First Responder

This course option includes 30+ hours of pre-course work via textbook review and the completion of a study guide followed by 5 days (45 hours) of in-person training. The Wilderness First Responder is a comprehensive medical training for outdoor educators, guides, professional search and rescue teams, and others who work and adventure in remote settings. Learn the essential skills, knowledge, and critical thinking required to assess and manage medical problems in low-resource environments for days and weeks if necessary.

Wilderness EMS Upgrade

This course helps providers determine the areas of their scope of practice that are effective in pre-hospital wilderness and remote settings. Interdisciplinary providers are intentionally mixed during performance tasks to promote future collaboration in the field. Participants in this course include Advanced Practice Providers, Registered Nurses, EMTs and Paramedics, search and rescue medical leaders, expedition medics, DMAT team members, and military medics. This course will help providers prepare for the WP-C test.

Wilderness Advanced Life Support

For Advanced Care Medical Practitioners to discuss and develop the skills necessary for critical patient care in remote and resource-challenged settings. Learn new ways to utilize technology for life-saving efforts in unique situations. AMA PRA Category 1 credits are awarded through the Wilderness Medical Society at course completion.

Continuing Education Hours

Most of our standard courses are approved for continuing education hours (CEHs) for first responders, EMTs, paramedics, and others with EMS licenses through the Commission on Accreditation for Prehospital Continuing Education (CAPCE). We also offer AMA PRA Category I Credits for our WALS course and many of our WEMS courses provide credits for nurses. We’ve provided a table of CEHs you can review by course type and license type.

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