Bridge (WAFA to WFR)

Upgrade to full Wilderness First Responder certification from WAFA

Four-day training to provide WFR certification to those with a Wilderness Advanced First Aid credential.

Topics include reduction of certain joint dislocations, treatment of severe asthma with Rx medications, and more

Course Overview

Bridge (WAFA to WFR)

Course # 250602

Dates

June 10 –
June 14

Course Length

4 days

Location

Friday Harbor, WA USA

Registration deadline

June 2

Cost

USD 123.88

Language

English

Certification

Wilderness First Responder

Full Course Description

Course Description

Course Content

The Bridge curriculum is written by a team of remote medical rescue researchers and professionals. Ongoing evidence based research and review contributes to a unique and innovative approach to patient care in backcountry and austere settings. The curriculum is comprehensive, complete, and kept current on an annual basis.

  • General Principles of Wilderness and Rescue Medicine with an emphasis on the prevention and identification of medical emergencies, appropriate technology, and risk management.
  • Patient assessment and emergency care including CPR, basic life support (BLS), and the emergency treatment of anaphylaxis and asthma.
  • Environmental Medicine including altitude illness, hypothermia and heat illness, frostbite and cold injury, lightning, submersion, and environmental toxins.
  • Backcountry Medicine including the assessment and treatment of common medical problems.
  • Musculoskeletal Problems including unstable and stable injuries overuse syndromes, and dislocations.
  • Wound management including open fractures, lacerations, burns and blisters.
  • Practical skills including splinting, bandaging, litter packaging and medical kit preparation.
  • Wilderness Protocols including wound cleaning and exploration, spine injury assessment, dislocation reduction, CPR in the remote setting, and anaphylaxis and asthma.

Certifications

Upon successful completion, learners will receive a Wilderness First Responder certification and certification of CPR (based on ILCOR/AHA standards) at the BLS CPR for healthcare professionals level.

The course is registered for 70 hours of continuing education credit through the Commission on Accreditation for Prehospital Continuing Education (CAPCE).

Local EMS authorities may permit this certification to be used to challenge the US DOT First Responder exam.

Certifications are valid for three years.

Evaluation

Successful completion with certification is based on 100 percent attendance, satisfactory performance on homework assignments and written quizzes, demonstrated proficiency with practical skills and a successful grade on a final written exam. Viristar is committed to making reasonable accommodation to any learner with special needs.

Recertification

Within three years, graduates may recertify by retaking the Bridge (WAFA to WFR) course, or completing the Open Recertification course.

Contact us more information about recertification options.

Prerequisites

Current Wilderness Advanced First Aid certification within three years of the Bridge course. If using this course to recertify, learners must have proof of a valid WFR or WEMS certification from WMAI or a valid WFR certification from another organization, whose original training was at least 64 hours in length. Proof of certification is required.

In order to enroll in this course, the learner must meet at least one of the following three criteria:

  • Hold a current WAFA certification, from a course with at least 36 hours of instruction.
  • Hold a current WFR certification, from a course with at least 70 hours of instruction, of which 45 must be in-person. (In this case the Bridge course acts as a WFR recertification.)
  • Hold a current Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) certification. (In this case, successful Bridge course learners receive a WFR certification.)

Learners will have access to the pre-course assignments two to four weeks prior to course. Learners should complete the study guide in preparation for the course. The guide was designed to familiarize learners with the essential points in the curriculum. Instructors will collect it at the beginning of the course, but it will not be figured in to the final grade.

Learners must be at least sixteen years old to participate in this course. Those under eighteen years of age will require the written consent of a guardian or parent.

Continuing Education Hours

Materials Provided

All teaching materials will be provided by Viristar at no additional cost. Participants will receive the following books on this course:

  • Wilderness and Rescue Medicine: A Practical Guide for the Basic and Advanced Practitioner
  • The Field Guide of Wilderness and Rescue Medicine
  • Wilderness Medicine Workbook
  • Wilderness First Responder Class Notes
  • SOAP Notebook

Equipment

We ask our course hosts to provide basic outdoor equipment and any specific gear relevant to their personnel when in remote and austere environments. Viristar will supply a specific equipment list to cover simulation and classroom needs.

