Wilderness and Remote First Aid Course – December 2009

by Wendy White

In December 2009, the Saskatchewan section of ACC organized a 20 hour Red Cross Wilderness and Remote First Aid Course that was put on by First Aid for Life Saskatoon. There were twelve participants with diverse interests from diving to climbing to backcountry skiing.

My husband Dick and I both took the class and found it to be very valuable. The instructor provided a wealth of information in a variety of formats that kept everyone engaged. The course included an evening at Diefenbaker Park at -10 C with a brisk wind that reminded us of the challenges that weather adds to dealing with any wilderness injury. Many of the participants had taken first aid courses before and there were often comments on the changes that have been made to suggested procedures to deal with some conditions. Obviously, the course evolves over the years and this highlights the importance of obtaining recertification. The certificate from this course is valid for three years. Participants receive a course manual as well as a handy field guide that can be tucked into a first aid kit.

Taking the course confirmed many of the things that we were already doing to prepare for backcountry travel but also added some interesting changes. Our medical kit is now updated, we feel more prepared to handle an injury, we made more concrete plans for potential bad weather conditions and put more thought into how we might evacuate a person if necessary. As always we planned for how we would communicate within the group and make contact with emergency services if needed (e.g. radios, satellite phone).