Wilderness EMS Upgrade
Overview
Viristar’s Wilderness EMS Upgrade course is a 45-hour course that provides wilderness medical care practices and protocols to trained emergency medical services providers.
The course is designed for currently certified or licensed EMTs, Certified Emergency Paramedics (CEPs), Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) members, registered nurses (RNs), military medics, and Advanced Practice Providers (APPs), as well as medical leaders on Search and Rescue teams, individuals studying for the Certified Wilderness Paramedic (WP-C) exam, and expedition medics.
(This course replaces the previous “Wilderness EMT” training, which included content from Wilderness First Responder and Emergency Medical Technician curricula, and which typically resulted in a Wilderness EMT certification along with a standard EMT certificate. The Wilderness EMS course focuses on medical practices specific to remote, austere, wilderness, disaster and low-resource settings, and does not cover the entire EMT curriculum.)
The training includes a pre-course online study component, customized to the learner’s current scope of practice, as well as in-person activities. Face-to-face content includes lecture presentations, discussion forums, Patient Assessment System drills, case study analysis, and BLS and ALS skills labs. Complex and realistic scenarios involving assessment, treatment, evacuation, group management, communication, and coordinated disaster response are included.
Prior to enrolling in a course, please review our Functional Position Description. The criteria set forth in this document allows learners to self-assess their ability to meet the demands of both a Viristar course as well as the demands of a certified wilderness medical provider in the field.
Curriculum and certification for Viristar’s Wilderness First Aid course is provided by Wilderness Medical Associates International. Viristar is proud to be a Licensed Training Company of WMAI.
Description
The Wilderness EMS upgrade course includes content from our standard Wilderness First Responder curriculum as well as advanced concepts and practices.
- General Principles of Rescue and Wilderness medicine, including prevention, assessment, extended-care treatment, and evacuation.
- Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support, including CPR and appropriate medical technology such as medication and fluid administration, airway and ventilation management, and injections.
- Environmental medicine, including thermoregulation (hypothermia/hyperthermia), cold injury including frostbite, lightning strike injury, drowning, and backcountry toxins.
- Assessment and treatment of common medical problems, such as those involving eyes, ears, nose, throat and gastrointestinal/genitourinary systems.
- Musculoskeletal problems including fractures, sprains, strains, overuse injury, and reduction of certain dislocations.
- Management of wounds including burns, blisters, lacerations, and internal bleeding, including long-term assessment and management.
- Practical skills including extremities splinting; patient carries; wound dressing and bandaging; litter/stretcher carries, vacuum mattress use, and lifting, moving and extrication (LME).
- Expanded scope of practice protocols including wound management (such as wound cleaning, infection management, impaled object removal, and tourniquet use), reduction of simple dislocations, neurological evaluation of spine injuries, cessation of CPR, and treatment of asthma and anaphylaxis including use of injectable and Rx medications.
- Crew resource management, Just Culture (safety culture) and human factors in rescue and team response
- Emergency telecommunications by radio, phone, satellite-based communicators, and otherwise
- Incident Command System (ICS) in interagency response, SAR, and disaster management
Host A Course. Or Enroll in a Course.
There are two ways to engage with Viristar’s wilderness medicine trainings. Host a course in your location, or enroll as an individual in a currently scheduled class.
Host A Course
Viristar offers its wilderness medicine trainings in collaboration with a local course host, or course sponsor. The course host arranges for classroom and practical space, recruits and registers participants, acquires a minimal amount of teaching gear, and handles customer service and logistics duties. The host collects tuition, and sets the course fee. Viristar provides the instruction, textbooks, and certification, and invoices the course host.
To learn more about hosting a course, contact us.
Host A courseEnroll in a Course
Individuals seeking training can register for a currently scheduled open-enrollment (public) course.
To enroll in a wilderness medicine training, use our Course Finder to see what trainings are currently scheduled and available.
find a CourseCertifications
Upon successful course completion, learners will receive a Wilderness EMS Upgrade certification, valid for three years from the date of course completion.
Current EMS or other professional medical certification is required for WEMS certification validity.
Information for Learners
Evaluation
Evaluation is based on assessment of psychomotor skills during simulations, drills, and labs, as well as on results from the written exam. The course is pass-fail.
Full participation in all pre-course online activities and in-person lectures and practical sessions is required.
Viristar will make reasonable accommodation for learners with special needs.
Recertification
Wilderness EMS Upgrade graduates may recertify by taking the course again, or by taking a Wilderness First Responder Recertification. In the latter case, pre-course work specific to the WEMS curriculum must be completed.
Prerequisites
Prospective learners must have a current EMS certification or other professional medical certification in order to be accepted onto the course.
Participants must have high-speed internet access and a device to access and complete online pre-course activities.
Continuing Education Hours
- EMT: 45
- Paramedic or Advanced EMT: 45
- Approved by Commission on Accreditation for Pre-Hospital Continuing Education (CAPCE)
- WEMS Upgrade courses are approved for 45 contact hours by the California Board of Registered Nursing (Provider #CEP17692).
Information for Course Hosts
Materials Provided
All teaching materials will be 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
- WEMS/WALS Class Notes
- SOAP Notebook
Equipment
We ask our sponsors and 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.
Recognition
Recognized by the American Camp Association
This course is recognized by the American Camp Association (ACA) to meet specific ACA standards requiring certifications.
Wilderness Medical Society Approved
All Viristar Wilderness EMS Upgrade courses have been approved for 38 credits through the Wilderness Medical Society’s Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM). Personal credit needs and history will determine actual credits awarded.