Customization

As part of Viristar’s commitment to your medical rescue training, our instructors and management will inquire about your group’s needs and teach according to your group’s backgrounds, environments, and experience. Simulations and hands-on activities will be realistic and relevant. Relevant adult education is incorporated directly into our curriculum to maximize learning of medical theory and development of practical skills.

Syllabus

DOWNLOAD FULL SYLLABUS

Topics

Day 1

Welcome, registration
Introduction
Review Pre-course Study Packet
Patient Assessment
Circulatory System

Respiratory Systems
Patient Assessment Drills
Basic Life Support (including Adult/Child/Infant CPR, Oxygen & AED)

Day 2

Quiz/Case Studies Review
Nervous System
Spine Management
Musculoskeletal System
Patient Assessment Drill

Dislocations
Patient Immobilization
Litter Carries
Patient Assessment Drills

Day 3

Quiz/Case Studies Review
Allergy & Anaphylaxis
Altitude or Diving
Frostbite

Drowning
Improvised Litters
Simulation

Day 4

Case Study Review
Backcountry Medicine
Toxins

Medical Kits
Patient Assessment Drills
Testing and Conclusion

Instructor

劉嘉麗 Lao Ka Lai

劉嘉麗 Lao Ka Lai

Consultant/Trainer

Lao Ka Lai (she/her) has over 20 years’ experience in outdoor, experiential, and adventure education and related disciplines, as an instructor, trainer, and manager. Based in Hong Kong, her professional work has brought her to China, Australia, Vietnam, Singapore, Europe and North America. KaLai was instrumental in bringing Viristar programmes to Hong Kong in the earliest years of the organization’s history.

Her deep knowledge of the industry in multiple roles and across multiple continents helps ensure the consulting and training services she provides to Viristar clients are of outstanding quality and value. Kalai has professional qualifications in sailing (including Master and Engineer Grade 1), windsurfing, ropes course management, beach life saving, SUP, and wilderness medicine. She has extensive experience in international sailing expeditions, adventure racing, and organizing trainings and experiential learning programs around the world.

Other Course Dates

List View Grid View
course name
Month/Year
start date
tuition
location

Bridge (WAFA to WFR)

Dates: 22 October – 26 October, 2024
Cost: USD 222
Location: Oranjestadt, Aruba
October, 2024
22 October, 2024
USD 222
Oranjestadt, Aruba

Bridge (WAFA to WFR)

Dates: 10 February – 14 February, 2025
Cost: USD 123.23
Location: Friday Harbor, WA USA
Instructor: 劉嘉麗 Lao Ka Lai
February, 2025
10 February, 2025
USD 123.23
Friday Harbor, WA USA

Bridge (WAFA to WFR)

Dates: 10 April – 14 April, 2025
Cost: USD 123.26
Location: Friday Harbor, WA USA
Instructor: 劉嘉麗 Lao Ka Lai
April, 2025
10 April, 2025
USD 123.26
Friday Harbor, WA USA

Course Description

Course Content

The Bridge curriculum is written by a team of remote medical rescue researchers and professionals. Ongoing evidence based research and review contributes to a unique and innovative approach to patient care in backcountry and austere settings. The curriculum is comprehensive, complete, and kept current on an annual basis.

  • General Principles of Wilderness and Rescue Medicine with an emphasis on the prevention and identification of medical emergencies, appropriate technology, and risk management.
  • Patient assessment and emergency care including CPR, basic life support (BLS), and the emergency treatment of anaphylaxis and asthma.
  • Environmental Medicine including altitude illness, hypothermia and heat illness, frostbite and cold injury, lightning, submersion, and environmental toxins.
  • Backcountry Medicine including the assessment and treatment of common medical problems.
  • Musculoskeletal Problems including unstable and stable injuries overuse syndromes, and dislocations.
  • Wound management including open fractures, lacerations, burns and blisters.
  • Practical skills including splinting, bandaging, litter packaging and medical kit preparation.
  • Wilderness Protocols including wound cleaning and exploration, spine injury assessment, dislocation reduction, CPR in the remote setting, and anaphylaxis and asthma.

