Semester in Wilderness Medicine

Now Accepting Applications for 2012. 

Visit our Semester blog for more information and Photos for pictures of the 2010 and 2011 Semesters.

2012 Dates

Field Component:  

January 30 - February 24: Rancho Mastatal, Costa Rica

February 25 - February 29:  Rafiki Lodge, Costa Rica

March 9 - April 10: Blackfoot Valley, Montana

Online Coursework Component:

January 2-27

Certifications/Credits Earned (dependent upon successful program completion):

• 15 upper division University of Montana semester credits
• Aerie Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician 
• National Registry EMT-Basic 
• State of Montana EMT-Basic
• American Heart Association Healthcare Provider CPR 
• Level 1 Avalanche
• Swiftwater Rescue Technician (SRT) 

Program Description

Aerie’s Semester in Wilderness Medicine is a unique program in the wilderness medicine field, providing students with industry-leading certifications earned through unparalleled experiential learning opportunities. Our rigorous academic program employs realistic scenarios, interactive lectures, as well as clinical observations in a variety of settings, including an urban American emergency room and advanced life support ambulance service, as well as in a developing-world rural health clinic to ensure a well-rounded, challenging and rewarding educational experience.  Our goal is not only to provide professional-level certifications, but also a broad education in wilderness skills to ensure that our students are capable of preventing and responding to emergencies in any environment.

Costa Rica highlights including staffing a health clinic based in  the indigenous community of Zapaton, Costa Rica and making house visits for patients too ill or remote to walk into the village center. The clinic is an outstanding opportunity to practice patient care skills under the direct instruction of Aerie's Medical Director, emergency room physician Dr. Greg Moore, and volunteer RNs, aided by language translators for non-Spanish speaking students. Semester students additionally spend several days on community health work addressing chronic respiratory disease related to the longstanding practice of cooking indoors over wood fires. The last 3 days of this section of the Semester are devoted to swiftwater rescue training on Costa Rica's famed whitewater.

Returning to Montana, students augment their EMT skills with formal search and rescue training, including helicopter rescue operations. We also offer human anatomy instruction at the University of Montana cadaver lab and vehicle extrication practice with local firefighters, experiences made possible by Aerie's excellent network of community relationships. Since March is still winter in Montana, students gear up during this portion of the Semester for a five-day winter expedition to backcountry yurts for winter travel, survival and avalanche rescue training.

Throughout the Semester, students hone skills in backcountry navigation, including continuous practice in the field use of topographic maps, compass and GPS during extended evacuation scenarios in the tropical forest and in the snowy mountains of Montana. Students learn fire building, improvised shelter construction, and the rope and knot work applicable to medical and rescue situations. Our Semester students receive the most comprehensive education in wilderness and emergency medical skills available anywhere.

Safety

No course is capable of operating without the risk of injury or illness. We encourage you to talk with our staff about risks inherent in our training programs before enrolling.  By design, the Semester involves both international travel and extended time in remote areas.  Injuries and illnesses that occur will require prolonged evacuations and may necessitate repatriation to the United States.  With that in mind, the safety of our students and staff is a priority.  We also recognize that activities contain inherent risks. By planning and monitoring these activities we try to minimize these risks. However, our students take our classes because they travel, work and live outdoors, away from immediate medical care. Our students want to learn to care for patients under less than ideal conditions, and Aerie believes that students learn best when they are involved in realistic, engaging scenarios and practical sessions. As a result we simulate these environments and head out to experience them during our classes as often as possible. However, we cannot guarantee the safety of our classes and fully encourage our students to investigate the risks and hazards of all Aerie activities. 

Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician

Course Length: 210 hours

Certifications/Credits Received (note that some are optional, may require additional fees and are dependent upon successful course completion):

• WEMT – 2 years
• National Registry EMT-Basic – 2 years
• State of Montana EMT-Basic- 2 years
• American Heart Association Healthcare Provider CPR 2-years
• Avalanche Awareness
• Swiftwater Rescue First Responder – 3 years
• University of Montana -  Health and Human Performance 395, 3 credits

Course Description

Aerie's 200+ hour Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician courses are unique in the industry. The differences are due to the experience of our instructors and the focus and realism of our scenarios. Our MD/ Paramedic/ RN/ EMT instructors not only bring years of professional medical experience to their lectures, but they are also leaders in the outdoor and risk management fields, ensuring that the information they give is practical and appropriate, providing students with skills and information that they truly need. Aerie students participate in days of intense swiftwater and avalanche (weather dependent) rescue scenarios. They work with Search and Rescue teams on overnight simulated rescues. In many cases, they learn anatomy and physiology in a human cadaver lab and participate in vehicle extrication practice with professional firefighters. Students spend 20 hours riding on an ambulance and observing in an emergency department to complete their clinical experience.

All Aerie WEMT courses follow the Department of Transportation's National Registry of EMTs (NREMT) curriculum and are approved by the NREMT and the State of Montana Board of Medical Examiners; however the classes go into significantly more detail concerning care for patients in remote settings. At Aerie, we design our WEMT classes to prepare students to care for patients in the most challenging environments and conditions, whether urban or backcountry. Our past students have graduated and gone on to work as EMTs, MDs, RNs, medics, firefighters, guides, field biologists and other outdoor leaders. As such, this course is ideal for outdoor leaders involved in extended backcountry trips and those individuals seeking employment with ambulance services, search and rescue units, and ski patrols; it is also appropriate for anyone wanting the best EMT training available.

After successful course completion, students take the National Registry EMT-Basic exam. Students must pass the national EMT-B exam to receive the Aerie W-EMT certificate. Successful students will also receive American Heart Association Healthcare Provider CPR certification.

This class is typically offered for 3 University of Montana HHP 395 credits (additional fee applies). We offer the WEMT in both a 4-week intensive class and in a weeknight and weekend class spread out over a semester.

We encourage you to look through our website, read our Director's Message and Detailed Course Information , and call or write our office if you have other questions.

Safety

No course is completely safe or capable of operating without the risk of injury or illness. We encourage you to talk with our staff about risks inherent in our training programs before enrolling.  With that in mind, the safety of our students and staff is our first priority.  We make every attempt to provide the safest environment possible to teach our classes. We also recognize that activities, held both in but particularly outside of the classroom, contain inherent risks. By planning and monitoring these activities we try to minimize these risks. However, our students take our classes because they travel, work and live outdoors, away from immediate medical care. Our students want to learn to care for patients under less than ideal conditions, and Aerie believes that students learn best when they are involved in realistic, engaging scenarios and practical sessions. As a result we simulate these environments and head out to experience them during our classes as often as possible.   

Wilderness First Responder

Course Length: 72 hours

Certifications Received and Certification Duration:

• Wilderness First Responder – 2 years
• Adult CPR – 2 years

Course Description

 Aerie's 72 hour Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course is designed for outdoor professionals and outdoor enthusiasts, preparing them to care for injuries and illness in remote, challenging environments. The course is fast-paced, challenging, hands-on and fun.

Aerie's nationally recognized Wilderness First Responder (WFR) courses address injury and illness prevention, patient assessment, long-term patient management, improvised splint and litter construction, and environmental emergencies while stressing the thought processes unique to caring for patients in remote environments. Our instructors are professional care providers with many years of outdoor leadership experience. Students also receive adult CPR certification.

Wilderness First Responder (WFR) courses are typically offered for 2 University of Montana HHP 249 credits. (additional fee applies).

