Wilderness First Aid - Advanced (4 days)

Course outline

• Introduction to Wilderness First Aid. What is wilderness?, what is wilderness first aid?, legal and ethical issues, psychological and emotional issues, infectious disease precautions, immunisations, travel medical insurance.
• Action at an emergency. Approaching a victim, mechanism of injury, assisting victims in the following settings: water, ice, electrical, fires, animal attack and confined spaces, moving a victim, extrication from difficult locations, seeking help, guidelines for evacuation.
• Victim assessment and urgent care. Scene survey, initial (primary) survey, victim's history, vital signs and physical exam (secondary survey), ongoing assessment, multiple victim incidents (triage).
• Care of bleeding, wounds and burns. Treatment of bleeding, types of wound, wound cleaning and closure, wound infections, tetanus, friction blisters, amputations, objectives for immediate and prolonged burn care.
• Dressings and bandages. Dressings, bandages, applying and removing a dressing, bandaging techniques for a wide range of injuries. 
• Head and facial injuries. Scalp wounds, facial wounds, eyes, ears, nose, throat, fractures and dislocation of the jaw, injuries to the lips and tongue, management of dental problems.
•  Bone, joint and muscle injuries. Anatomy of the skeletal system, Orthopaedic trauma in the wilderness, sprains, strains, fractures and dislocation; traction, reduction procedures for dislocations in remote settings, splinting and immobilisation of specific injuries in the upper extremities, lower extremities and spine; moving a victim with a spinal injury, guidelines for evacuation.
• Circulatory emergencies. Anatomy and physiology; shock, internal bleeding, nitro-glycerine, management of angina and suspected heart attack in remote setting.
• Respiratory emergencies. Anatomy and physiology; managing open and closed chest injury, flail chests, pneumothorax, haemothorax, advanced procedures for tension pneumothorax, management of asthma, hyperventilation, pneumonia, pleurisy and stridor.
• Neurological emergencies. Anatomy and physiology; stroke, management of seizures, fainting, the unresponsive victim, recovery position, the responsive victim, head injury, epilepsy and other neurological problems.
• Abdominal emergencies. Anatomy of the abdomen; blunt and penetrating trauma, illnesses, bloody stools and haemorrhoids, appendicitis, hernia, evacuation guidelines for abdominal problems.
• Diabetic emergencies and allergies. Diabetes, metabolism, acute complications of diabetes, management of an allergic reaction, anaphylactic shock, epinephrine injection procedure.
• Genitourinary problems. Female genital problems, emergency childbirth, pregnancy and wilderness travel - general considerations, male genital problems, bladder/urinary tract infections, guidelines for evacuation of genitourinary problems.
• Physical and environmental hazards. Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), management of high altitude pulmonary and cerebral oedema, hypothermia, frostbite, frostnip, trench foot, heat stroke and heat exhaustion, field management for victims struck by lightning.
• Poisons, toxins, and poisonous plants. Carbon monoxide poisoning, toxic plants and poisons, plant induced dermatitis.
• Animal bites, human bites, and snakebites.
• Insect and arthropod bites and stings. Tick bites, insect stings, insect repellents.
• Water emergencies. Submersion incidents, drowning, secondary drowning, cold shock, immersion hypothermia, dangers associated with scuba diving, decompression illness, arterial gas embolism, motion sickness, management of marine animal stings.
• Essentials of resuscitation. Basic Life Support, CPR for adults, children and infants; airway obstruction and choking.
• Wilderness First Aid equipment and supplies
• Improvisation
• Improving the odds of survival