Certifications

Upon successful completion, learners will receive a Wilderness First Responder certification and certification of CPR (based on ILCOR/AHA standards) at the BLS CPR for healthcare professionals level.

The course is registered for 70 hours of continuing education credit through the Commission on Accreditation for Prehospital Continuing Education (CAPCE).

Local EMS authorities may permit this certification to be used to challenge the US DOT First Responder exam.

Certifications are valid for three years.

Evaluation

Successful completion with certification is based on 100 percent attendance, satisfactory performance on homework assignments and written quizzes, demonstrated proficiency with practical skills and a successful grade on a final written exam. Viristar is committed to making reasonable accommodation to any learner with special needs.

Recertification

Within three years, graduates may recertify by retaking the Bridge (WAFA to WFR) course, or completing the Open Recertification course.

Contact us more information about recertification options.

Prerequisites

Current Wilderness Advanced First Aid certification within three years of the Bridge course. If using this course to recertify, learners must have proof of a valid WFR or WEMS certification from WMAI or a valid WFR certification from another organization, whose original training was at least 64 hours in length. Proof of certification is required.

In order to enroll in this course, the learner must meet at least one of the following three criteria:

  • Hold a current WAFA certification, from a course with at least 36 hours of instruction.
  • Hold a current WFR certification, from a course with at least 70 hours of instruction, of which 45 must be in-person. (In this case the Bridge course acts as a WFR recertification.)
  • Hold a current Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) certification. (In this case, successful Bridge course learners receive a WFR certification.)

Learners will have access to the pre-course assignments two to four weeks prior to course. Learners should complete the study guide in preparation for the course. The guide was designed to familiarize learners with the essential points in the curriculum. Instructors will collect it at the beginning of the course, but it will not be figured in to the final grade.

Learners must be at least sixteen years old to participate in this course. Those under eighteen years of age will require the written consent of a guardian or parent.

Continuing Education Hours

Materials Provided

All teaching materials will be provided by Viristar at no additional cost. Participants will receive the following books on this course:

  • Wilderness and Rescue Medicine: A Practical Guide for the Basic and Advanced Practitioner
  • The Field Guide of Wilderness and Rescue Medicine
  • Wilderness Medicine Workbook
  • Wilderness First Responder Class Notes
  • SOAP Notebook

Equipment

We ask our course hosts to provide basic outdoor equipment and any specific gear relevant to their personnel when in remote and austere environments. Viristar will supply a specific equipment list to cover simulation and classroom needs.

Customization

As part of Viristar’s commitment to your medical rescue training, our instructors and management will inquire about your group’s needs and teach according to your group’s backgrounds, environments, and experience. Simulations and hands-on activities will be realistic and relevant. Relevant adult education is incorporated directly into our curriculum to maximize learning of medical theory and development of practical skills.

Syllabus

DOWNLOAD FULL SYLLABUS

Topics

Day 1

Welcome, registration
Introduction
Review Pre-course Study Packet
Patient Assessment
Circulatory System

Respiratory Systems
Patient Assessment Drills
Basic Life Support (including Adult/Child/Infant CPR, Oxygen & AED)

Day 2

Quiz/Case Studies Review
Nervous System
Spine Management
Musculoskeletal System
Patient Assessment Drill

Dislocations
Patient Immobilization
Litter Carries
Patient Assessment Drills

Day 3

Quiz/Case Studies Review
Allergy & Anaphylaxis
Altitude or Diving
Frostbite

Drowning
Improvised Litters
Simulation

Day 4

Case Study Review
Backcountry Medicine
Toxins

Medical Kits
Patient Assessment Drills
Testing and Conclusion

Instructor

劉嘉麗 Lao Ka Lai

劉嘉麗 Lao Ka Lai

Consultant/Trainer

Lao Ka Lai (she/her) has over 20 years’ experience in outdoor, experiential, and adventure education and related disciplines, as an instructor, trainer, and manager. Based in Hong Kong, her professional work has brought her to China, Australia, Vietnam, Singapore, Europe and North America. KaLai was instrumental in bringing Viristar programmes to Hong Kong in the earliest years of the organization’s history.

