Wilderness First Responder Certification

Outdoor Pursuits

Be prepared for your next adventure by becoming a certified Wilderness First Responder. This five-day, blended-learning course combines classroom lessons with backcountry experience and skills. You'll learn how to diagnose and treat many ailments in the wilderness. Participants must be 18 years of age or older.

Program overview

This certification course is facilitated by Lochsa Wilderness Medicine, a provider of Wilderness Medical Associates International. Why choose a Wilderness Medical Associates International provider?

Individuals who don't complete the pre-course work won't be permitted to participate in the course and earn certification.

If you're in need of special accommodations, email outdoorpursuits@sfasu.edu.

Why Wilderness Medical Associates International?
  • Based on nearly three decades of oversight and continual review by a faculty committee of medical practitioners, Wilderness Medical Associates International curriculum is established, proven and is based on conceptual learning and critical thinking.
  • Instructors are medical professionals who are in the field doing what they teach. They are required to complete rigorous training and bring an unprecedented amount of experience to the courses they teach.
  • Courses devote significant time to practical sessions and realistic rescue simulations that prepare students for the stress of actual emergency situations in the field.
  • Teaching over 8,000 students annually, and having taught Wilderness First Responder and Wilderness EMT courses since the 1980s, Wilderness Medical Associates International is the "standard by which all other wilderness medical providers are judged."

 

Course topics and program objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, you will have a solid understanding of and the skills necessary to handle the following:

  • general concepts in wilderness and rescue medicine, including:
    • patient assessment system
    • critical body systems - basic life support
    • cardiopulmonary resuscitation
    • and recognition and treatment of anaphylaxis and asthma
  • practical skills, including:
    • lifting, moving and extrication of patients
    • spine stabilization and litter packaging
    • and wound cleaning and exploration
  • environmental topics, including:
    • exposure control
    • bites and stings
    • altitude illness
    • cold injuries
    • diving emergencies
    • thermoregulation
    • lightning
    • near drowning
    • and avalanche
  • musculoskeletal systems:
    • spine injury assessment
    • musculoskeletal injuries
    • extremity splinting
    • and dislocations
  • medical legal issues
  • soft tissue injury
  • toxins
  • search and rescue
  • backcountry medicine
  • emergency childbirth
  • and medical kits.

Pre-course preparation

Duration: 30 hours of online course learning

You must complete the pre-course preparation before Jan. 8, 2025. Participants who don't finish their pre-course work before this deadline will be dropped from the course and ineligible for a refund.

Before you begin:

Email outdoorpursuits@sfasu.edu to request digital access to the Wilderness and Rescue Medicine textbook.

Two-to-four weeks prior to in-person course:

The Wilderness First Responder study guide will become available. You'll need to read the textbook and complete the study guide.

Information regarding access will be emailed to you upon registration.

You must complete the assigned reading, case studies, study guide and tests prior to arriving to the in-person course.  

In-person course: Jan. 8-12, 2025

Duration: 40 hours of in-person learning

The in-person instruction reinforces and expands on the knowledge already acquired through pre-course preparation and didactic material. During this five-day course, we'll focus on wilderness and rescue scenarios and practical skills. You should expect rescue scenarios with made-up victims and simulated wounds to prepare you for backcountry emergencies.

Training sessions are typically held 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day with a break for lunch. Evenings are reserved for study and assignments.

Free sleeping accommodations are offered for participants living outside Nacogdoches.

Registration

  • Deadline to register: Dec. 1, 2024
  • Registration fee: $799 until Nov. 1
    • $50 fee increase Nov. 2

Register Online

Completion and certification

Successful completion with certification is based on:

  • 100% attendance
  • satisfactory performance on homework assignments and written quizzes
  • demonstrated proficiency with practical skills
  • and a grade of 80% or better on the final written exam.

All eligible students who successfully complete the course will receive certifications in:

  • Wilderness First Responder
  • Healthcare Provider level Basic Life Support CPR/First Aid
  • and anaphylaxis.

All Wilderness Medial Associates certifications are based on International Liasion Committee on Resuscitation/American Heart Association standards and remain valid for three years.
 

Sleeping accommodations

Participants who don't live in Nacogdoches may request sleeping accommodations.

For those traveling to Nacogdoches for this course, Campus Recreation will offer free sleeping accommodations in one of the multipurpose rooms within the Student Recreation Center.

What's provided:

  • Shower facilities
  • Refrigerator and food storage access
  • 24/7 staffing

Bring your own bedding (e.g., sleeping bags, pads, etc.), toiletries and other overnight necessities.

Facility access

Arrival/check-in: Jan. 8, time TBA

Building facility doors will be locked at 8 p.m. each day

Pack-up: Jan. 12, time TBA

You may continue to store your belongings while you attend the last day of the course, but you're expected to have everything packed, allowing prompt departure following the conclusion of the course.

Questions about the course?

Ethan Fatheree 
Outdoor Pursuits Coordinator
936.468.1775
ethan.fatheree@sfasu.edu