Many from the Venture crew studied for and completed a Standard (16-hour course) Wilderness First Aid course from Paratus Institute. After completing the online course with some quizzes and a final exam about the information, we then went to the in-person Wilderness First Aid training. We went over the course material in detail with experienced First Aiders and practiced many of the practical and difficult skills on each other. The participants were then confronted with difficult first aid situations, often with multiple “victims,” and had to fumble our way through a healing and rescue operation to the best of our abilities. Our memorization, teamwork and organization skills were tested and stretched greatly by this course. We feel much more prepared to help others in distress, and for outdoor activities where people can be in danger, which is almost always. Overall, we had a fabulous time, and I highly recommend this course to anyone who does anything outdoorsy at all, is in charge of an outdoors group, or simply wants to know more about first aid for places where first responders are far away.
By Emma