Wilderness First Responder

While trying to sort out my First Aid re-certification with the Red Cross, I came across Wilderness Medical Associates (WMA), a company based in Scarborough, Maine, that offers a variety of training classes from First Aid through EMT and Advanced Life Support.  WMA offers classes throughout the country, and I was lucky enough to find a Wilderness First Responder course about 20 minutes south of me in Virginia during the second week of March.  I think it's a great idea to have a little more advanced medical training than standard First Aid offers.  Injuries do happen; my parents had to deal with quite a few of them over the years.  When it comes down to it, if anything does happen in or around Camp, I'm pretty much in a first responder position whether I'm trained or not.

My textbook came in the mail today, so I've started a little light reading.  We've been warned that we'll face "grueling 9- to 11-hour days," and I can't wait.  By the end of the class, we'll have learned how to respond to injuries and illness ranging from hypothermia to lightning strikes in an environment where standard rescue may be a long time coming.

The class certainly won't give me as deep a knowledge as an EMT course, but it'll give me a good understanding of the basics without needing to change careers, and it'll give me one more layer of confidence.  I'll keep you posted on how the course goes!