WMAI Wilderness EMS Upgrade

Training for medical personnel who would like to enhance their skills and experience for use in the rural, wilderness, and technical rescue setting. 

The WEMS Upgrade course trains medical professionals to apply scientific knowledge consistent with their scope of practice to patient care in wilderness and remote settings. Participants in this course generally include Advanced Practice Providers, Registered Nurses, EMS personnel certified at a level of EMT and higher, search and rescue medical leaders and physician sponsors, expedition medics, DMAT team members, and military medics. The course focuses on helping providers determine what areas of their scope of practice are effective in pre-hospital wilderness and remote settings. As enrollment permits, interdisciplinary providers are intentionally mixed during performance tasks to promote future collaboration in remote emergency settings. Learning outcomes are accomplished through pre-course self-study, lecture, facilitated discussion, patient assessment drills, and skills labs. Content and context are synthesized through progressive scenario simulations requiring treatment, formulation of evacuation plans, and coordination of a variety of emergency resources and personnel.

Prior to enrolling in a course, please review our Functional Position Description. The criteria set forth in this document allows students to self-assess their ability to meet the demands of both a WMAI course as well as the demands of a certified wilderness medical provider in the field.