# Just Finished class with NOLS



## ardsranger (Jan 26, 2013)

I think this was the longest 28 days of my life.
6 am to about 11pm very day (studying, Class, or practical outside ).

I posted my status of the Reg Test in the in the NREMT section on this forum. I think I passed it all 

I am just waiting for NOLS to post the psychomotor section to NREMT.
NOLS told me congratulations  on successful completion of your psycohomotor for your EMT

It was very challenging performing the EMT skills in the Colds of Wyoming.
Performing the skill in a outdoor environment was a great test of concentration in adverse condition (simulates "some" stress) in you delivery of skills. We were outside in temps of  -19F: Splinting , Medical Exam, and Trauma assessments, Back board ETC..... 

The class was a ball. 
We were the 2nd class to use the new facilities at NOLS Lander Wy.  
The class rooms were well equipped. 
The meals provide were outstanding. You will be hard pressed to find better meals in any restaurant.  

I am planning on enrolling in a A/P Class. I think it will be money well spent.
blessing


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## KellyBracket (Jan 27, 2013)

Congrats - I assume this is for the wilderness EMT?

Sounds so good, maybe I need to go take a refresher. I think my WEMT for SOLO in New Hampshire is expired.


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## MrJones (Jan 27, 2013)

Did you only do 1 round of psychomotor skills testing? When I attended SOLO at the NH campus we did 2 - one set outdoors for our wilderness cert and a 2nd set indoors, under the watchful eyes of a state monitor, for state/national EMT cert. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I took a summer course, so weather wasn't much of a factor.


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## ardsranger (Jan 27, 2013)

firstshirt said:


> Did you only do 1 round of psychomotor skills testing? When I attended SOLO at the NH campus we did 2 - one set outdoors for our wilderness cert and a 2nd set indoors, under the watchful eyes of a state monitor, for state/national EMT cert. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I took a summer course, so weather wasn't much of a factor.



Finished First Responder, WEMT and EMT

Grats on SOLO school, as my instructors said, SOLO, WMI, and NOLS are the leaders in the industry in WEMT.  Im sure the SOLO school was extremely good as well. 

Actually we did 2 round of psychomotor skills for WEMT and the State required round monitored by EMT's, Dr.s and Nurses  for STATE  Urban EMT

The 2nd round of WEMT skills was a scenario at Night in the cold of WY. That had volunteers come in with fake in juries and we had no clue of what we would run into.
The Scenario was a group of hikers were involved in a accident in the back country.   WE had everything for a Femur broke with Arterial bleeding "spurting everywhere" to a dealing with a "mother" with minor injuries and a "dead" baby". Liter carries of avpu=p and so on. it was wild.


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## Walter Sobchak (Jan 27, 2013)

I just graduated from the SOLO WEMT program Thursday, we did our Wilderness practicals in WFR stage, and practicals for EMT were Urban based.


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## NomadicMedic (Jan 27, 2013)

Just curious why you chose a WEMT course. Are you planning on working in the wilderness? Are you a search & rescue member, DNR/BLM employee or camp hike leader?


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## ardsranger (Jan 27, 2013)

n7lxi said:


> Just curious why you chose a WEMT course. Are you planning on working in the wilderness? Are you a search & rescue member, DNR/BLM employee or camp hike leader?



for a few reasons
First i wanted to get it done is a shorter format, but i wanted a well established program to be part of.
2nd I teach Ropes Courses at camps which have delayed medical support and i do quite a bit with my son in boy scouts, wilderness stuff.
3rd i wanted to do EMT urban on 3 12 hour shifts so i had time to do scouting with my son and i feel this was the best fit for me.


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## ardsranger (Jan 27, 2013)

Walter Sobchak said:


> I just graduated from the SOLO WEMT program Thursday, we did our Wilderness practicals in WFR stage, and practicals for EMT were Urban based.



Gratz on your completion. 
I hear great things about solo, I was trying to decide to go to SOLO or NOLS. I choose NOLS partially because i could drive there 17 hours for me. SOLO would have been expensive with the class and airfare 
I have been told by several people you can not go wrong with SOLO, WMI or NOLS for quality of schools


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## NomadicMedic (Jan 27, 2013)

Good for you. Congrats on completing the course.


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## Walter Sobchak (Jan 27, 2013)

SOLO, WMI, and NOLS are all the same original group of friends from the late 70's and early 80's.  they have different schools and different programs, but the content and philosophy is the same.


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## Walter Sobchak (Jan 27, 2013)

n7lxi said:


> Just curious why you chose a WEMT course. Are you planning on working in the wilderness? Are you a search & rescue member, DNR/BLM employee or camp hike leader?