Safety

No course is completely safe or capable of operating without the risk of injury or illness. We encourage you to talk with our staff about risks inherent in our training programs before enrolling.  With that in mind, the safety of our students and staff is our first priority.  We make every attempt to provide the safest environment possible to teach our classes. We also recognize that activities, held both in but particularly outside of the classroom, contain inherent risks. By planning and monitoring these activities we try to minimize these risks. However, our students take our classes because they travel, work and live outdoors, away from immediate medical care. Our students want to learn to care for patients under less than ideal conditions, and Aerie believes that students learn best when they are involved in realistic, engaging scenarios and practical sessions. As a result we simulate these environments and head out to experience them during our classes as often as possible.   

Wilderness First Aid

Course Length: 16 hours (if taken without CPR)

Certifications Received and Certification Duration:
Wilderness First Aid – 2 years

Course Description

The WFA course provides a great introduction to wilderness medicine for anyone spending time in the outdoors. Like the WFR, the course focuses on injury and illness prevention, patient assessment, long-term injury management, improvised splint and litter construction and environmental emergencies.

Approximately half of the course is classroom lecture and half practical scenarios. The Wilderness First Aid course can be taken as a WFR recertification course. Currently, we recertify Wilderness First Responder's from Aerie, SOLO, WMI, or WMA. We'll recertify other organizations after approving their curriculum. CPR classes are generally offered the evening before WFA classes begin.

Safety

No course is completely safe or capable of operating without the risk of injury or illness. We encourage you to talk with our staff about risks inherent in our training programs before enrolling.  With that in mind, the safety of our students and staff is our first priority.  We make every attempt to provide the safest environment possible to teach our classes. We also recognize that activities, held both in but particularly outside of the classroom, contain inherent risks. By planning and monitoring these activities we try to minimize these risks. However, our students take our classes because they travel, work and live outdoors, away from immediate medical care. Our students want to learn to care for patients under less than ideal conditions, and Aerie believes that students learn best when they are involved in realistic, engaging scenarios and practical sessions. As a result we simulate these environments and head out to experience them during our classes as often as possible.   

Aerie has an outstanding safety record. We have trained care providers teaching our classes that follow pre-approved safety and emergency response guidelines. However, we cannot guarantee the absolute safety of our classes and fully encourage our students to investigate the risks and hazards of all Aerie activities. 

We also recognize that many of the hazards associated with a particular course involve transportation to and from the class itself.  Students are responsible for providing their own transportation.   While we encourage car-pooling and other sharing of expenses and resources, we also strongly encourage students to use extreme caution when traveling.

Wilderness Medicine Essentials

Course Length:  8 hours

Certifications Received and Certification Duration:
WME – 2 years

Course Description

Our Essentials course is an awareness-level class designed for individuals or organizations wanting up-to-date wilderness medicine information on topics such as wound management, management of hot and cold emergencies, basic splinting and wilderness improvisation.  Like most Aerie courses, it is half didactic, half hands-on practical review.  This course typically substitutes for American Red Cross/ AHA Standard First Aid, BLS First Aid.

Safety

No course is completely safe or capable of operating without the risk of injury or illness. We encourage you to talk with our staff about risks inherent in our training programs before enrolling.  With that in mind, the safety of our students and staff is our first priority.  We make every attempt to provide the safest environment possible to teach our classes. We also recognize that activities, held both in but particularly outside of the classroom, contain inherent risks. By planning and monitoring these activities we try to minimize these risks. However, our students take our classes because they travel, work and live outdoors, away from immediate medical care. Our students want to learn to care for patients under less than ideal conditions, and Aerie believes that students learn best when they are involved in realistic, engaging scenarios and practical sessions. As a result we simulate these environments and head out to experience them during our classes as often as possible.   

Aerie has an outstanding safety record. We have trained care providers teaching our classes that follow pre-approved safety and emergency response guidelines. However, we cannot guarantee the absolute safety of our classes and fully encourage our students to investigate the risks and hazards of all Aerie activities. 

We also recognize that many of the hazards associated with a particular course involve transportation to and from the class itself.  Students are responsible for providing their own transportation.   While we encourage car-pooling and other sharing of expenses and resources, we also strongly encourage students to use extreme caution when traveling.