WRFA to Advanced WRFA Bridge Course
| Course Details |
BACK 40 CUSTOMIZED CANADIAN RED CROSS WRFA TO ADVANCED WRFA BRIDGE COURSE
DURATION: 20hours
SETTING: OUTSIDE! Mother Nature permitting. Unique to each course scheduled.
SCHEDULING: Unique to each course scheduled.
COMPLETION: 100% attendance, skills demonstration, and 75% minimum on exam.
CERTIFICATE: Red Cross Advanced Wilderness & Remote First Aid with CPR-C/AED
VALIDATION: Certificate is valid for 3 years.
RECERTIFICATION: Prior to expiration date you may recertify through our Advanced Wilderness & Remote First Aid Recertification course. Expired certifications must take full course again.
| Pre-Requisites |
• 20hr Wilderness & Remote First Aid (WRFA) (not expired)
• NOTE: If the WRFA course was not issued by Back40, you will need to provide proof of WRFA certification.
| Who is this course for? |
This Bridge course is for anyone wishing to upgrade their 20hr Wilderness & Remote First Aid to the 40hr Advanced Wilderness & Remote First Aid certification.
Wilderness & Remote First Aid training will:
• Introduce you to the skills & knowledge you need to assess injury or illness when you may not be able to access medical advice or Google.
• Provide some guidance on how to manage situational emergencies and evaluate the need and logistics to evacuate a sick/injured person
• Offer you suggestions on how to improvise bandaging, splinting, and injury care with what you normally would carry
• Give you ample opportunity to practice practical applications of splints, bandages, spinal management and hypothermia wraps
• Challenge your learning through scenarios staged with injuries/illnesses in settings directly correlational to your choice of activity
• Provide conversation on challenges in the backcountry including communications, navigation, short term survival and environmental factors
| Wilderness First Aid (WRFA) vs Standard First Aid (SFA) |
The WRFA 20hr course is almost equivalent to a 16hr Standard First Aid (on paper). Back40 recognizes that there is an immense difference between urban first aid and remote first aid. We strive to create a learning environment that is more parallel to common outdoor experiences. By learning outside you are constantly seeing (and experiencing) the effects of the environment around you while you learn skills and manage complications.
Back40 also fosters a HANDS ON approach to learning where students will be encouraged and guided through actually executing hands on skills. There is very little down time in our classes and if you are not practicing a skill you will most likely be in a scenario implementing it. For example:
• Bleeding checks to base layer or skin requires removal of clothing and exposure to inside layers
• Strategies to evaluate the severity of an unconscious patient’s condition
• Time to do thorough Primary and Secondary surveys, introducing SOAP notes
• Breathing checks and vital checks are done on different people in different positions;
• Spinal rolls are done in unusual positions, inconvenient spots, and with complicating patient conditions
• Creation and exploration of pressure bandages and improvised tourinquets – on yourself!
• Ample time to practice patient exposure management and utilize different industry common items such as emergency blankets, bivy sacks and personal clothing
• Creation of splints utilizing your own gear/clothing instead of uncommon items you likely do not carry
It is our hope to distinctly separate the student experience in a SFA from our WRFA classes. The actual methodologies and best practices taught in SFA are exact to WRFA but the environment and mindset is what sets the two apart.
However – please be reminded that in a short 20hour course there is barely enough time to cover the INTRODUCTION to all the first aid concepts. Consider the 20hr Wilderness & Remote First Aid Course to be a comprehensive introduction or EXPANSION of your first aid knowledge – but it may not feel like it was sufficient. We offer a 20hr Advanced Wilderness First Aid Bridge Course to upgrade to the 40hr advanced course or we also host the full 40hr Advanced Wilderness & Remote First Aid Course separately.
| Red Cross Course Content List |
Because the participant will have a WRFA certification already, this bridge course will continue on and expand on the base knowledge they obtained from the WRFA. Specifically:
1. Helmet Removal
- Proper assessment and decision making
- Skills for a variety of helmets including full face helmets, climbing helmets, bike helmets, etc.
- Continuing care and spinal precautions after removal
2. Re-Aligning Fractures and Re-Setting Dislocations
- Proper assessment and decision making
- Proper mechanisms to attempt realignment
- Advanced immobilization techniques / splinting
- Continuing care
3.Complicating & Traumatic Injury Management
- Femoral fracture treatment
- Hip / pelvic injuries
- Long term care of traumatic injuries
- Moving patients with traumatic injuries
4. Extended Care Scenarios
- Planning evacuations
- Group health management
- Patient monitoring and extended care
- Moving patients over extended distances
5. Complicating Scenarios
- AWRFA allows for more time spent on more complicated and longer duration scenarios
Back40 customizes the class itinerary for each course based on the participant needs and prior skill level. Most of our AWRFA courses will also include an overnight component so that students may practice scenarios in the dark. When possible, we may assist you in evacuation planning strategies, navigation basics, communication strategies, and group management skills.
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“This was by far the BEST first aid course I have ever taken in my life. The way she builds her scenarios are unique and realistic. And having to do this course outside made this even more lifelike…”
– Jean-Simon Lessard
Canadian Armed Forces
“Back40’s Wilderness first Aid should be required for all residents of Saskatchewan! If you work in remote areas, camp, fish, hunt, farm, hike, bike, walk n the city or drive on grid roads, you will find this training relevant, and potentially life saving. Typical first aid is a lot of reading, not much practice and often leaves you feeling more nervous than before. Back40’s Wilderness First Aid spends the majority of your time actually practicing skills, which not only benefits your skill level by being able to do it better, but it also boosts your confidence in your ability to apply first aid.”
Erin Tomlinson – Resource Management Technician, Meewasin Valley Authority
Eryn Tomlinson“…Highlights for me were the authentic and sustained scenarios, repetition of the full assessment sequence and the forms. I will be putting waterproofed copies in my pack!…”
– Daryll Sewell
North Corman Park Search & Rescue
“…we do not only do it for ourselves, but for others that also enjoy the backcountry. It’s hard to understand the importance until you or your friend are the ones in need of help and find yourself questioning your actions…”
– Beau Drieschner
Saskatoon Search & Rescue