Her deep knowledge of the industry in multiple roles and across multiple continents helps ensure the consulting and training services she provides to Viristar clients are of outstanding quality and value. Kalai has professional qualifications in sailing (including Master and Engineer Grade 1), windsurfing, ropes course management, beach life saving, SUP, and wilderness medicine. She has extensive experience in international sailing expeditions, adventure racing, and organizing trainings and experiential learning programs around the world.

Other Course Dates

List View Grid View
course name
Month/Year
start date
tuition
location

Bridge (WAFA to WFR)

Dates: 22 October – 26 October, 2024
Cost: USD 222
Location: Oranjestadt, Aruba
October, 2024
22 October, 2024
USD 222
Oranjestadt, Aruba

Bridge (WAFA to WFR)

Dates: 10 February – 14 February, 2025
Cost: USD 123.23
Location: Friday Harbor, WA USA
Instructor: 劉嘉麗 Lao Ka Lai
February, 2025
10 February, 2025
USD 123.23
Friday Harbor, WA USA

Bridge (WAFA to WFR)

Dates: 10 April – 14 April, 2025
Cost: USD 123.26
Location: Friday Harbor, WA USA
Instructor: 劉嘉麗 Lao Ka Lai
April, 2025
10 April, 2025
USD 123.26
Friday Harbor, WA USA
  • Robert Lyu

    Field Instructor, Outward Bound Hubei, Hubei, China

  • I feel confident that the knowledge and experience gained during this course will help me stay calm and help no matter how stressful the situation.

    Tjaša Metličar

    Keilir Academy Adventure Studies Program, Reykjanesbaer, Iceland

  • Great course–I feel much more prepared for wilderness emergencies.

    Tuva Rødningsand Kirkerud

    Keilir Academy Adventure Studies Program, Reykjavik, Iceland

  • The instructors were amazing.

    Guadalupe Navarro

    Community Engagement Manager, Sonoma County Regional Parks, California, USA

  • I’ve learned more than I expected…it was a hands-on inquiry-based learning journey with excellent guidance.

    Hanneri Coetsee

    Teacher, Satit Bilingual School of Rangsit University, Bangkok, Thailand

  • Kate Johnston

    Outdoor Educator, Singapore

  • It was such a great experience!

    Nguyen Thu Thao

    Senior Instructor, Outward Bound Vietnam, Cát Hải, Bình Định, Vietnam

  • I learned a lot about medical conditions and how to treat and respond to them in the wilderness.

    Kamna Mishra

    Lead Instructor, Outward Bound Vietnam, Cát Hải, Bình Định, Vietnam

  • Learned A LOT in a short time. The presenter was very approachable and was excellent at teaching learners of all backgrounds.

    Josh Doppelt

    Washington state, USA

  • Great program. Amazing teachers.

    Andri Svansson

    WFR student, Keilir Academy Adventure Guide Studies Program, Reykjanesbaer, Iceland

  • Very well done program and presentation.

    Gil LeFrancois

    Upper School Teacher, Charles Wright Academy, Washington state, USA

  • Great information made understandable, and skills needed explained and demonstrated well.

    Kalea D’Atre

    Wilderness First Aid student, Washington state, USA

  • We have been extremely pleased with the outdoor safety-related trainings…world-class.

    Gabriel Côté-Valiquette

    Program Coordinator, Keilir Adventure Studies, Reykjanesbær, Iceland

  • This course is useful for humanitarian workers in remote contexts.

    Paul Harper

    Humanitarian aid worker, Cambodia

  • The practical sessions were really informative and a good way for me to learn.

    Shelby Weicht

    WFR student, Keilir Academy Adventure Guide Studies Program, Reykjanesbaer, Iceland