# Red Cross Widerness First Aid



## mjdoa (May 19, 2010)

Has anyone taken this course?
I'm about to sign up for it($135.00).
I called the local Red Cross,they tell me this is 
the course to take for SHTF preparedness.
Just wonder if it's worth double the money
they charge for standard first-aid/cpr/aed course.
Thanks for opinions.


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## tyler_kd0bsa (Nov 4, 2009)

Depending on what you have already I would recommend the NOLS wilderness first aid course if you can find one close by. No CPR or AED included but I guess I already had that. Its very good with mock practice on the skills you learn. Any more questions just pm me.


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

What is the course outline? Alot of scouting manuals can be used to learn accident management in the wilderness.


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## tyler_kd0bsa (Nov 4, 2009)

For the NOLS course it is:

DAY 1
Introductions
Patient Assessment System
Initial Assessment
Patient Exam

Vital Signs

Focused History
Documentation

Lunch

Spinal Cord Injury Management
Head Injuries
Shock
Wilderness Wound Management


DAY 2
Focused Spine Assessment

Athletic Injuries
Fractures
Dislocations
Heat Injuries

Lunch

Cold Injuries
Lightning
Altitude Illness

Acute Abdomen

Anaphylaxis
The Unresponsive Patient
Wilderness First Aid Kits


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## mjdoa (May 19, 2010)

I have no formal training.
Also can't spell wilderness.
The online description of the course says,
Wilderness First Aid Training | Lee County Red Cross
The person I called was not the instructor of this course,
he said it is very intensive.
I feel like I'd like to have at least some formal hands on training,
I've read lots and have some first-aid manuals.
I'll look at NOLS training.


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## tyler_kd0bsa (Nov 4, 2009)

When I took the NOLS course it was like $250 but that included food and lodging for where it was held. I already had CPR and AED beforehand though.


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

tyler_kd0bsa said:


> For the NOLS course it is:
> 
> DAY 1
> Introductions
> ...


Definately goes deeper than scouting in some areas.


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## mjdoa (May 19, 2010)

NOLS is way far away,not an option.
I'll see if I can find a better description of the Red Cross
course and post it up.
Sorry,I'm at work,may take a little time.
Thanks for answering,all.


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## mjdoa (May 19, 2010)

Found an outline for the Red Cross course:




Course Outline

Types of Delayed-help Situations 
Emergency Action Steps – Check, Call, Care – in these situations 
Checking the scene, patient, and resources 
Contacting help 
Caring for the patient long term 
Patient assessment and Record 
Preventing Disease Transmission 
Prioritizing Care 
Treatment of injuries such as: 
Wounds 

Head and Spinal Injuries 

Extremity Injuries 

Abdominal Injuries 

Sudden Illnesses 

Major Bites and Stings 

Other types of backcountry miseries 

Carrying Out the Plan 

Deciding to Evacuate


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

I took the Wilderness FirstAid course now through a local company called "InsideOut Experience". I have renewed my Wilderness FirstAid several times through them since that first time of getting my certificate. They follow the RedCross FirstAid course and my certificate states RedCross right on it.

I will say that the winter-course is much harder than their summer-course as we had to deal with possible hypothermia in real-life while out in the bush doing the course. The course was several days of class-room training and two days of intense outdoor training.

We went over many scenerios from something as simple as removing a splinter to car-accidents, hunting accidents (arrow, gun-shot) to falls and breaks and sucking chest-wounds.

I came away from that course knowing more about first-aid than I learned from my LifeSaving courses (water-safety / life-guard) and learned alternates to what I learned through my Industrial FirstAid courses (my dad was am Industrial FirstAid guy for 30+ years).

I have all the books on being an EMT - read them over (and still have/use the Palm-application) I feel that what I learned in Wilderness FirstAid will be more than sufficient due to the training we go through to "use what is available" instead of needing to rely on the "tools and proceedures".

Too many EMT's rely on "speed" to get the person in trouble to help which is something that a Wilderness FirstAider may not have (imagine a 10mile hike back to a place where you _might_ be able to call in some help).


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## Littlebit (Apr 20, 2010)

Very Cool! I would like to do something to brush up on my First Aid Training. My years working off shore I went through some pretty intense fire fighting and water survival training, but I have never taken a wilderness course. I don't think I would do very good in the winter.


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## mjdoa (May 19, 2010)

Thanks,NaeKid,and everyone else.
I live in SW FL,hypothermia isn't usually a huge issue here,
but could be.
I did sign up for the course,it's July 10-11.There goes that weekend.
It'll be interesting to see how they treat subjects like hypothermia,
how "localized" the training will be.Will give you an opinion after
it's over,if I can find this thread again in 6 or 7 weeks.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

mjdoa said:


> Thanks,NaeKid,and everyone else.
> I live in SW FL,hypothermia isn't usually a huge issue here,
> but could be.
> I did sign up for the course,it's July 10-11.There goes that weekend.
> ...


You can add certain threads to your "watch-list" and when you need to go back to them, visit your UserCP (ControlPanel) and click into your watch-list and re-visit the thread at that time.

To get this thread into your "watch-list", click on *ThreadTools* at the top of this message, then choose *Subscribe to this thread* and follow the rest of the prompts!


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## mjdoa (May 19, 2010)

Will do,thanks


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## Expeditioner (Jan 6, 2009)

The Red Cross is a good introduction to Wilderness Medicine. Take the course. Sometimes the instructors can point you in the right direction for advanced training.

The NOLS course is fantastic. Check out their site. They have some great resources:

http://www.nols.edu/wmi/


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## model130 (Jun 20, 2010)

The Red Cross is a money grubbing organization. It is like giving to the United Way. I would not give a dime to either organization. You can't go wrong with some basic boy scout training from say the 70's. Then add your CPR and more recent stuff. I am sure the new boy scout manual is more focused on fighting off a gay male leader. So this is what our lifes come to.


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