It matters who teaches your course! All of the following courses are instructed by school owner Jon Tierney. Jon is one of the nation's most experienced wilderness medicine instructors with over 800 teaching days and tons of real-life mountain rescue experience. He is a flight paramedic and an internationally licensed IFMGA mountain guide. Visit Jon's bio for more info. If you can't take one of our courses there are several other highly experienced WMA instructors to choose from. Among the many wilderness medicine providers, we believe that WMA has the highest standards for both becoming and maintaining instructor status and WMA is the company we feel most comfortable recommending to clients.

Wilderness First Responder
Visit our schedule for dates, rates, and location

Created to provide outdoor leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to deal with medical and traumatic emergencies in remote settings. The Wilderness First Responder course is the first aid course that is most useful to outdoor leaders and travelers and is the expected standard in the outdoor industry. This Wilderness Medical Associates WFR course meets or exceeds all requirements of other similarly named courses and certification is valid for three years. Topics include patient assessment, difficult extrication, and patient movement, basic search and rescue, emergency childbirth, allergies (includes anaphylaxis certification), toxins,burns, wounds, fractures, dislocation, shock, spinal assessment and management, brain/head injuries, respiratory distress, heat and cold injuries, Healthcare Provider CPR, legal issues and treatment of common backcountry ailments such as lost fillings, fish hook removal, fever, etc.

This program is designed for the person who frequently travels in the backcountry with friends or in small groups and who is seeking a basic level of competency in first aid.. It is a short introduction to the broad concept of rendering care in a remote setting. The course includes Adult Heartsaver CPR and training in the use of epinephrine for allergic reactions. You can expect the course to be fairly intensive and to cover the most important aspects of wilderness medicine such as leadership, patient assessment and basic care. The course will be very experiential with lots of opportunity to practice in real-life simulations. Certified through Wilderness Medical Associates - the world leader in wilderness medical training. Students must be 16 years of age to participate in this course. 16 and 17 year-old students must provide written proof of parental consent.

WFR/WEMT Open Recertification Course
Visit our schedule for dates, rates, and location

This 3-day course is a recertification course open to graduates of ALL wilderness medical training courses of 64 hours or longer with a current certification. Upon successful completion of this course you will receive Wilderness Medical Associates WFR, Anaphylaxis and BLS-level CPR certifications. WMA WEMT graduates with a current EMT-B, EMT-I or Paramedic certificate may also recertify the wilderness portion of their WEMT. Completion of pre-course study packet is required for all participants.

A minimum of 64 hours of continual training from any wilderness medicine training program (cumulative training hours from different courses are not eligible). Training must have been completed within three years of the Challenge™ Course. Any exceptions to these conditions must be verified before the Challenge™ Course by contacting the Wilderness Medical Associates Medical Director at 207.797.6005. Proof of current certification is required at the start of the Challenge™ Course. Students without proof of certification, or approval from the WMA office will not be eligible for WFR certification. Completion of the Pre-Course Study Packet (obtainable from WMA) is required.

Wilderness EMT
Visit our schedule for dates, rates, and location

This is an intensive 56 hour course covering a wide spectrum of emergency care topics relative to wilderness medicine and caring for injuries and illnesses over prolonged periods of time. The course is a combination of discussions, practical stations and real-life simulations. This wilderness EMT course introduces wilderness protocols that are approved by several federal and state EMS agencies including Maine. Topics include assessment and management of traumatic injuries such as fractures, burns and wounds; circulatory, nervous, and respiratory system problems; common injuries such as blisters, sprains and strains; medical problems such as anaphylaxis, toxins, altitude, hypothermia, hyperthermia, and infections; and use of improvised materials in remote situations. The course includes information on personal outdoor preparedness, accident management and prevention and introduces you to simple evacuation techniques and ropework. The course is concept based and offers a new approach to thinking about traditional emergency care practices. It is intended for people who are likely to provide care in a remote environment such as outdoor trip leaders, guides, search and rescue units, rural ambulance squads, and backcountry rangers. Certification is through Wilderness Medical Associates.