Spending time out in the great outdoors and pushing your mental and physical prowess to the limit through hiking, trekking, or white water rafting can be one of the most exhilarating experiences of a lifetime. But then again, it can also be, G-d forbid, one of the most unfortunate. People may slip, slide, fall, or develop an infection. But, of course, everything doesn’t have to end up in tragedy – particularly when one of the members of your adventure group has gone through first response training.
Someone who has undergone such training is often called a first responder – the first one to give immediate treatment to any person who has received an injury or a disease. This is not the same as first aid – you must go through more intensive hours during training, where you will learn a lot of other things that are not taught in a basic first aid course, such as assisting in childbirth, treating infections, and transferring patients to medical facilities.
Must We Have First Response Training?
But of course. When you “hurl” yourself into the wild, you should have at least one person who is also a certified first responder. Some even take it up a notch higher by training in wilderness first response, which is, as you would’ve guessed, more specialized than basic training.
Said training is important for a lot of reasons:
- You just might save someone else’s life.
- It can make the difference between a temporary injury and a lifelong disability.
- It can reassure patients that they are in the right hands when they are treated by someone who knows what he is doing.
- You can educate your companions about safety procedures and precautionary measures to prevent you from actually having to apply what you learned during your training. After all, do you really want to perform emergency care on your friends?
How Important is First Response Training?
Can Anyone Learn First Response?
Of course they can!
Ideally, everyone should have at least some basic knowledge of lifesaving and rescue skills because you never really know when disaster could strike. Traditionally, though, it is firefighters and police officers who are required to go through this kind of rigorous training. Other first responders are often park rangers, hunting guides, Boy Scout/Girl Scout leaders, and camp counselors.
You also could be a wilderness/rescue hero…although be forewarned – the training is intensive!
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