For a sudden medical crisis, you can simply call 911 and an EMT will come rushing to your house to provide assistance. But what if you are out in the wild, with no supplies and the nearest medical facility a few hundred kilometers away? How the heck do you respond to a sudden onslaught of malaria? Or a fractured bone you get from a fall? This is why it is important that you are accompanied by a wilderness emergency medical technician when you go out into the wild.
The Skills of a Wilderness EMT
The challenge of being a wilderness EMT is the unpredictability of what might happen in the wild, coupled with the lack of medical equipment that you can carry with you while you’re out camping, kayaking, or mountaineering. This is why being a wilderness EMT requires special skills. First of all are the basic medical technician skills such as the following:
- Accurate assessment of an injury
- Sprinting a limb
- Sewing stitches to an open wound
- Administering CPR
- Using a catheter
- Starting an IV
But, more importantly, a WEMT has to be trained in emergency medical procedures that are most commonly only done outdoors. An example of this is how to transport patients from the great outdoors to the nearest medical facility without worsening the problem.
Bites and stings are also a common problem encountered in the wild, so a wilderness EMT should be adept at treating different kinds of wounds caused by various animals. He should also be able to treat those who were struck by lightning and those who were caught in an avalanche. Frostbite, hypothermia, and heatstroke are also common problems out there that should be easily dealt with by a wilderness EMT.
How to Be a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician
Getting Certified
To become a wilderness EMT is not a piece of cake. Being one is even more difficult. If you wish to become one, you need to meet the basic applicant requirements and pass a special hands-on training course of at least 110 to 180 hours. That is about a month of whole-day trainings from Monday to Friday. Applicants should be at least 18 years of age, but 16 and 17-year-old applicants may also apply as long as they have their parents’ consent. Some special requirements usually are the following: excellent physical and mental condition, the ability to communicate well over a radio, and good calculation and problem-solving skills.
Sounds like a lot of work, training, and effort – I know. But just think of the rewards once you achieve your certification – you will be able to save lives and help people in dire, often critical, medical need! And what could possibly be more rewarding than that?
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