Advanced Wilderness First Aid Recap!

Posted
May 7, 2015

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Advanced Wilderness First Aid certification classes were held May 2 & 3, 2015. It wasn’t just two days of intense training, it was also a lot of fun! We had a fantastic group this year, and the instructor Gerry Brache, of Solo Wilderness Medical Schools was great once again.

chairWilderness First Aid certification is a requirement to be a trip leader for the Maine Chapter of the AMC. The Advanced class takes this certification one step further. The course emphasizes leadership skills and presents new skills such as litter packaging and traction splinting. Accidents happen, and you can be assured that your AMC Maine trip leader will have the skills to make a difference between a good outcome and a bad one, and maybe even save a life.

Several mock scenarios were played out during the two day course. One of these was as follows: Our group of seven hikers is in Mexico, hiking along a narrow dirt trail. We have a 40′ drop off to our right. To our left is a vertical rock wall. We are hiking along, and suddenly a group of mountain bikers comes around the corner, knocking us off the 40′ cliff. We fall and land on rocks and dirt. Luckily another group of 14 hikers comes along to help us. Those of us that have fallen have fractures, sprains, spinal injuries, many cuts, and some concussions. The 14 rescuers are all AMC Maine chapter leaders and know exactly how to treat us! They begin with the patient assessment and finish with the treatment of injuries. There are many steps in between and we covered them all in two days of intense training! Hopefully we will never have to use these skills in a wilderness setting!

Our group also covered a mock drowning scenario, and ankle and wrist injuries with a group of trail runners.

burritoWe all took part in packaging our human burrito volunteer (once she was wrapped in the tarp she resembled a burrito), placing her in a litter, and carrying her several times around the building and up and down hills. It took team work to accomplish this, always keeping in mind that this could be reality some day! Let’s hope not, but if it does happen we will be prepared.

According to a survey by SOLO, here are some of the common expedition problems (in no particular order):

  • Blisters
  • Burns
  • Contact Dermatitis
  • Dehydration
  • Frostbite
  • Headache
  • Bites
  • Heat Exhaustion
  • Fractures
  • Hypothermia
  • Objects in Eye
  • Impaled Objects
  • Sunburn

Photos and story by Lisa Pengel