I chose WEMT because i spend a lot of time in the back country and overseas. i am.also hoping to do volunteer work with various NGO's and Natural Disaster relief.


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## EpiEMS (Jan 27, 2013)

I did my EMT and WEMT at SOLO, my motivation was that the program is run by a physician (who had been a medic, as well) and he lectures in courses. Additionally, the program allowed me to complete my EMT including NREMT within less than a month! It was the perfect program for me -- my classmates were all very intelligent people, most were college grads and/or ex-military, including some folks who were taking time off prior to medical or PA school, which made for a great environment to learn in!


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## KellyBracket (Jan 27, 2013)

EpiEMS said:


> I did my EMT and WEMT at SOLO, my motivation was that the program is run by a physician (who had been a medic, as well) and he lectures in courses. Additionally, the program allowed me to complete my EMT including NREMT within less than a month! It was the perfect program for me -- my classmates were all very intelligent people, most were college grads and/or ex-military, including some folks who were taking time off prior to medical or PA school, which made for a great environment to learn in!



Plus, there's always the possibility that you'll get called out to a backcountry rescue in the White Mountains! NH Fish & Game love the extra labor.


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## EpiEMS (Jan 27, 2013)

KellyBracket said:


> Plus, there's always the possibility that you'll get called out to a backcountry rescue in the White Mountains! NH Fish & Game love the extra labor.



I wish I had been! We got put on a standby of sorts, but never did get to go out, unfortunately! Got to speak with Fish & Game during their WFR refresher though, so that was cool.


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## MrJones (Jan 28, 2013)

Walter Sobchak said:


> SOLO, WMI, and NOLS are all the same original group of friends from the late 70's and early 80's.  they have different schools and different programs, but the content and philosophy is the same.



The origin of SOLO, WMA, WMI/NOLS, etc can be traced to Frank Hubbard et al (SOLO) when they began offering a wilderness first aid course in the mid-70s. When WMA was formed they collaborated with SOLO in developing and presenting the original WFR curriculum, and WMI began as "SOLO West", and continued to train the SOLO curriculum until they were acquired by NOLS. I would not be surprised to see "SOLO Southest" (NOC in Bryson City, NC) branch off into a separate organization at some point in the future

Each organization has their positives and negatives, but you can't go wrong choosing any of them if you're interested in learning more about wilderness medicine. With that said, the best wilderness medicine text currently on the market is "Wilderness Medicine", published by NOLS.


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## Christopher (Jan 28, 2013)

n7lxi said:


> Just curious why you chose a WEMT course. Are you planning on working in the wilderness? Are you a search & rescue member, DNR/BLM employee or camp hike leader?



I learned more in my WEMT class than I did my actual EMT class, but the honest answer is that was a function of our instructors (Landmark Learning, Cullowhee, NC).


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## ardsranger (Jan 28, 2013)

firstshirt said:


> Each organization has their positives and negatives, but you can't go wrong choosing any of them if you're interested in learning more about wilderness medicine. With that said, the best wilderness medicine text currently on the market is "Wilderness Medicine", published by NOLS.




The Wilderness Medicine text was very good


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## CFal (Jan 28, 2013)

I want to do the WEMT upgrade but it is a little to pricey on a Ski Patrol paycheck.


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## ardsranger (Jan 28, 2013)

CFal said:


> I want to do the WEMT upgrade but it is a little to pricey on a Ski Patrol paycheck.




any chance your company may pick up the tab for it


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## EpiEMS (Jan 28, 2013)

CFal said:


> I want to do the WEMT upgrade but it is a little to pricey on a Ski Patrol paycheck.



If you're OEC as well as EMT, I would think you've already had a lot of the WEMT training. Granted, I loved my WEMT course and I found it to be very comprehensive regarding wilderness care as well as some expedition medicine.


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## CFal (Jan 29, 2013)

ardsranger said:


> any chance your company may pick up the tab for it



no, the mountain company is cheap no way they pay for it.




EpiEMS said:


> If you're OEC as well as EMT, I would think you've already had a lot of the WEMT training. Granted, I loved my WEMT course and I found it to be very comprehensive regarding wilderness care as well as some expedition medicine.



I'm not OEC, just EMT.


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## Tigger (Jan 29, 2013)

CFal said:


> I want to do the WEMT upgrade but it is a little to pricey on a Ski Patrol paycheck.



I'm with you. I want it, but most list at $6-700.

There's other things more pressing for that amount of money.


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## CFal (Jan 29, 2013)

Tigger said:


> I'm with you. I want it, but most list at $6-700.
> 
> There's other things more pressing for that amount of money.



like new skis


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## Tigger (Jan 29, 2013)

CFal said:


> like new skis



Yup, gonna have to happen soon.


