My STEP project brought me out to Gunnison, Colorado this summer where I was able to take a 10-day wilderness first responder course. This course – aimed at backcountry enthusiasts, camp counselors, search and rescue members, and more – taught the basics of what to do when someone is injured in the backcountry. It went over many different ailments, illnesses, and emergency situations that you could find yourself in and how to deal with them when you don’t have access to frontcountry medicine. At the end of the 10-day, informative course, I walked away with a Wilderness First Responder certification.
To say that I learned a lot over the 10-day course would be a n understatement. You really don’t know how much you would be under prepared in emergency situations until you are given instruction on what to do or find yourself in that position. One of the topics covered was misconceptions about basic medicine protocol – those things that you were taught as a kid to do in different medical situations probably weren’t true, or at least not fully true, and that surprised me. Though I learned a lot over my course, I also realized how much I didn’t know, or wouldn’t be qualified for, even after all of this training. If anything, this course taught me how much there really is to know about medicine and care, and how expansive and broad this knowledge is. You could study medicine for years and still not know all there is to know about it. The amount of work that goes into making an accurate diagnosis, what all can change that, and how differently people react to injuries and illnesses is truly amazing. Alongside first aid, this course also taught about mental illnesses and lifetime conditions that people may face. I feel as if this was a great addition to the course and my experience, as it not only taught us how to provide care, but also furthered my understanding on these conditions people may face in my everyday life that I was uninformed about.
Going back to feeling under prepared, during this course we had various scenarios to help us get into the mindset of an emergency. Moulage was used to fake injuries and acting was used to make the situation more urgent. The very first day of the course, we were thrown into a scenario right away – most of us had no idea what to do, and made many mistakes along the way. It really made you think about what you would’ve done had it been a real emergency situation. Throughout the course as training progressed, we learned more and more, got to know each other, and eventually the scenarios no longer seemed an emergency. Although I can’t talk about our night scenario on the 9th day of the course (to keep the experience for everyone who has yet to take the course), it’s like a wake up call on how you will feel in real emergency situations. In the course, it’s easy to remember your training – exact protocol, diagnosis information, and how to stay calm – but in reality, it is much harder when it comes to real life. Though you can try to replicate that in the classroom, and though our night scenario did as best as it could to help prepare us for what it might be like, you will never be able to know until you are truly in that situation later on.
The medical knowledge we learned in our class was expansive – What do you do if someone has an open angulated fracture? In what situations do you administer oxygen? How do you treat HACE? – I was still left with a lot of questions, possibly more than I had when I started the course. Though I learned a lot about these specific situations, I was also informed about all the situations we wouldn’t know how to treat. I learned that although we may be able to help in some ways, there would be things we aren’t qualified to perform during our care. No matter how easily we could diagnose an illness, sometimes the only thing we could do was tell them to evacuate as quickly as possible. I also learned how hard it was to diagnose and provide an accurate treatment plan with the many situations one could come across, and with how differently people may react to each. While it was disheartening in some ways, it also helped me to appreciate those that go to great lengths to learn the ins and outs of medicine. While I think my 10-day course taught me a lot, there are those that spend years upon years studying medicine and care to provide that to everyone. Even then, I’m sure there will always be things to learn and uncertainty with care and diagnosis that most people don’t realize.
Finally, with the instruction on mental illnesses and lifetime conditions, I feel as if I learned information that could be helpful in and out of emergency care situations. The course taught us about how conditions may affect someone and what all they may go through to properly care for it. Though they taught us a lot about care for these conditions, it also opened my eyes a bit more to how these things can take a toll on each person who experiences them. It may not be the same as a broken leg or dislocated shoulder, but it’s something that affects people around us in the frontcountry every day. In particular, there was a classmate who had diabetes that I learned a lot from. I feel as if it was something I was misinformed about and allowed me to learn firsthand about this condition. Alongside this we talked about mental illnesses – the most common kind of illness that we each may experience in our life but also the least talked about. In our class, there were a variety of people with different mental illnesses that got to share their experience, how it affects them, and how they would like to be helped if they were in your care. It was a very open conversation with a lot of different viewpoints that I don’t often get to have about these topics. It also helped me to realize how differently even the same thing can affect someone else and how care for each person can and should be very different.
This course has taught me a lot that I feel will be very beneficial in my life going forward. It has prepared me for emergency situations I may come across, but has also taught me my limitations and when to ask for help. I feel I will be better equipped to help friends and family in an emergency here in the frontcountry and in my personal endeavors in the backcountry. With hopes of a career in the outdoors, this information could be vital as I will be further from frontcountry care. I believe that this certification will be very helpful in my job search as many companies require this certification for forestry and backcountry work. Not only do I think this experience will be beneficial in any emergency backcountry situations I may find myself in later on, I also believe it will help me in everyday life in my interactions with others. I feel as if the things I’ve learned can help me to be more informed and to be a better friend to those around me.
Unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures during the course, so here are some photos from the area.
A canyon close to where we had the course (above) and the view from my tent (below)!
Krystalyn-It’s great that you were able to pursue this certification to supplement your future career goals to work outdoors! It’s also great to hear that you were able to discuss mental health during this program and how that may affect the people you are assisting. This is not something that necessarily comes to mind when thinking about a first responder certification. It sounds like this was a very challenging, but rewarding experience. Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors!