Next Challenge! Scenario Webinar: HEAT EMERGENCIES • Wed 5/31/23 8-9 ET • LOG IN TO REGISTER
Emergency medical training for outdoor leaders & adventurers, wilderness guides, search & rescue
Self-paced study. No travel. Your choice of video or live Zoom skills checkoffs.
90 Days Unlimited Access Includes:
Frequently-Asked Questions
If this is your first certification as a Wilderness First Responder, most students take about 3-4 weeks.
Of course, this varies for each person based on their schedule availability, reason for certifying, etc. You're free to go faster or slower.
If you're recertifying as a Wilderness First Responder, motivated students with prior WFR training and experience have finished in about 4 days.
Yes. To receive the Wilderness EMT designation, you first successfully complete our regular WFR course, including all assignments, Practical Skills demonstrations, and the multiple choice certification exam.
You then send us a copy of your current state license or NREMT certification and we re-issue your certificate with the Wilderness EMT designation.
Our certificates are widely accepted. Here's a partial list of organizations who have accepted Survival Med certificates.
If you're planning to use your certificate for a job, we always advise checking with your supervisor. For example, different National Parks have different requirements.
You'll want to explain that this is a hybrid course format:
- Self-paced lecture materials are provided online
- Challenge! Scenario webinars are coached live by our physician-instructors
- All scenario-based SOAP Note assignments are graded by an MD/PhD instructor who provides detailed 1:1 feedback and coaching
- Practical Skills demonstrations are hands-on
- Hands-on practical Skills demonstrations are graded by an MD/Phd instructor who provides 1:1 detailed feedback and coaching based on your video & photo submissions
All lecture materials, knowledge checks, quizzes and SOAP Note assignments are online.
You'll also submit Practical Skills demonstrations like the physical exam, splinting and tourniquets via videos & photos on volunteer patients—usually coworkers, friends or family—for review, grading and feedback by our instructors.
No travel or in-person activities are required.
Yes. To recertify, you complete our regular WFR course, including all assignments and the multiple choice exam.
You'll also submit your Practical Skills demonstration videos/photos for instructor reviewing and grading.
However, you're free to skip or fast-forward through video lectures if you're confident that you already know the material.
We do not offer a challenge exam for WFR certificate or recertification that allows you to skip course assignments or Practical Skills demonstrations.
We're working on providing CEUs & CMEs. However, we don't currently offer continuing education credits.
Preview an actual Wilderness First Responder scenario
What our hybrid WFR course covers
* advanced content not found in other Wilderness First Responder courses
Hands-on Practical Skills checked off by instructors
Learn our 43-point physical exam protocol, spinal assessment protocol & patient transport techniques + practice using everyday items to control bleeding, stabilize potential spinal injuries + arm and leg fractures, including compression bandages, tourniquets, splinting methods and much more.
Video classes teach essential practical wilderness first aid skills
Demonstrate hands-on skills mastery using family, friends or coworkers as "patients"
Get detailed 1:1 feedback & coaching points on your video and photo submissions
Test your knowledge with realistic wilderness emergency scenarios
Practice the same SOAP (subjective, objective, assessment, plan) protocol used in medical emergencies around the world
Includes Survival Med Challenge! webinars
Extra resources—at no extra cost
Optional free enrollment in Univ. of Utah's Associate in Wilderness Medicine advanced certification program—only through Survival Med!
Free access to 50+ hours of advanced wilderness medicine podcasts—from knocked-out teeth to SAR incident command protocols & more!
Widely-accepted 2-year certificate
Accepted by National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, National Assn for Search & Rescue, ACA/PaddleSports (American Canoe), The Mountaineers, mountain rescue teams, ski/beach patrol, SAR teams, local Sierra Club chapters, guide & expedition businesses & many others
NOTE: As a matter of policy, federal & state agencies do not endorse specific wilderness medicine schools or programs.
Unfiltered customer reviews
Survival Med Faculty
Natalie Bonthius, MD
Founder of Survival Med & Emergency & Survival Medicine Physician, UHS-Southern California
Carson Harper, MD
Emergency Medicine Physician, UHS-Southern California
Richard Ingebretsen, MD
Clinical Instructor & Wild Med U Program Director, University of Utah School of Medicine
Kevin
Grange
Paramedic & Firefighter, Jackson Hole Fire & EMS and Grand Teton National Park
Robert Scanlon, MD
Quadruple Board-Certified Critical Care, Pulmonology, Internal Medicine & Sleep Medicine Physician