The first Overland Training WFA class

[gjackson]

This past weekend Overland Training and Remote Medical International teamed up to provide the first ever Wilderness First Aid course geared specifically for overlanders. In addition to the standard WFA course material, we got training on international medicine, vehicle extractions, crash helmet removal, medical kits, telemedicine and some more advanced wilderness material.

The class was almost full with 17 students. Any who attended are welcome to post pics in this thread. I'll be posting pic as soon as I get to the UK.

cheers

[jeepmedic46]

That is information that is very valuable, Where was this class held?

[Rexsname]

I have no photos but my brain is full . This was a three day class with about four or five days worth of instruction crammed inside. The instructors were very organized and enthusiastic. The class was very fast paced with little down time. I don't see my self ever being more than a week away from "difinitive medical care" but it's not hard to imagine a scenario where I might be 8-10 hours away. I feel much better knowing that the odds are good that (with some help) I could assist in keeping a loved one alive that long.

REX

[elcoyote]

The class was held at OJ in Prescott, AZ and was excellent! The trainers from Remote Medicine were high energy and truly tailored the course to the needs of the Overlander. The surprise simulations really put the students on the spot by having to apply just learned skills to the test. One of the simulations was a sobering reminder of the extreme difficulties that can arise. We had to extract 2 lightly built females from a JK, the driver was unconscious, the passenger had been blinded, both patients with possible spinal injuries. We were on the clock with a pending flash flood coming down the wash. Passenger door would not open so both patients had to be extracted through the drivers door. It was extremely difficult to do and took almost 10 people to perform. I was thankful that a laptop on a mount was not in the passenger area. If there had been, we would have lost the passenger and some rescuers to the flash flood. We completed the exercise with only 30 seconds to spare.

I am looking forward to the next step up in training: Wilderness First Responder.

[1leglance]

very very cool sounding...
I like "real life" applications to test fresh knowledge and allow the instructor to give quick feedback.

[EMrider]

I'd like to attend a class like this.

Where/how can we learn about future class dates?

Thanks
R

[gjackson]

EMrider,

You can check the Overland Training site for class dates:

http://www.overlandtraining.com/catalog/

Since this was the fist one we are evaluating the feedback before adding more.

cheers

[gjackson]

Here is a pic of Graham after crashing into 5 people on a moto. Getting the helmet off was fun. Don't know if anyone else survived.

cheers

[Gear]

This was a fantastic course filled with relevant issues related to overlanding. As one who usually faints at the sight of blood. The instructors did an outstanding job of pushing me visually to get use to what I might have to deal with one day. The best was the simulated compound fracture of my lower leg. Including lots of fake blood and a nasty stick on patch that showed the bones exposed. It was a lot of fun running thru the scenarios and we were given many thru out the day to test our new found skills. The instructors were incredible with not only a vast knowledge of the subject but outrageous real life person experiences. Well done Overland Training. I am looking forward to future courses. Oh and on a great side note. During the breaks there was plenty of eye candy to look at. Out of the ten or so vehicles that were there 6 of them had snorkles. At times the instructors were having a hard time getting us back in the class room after break. Although after the instructors started looking at Mario's AT FlipPac I think they were reconsidering there means of travel.

Again thanks to Overland Training for putting on this wonderful event.

[BajaTaco]

Great class!

I was impressed with how well everyone did. In contrast to the last WFA class I took, it was nice to have the CPR, travel medicine and vehicle aspects included. I posted some commentary, photos and a video up on the Overland Journal blog.

Many thanks to Graham, the instructors (Kate and Janet, you were awesome), and my classmates for helping to make me better prepared in the backcountry.