Prepare for the unexpected with this engaging, hands-on introduction to wilderness medicine, taught over two or two and a half days. If you like to take short trips relatively close to medical resources, work at wilderness camps, enjoy weekend family outdoor activities, or recreate outdoors, this course is for you.
This course is great for people of all experience levels, and is best suited for those who recreate outdoors where EMS response can be expected in a timely manner (fewer than eight hours). You'll learn the Patient Assessment System, how to provide effective first aid treatments for injuries and illnesses common in the outdoors, and how to make appropriate evacuation decisions.
You'll learn both in the classroom and in outdoor settings regardless of weather, so come prepared for wet, muddy, cold or hot environments!
Course Policies
Please review our policies including cancellation policies, attendance requirements, minimum age requirements, and more.
NOLS supports a variety of outside financial aid options:
If you are fluent in American Sign Language or Signed Exact English, you may be eligible to receive a full scholarship to your wilderness medicine course.
"The staff was excellent, very knowledgeable, professional, and personable...with good communication skills. Handled and answered our questions well. The course gave real life examples of how to handle injuries in the wilderness."
To keep up on your WFA certification, retake the course after two years.
Recertifying Other Certifications
The WFA may also be used to recertify your Wilderness Advanced First Aid, Wilderness First Responder and the wilderness portion of your Wilderness EMT certification. If you're using the WFA to recertify, you'll need to pass both a written and a practical examination.
