Standard WFR Course - Sample Syllabus

Our Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course is designed for outdoor professionals, those taking multi-day or extended trips, and people involved with potentially high-risk activities (rock climbing, whitewater paddling, mountaineering, etc.) WFR courses provide ideal training for people who travel in remote locations, in challenging weather, with limited equipment, unreliable communication, and little or no access to outside assistance. 

This syllabus may change based on particular course needs, changes in certification standards, etc. We'll do our best to keep it updated here!

• Basic Life Support Lab: Addresses all elements of the Scene size-up and Initial Patient Exam.
• Adult & Child CPR and AED Certification Skills Lab: Adult & Child CPR, AED, and Obstructed Airway skills are refined using mannikins.
• Wound Cleaning Lab: Pig feet are used for training realistic wound cleaning, removal of impaled objects [including fish hooks].
• Basic & Advanced Extremity Splinting Labs: Padded aluminum splints and expedition supplies are used to improvise effective extremity splints using the buddy, cast, jelly roll, sandwich splint concepts. Bring a cut T-shirt roll and a pair of heavy hiking socks; the socks will not be cut.
• Injection Lab: Students learn how to deliver intramuscular and subcutaneous injections using a pre-filled syringe [containing normal saline] and autoinjector trainers.
• Improvised Pelvic Binder: Common expedition equipment is used to improvise an effective pelvic binder.
• Focused Spine Assessment Lab: How to assess and rule out possible spine injuries in a wilderness context.
• Spine Management Lab: Lifting, moving, and packaging potentially spine-injured patients lying on their back and side in a commercial or improvised litter and improvised stretcher.
• Improvised Rope Litter Lab: A daisy chain rope litter is demonstrated and practiced.
• Dislocations Lab: Relocation techniques for indirect anterior shoulder, lateral patella, and digits are demonstrated and practiced. Jaw reduction and passive anterior shoulder reduction techniques are demonstrated.
• Improvised Hypothermia Packaging Lab: Sleeping bags, pads, tarps or plastic sheeting, and water bags/bottles are used to improvise a hypothermia package.
• Simulations: Role plays incorporating patient assessment & documentation. Make-up is used to increase the reality of traumatic simulations and cuttable simulation clothing is required. 

This course exceeds the Wilderness Medicine Education Collaborative’s minimum standards for Wilderness First Responder certification. An additional ten hours of instruction includes the topics and skills below and more simulation time. 

Topics: 

• SCUBA Diving Injuries
• Marine Toxins/Envenomations
• Behavioral/Mental Health Emergencies 

Skills:

• Wound cleaning
• Improvised Litters or Stretchers
• Reduction of jaw dislocations

The administration of epinephrine via a pre-filled syringe At WMTC, we believe these additional topics, skills, and simulations are essential for a WFR graduate.