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## EpiEMS (Jan 29, 2013)

CFal said:


> I'm not OEC, just EMT.



How relevant do you think the "urban" EMT course is to your practice? And along those lines, what's your C-spine protocol?


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## CFal (Jan 29, 2013)

EpiEMS said:


> How relevant do you think the "urban" EMT course is to your practice? And along those lines, what's your C-spine protocol?



pretty much if you'd backboard them in an urban setting you'd backcoard them on the hill


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## EpiEMS (Jan 29, 2013)

CFal said:


> pretty much if you'd backboard them in an urban setting you'd backcoard them on the hill



Gotcha, though I'd imagine you're boarding many more people than an urban service, given what I'd assume is your call mix (>50% trauma?).


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## CFal (Jan 29, 2013)

EpiEMS said:


> Gotcha, though I'd imagine you're boarding many more people than an urban service, given what I'd assume is your call mix (>50% trauma?).



We get a lot of knee injuries, lot of wrist injuries.  It is mostly trauma, but we get a lot of calls that an ambulance typically won't get because of the location, stuff that would be too minor for an ambulance.


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## Luno (Jan 30, 2013)

CFal said:


> like new skis



Have you checked out the deal from Surface for the "save life?"  I just bought a pair, and waiting on some F12s so I can get them mounted, they seem like a pretty stiff ski, little softer in the tail though, and about 100 underfoot, pretty cheap too.


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## Luno (Jan 30, 2013)

CFal said:


> pretty much if you'd backboard them in an urban setting you'd backcoard them on the hill



Really?  I know this is a little out of the box, but have you considered how the force is loading on the spine, and how the force is distributed on the falls?  I'd look a little deeper into your injury trending and the hows/whys of impact and rotational injuries.  Maybe that is something that is better left to your medical director though...


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## Luno (Jan 30, 2013)

EpiEMS said:


> Gotcha, though I'd imagine you're boarding many more people than an urban service, given what I'd assume is your call mix (>50% trauma?).



Interestingly enough, our call mix at a resort on the left coast is >95% trauma, but that might be regional.


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## EpiEMS (Jan 30, 2013)

Luno said:


> Interestingly enough, our call mix at a resort on the left coast is >95% trauma, but that might be regional.



I was just picking a number out of thin air -- I wouldn't imagine healthy young skiers have many medical complaints that they'd call EMS for, after all.


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## Luno (Jan 30, 2013)

EpiEMS said:


> I was just picking a number out of thin air -- I wouldn't imagine healthy young skiers have many medical complaints that they'd call EMS for, after all.



Hahaha, you'd be surprised... Much more old and not so healthy...


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## CFal (Jan 30, 2013)

Luno said:


> Interestingly enough, our call mix at a resort on the left coast is >95% trauma, but that might be regional.



That seems about right for us too, I haven't been on a medical call yet this year.


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## Luno (Feb 1, 2013)

What do you guys run for incidents?  We usually run 1000-1500 paperwork generating incidents per ski year, not including the bloody nose, band-aid stuff.


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## CFal (Feb 1, 2013)

Luno said:


> What do you guys run for incidents?  We usually run 1000-1500 paperwork generating incidents per ski year, not including the bloody nose, band-aid stuff.



I saw the number in one of our training but I don't remember.


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## wildrivermedic (Feb 1, 2013)

CFal said:


> I want to do the WEMT upgrade but it is a little to pricey on a Ski Patrol paycheck.




They don't really advertise this, but if you already have your EMT cert you can take the cheaper and shorter Wilderness First Responder course through WMI and get an WEMT card.

The full course is a great way to go if you can afford it (look into their scholarship program) and need to get the EMT cert. 

But if you just want the wilderness stuff the WFR should cover it. Check with them about the certification, of course.


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## zmedic (Feb 1, 2013)

Some of them, like SOLO, had a wilderness upgrade from EMT to WEMT. prob more fun than doing WFR because they can assume you know most of the physiology and you aren't repeating stuff.


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## CFal (Feb 1, 2013)

The WEMT upgrade for already EMTs is still more than a week of pay for me


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## MrJones (Feb 2, 2013)

Keep in mind that, for the Veterans among us, VA will pay for WEMT at SOLO's Conway campus and WFA, WFR or WEMT at WMI's Lander, WY campus. I don't know about WMA or any others.


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## zmedic (Feb 2, 2013)

You can't look at it like "will I make back enough for this to be work it." It's more like "would doing wilderness medicine for a week be enough fun that I'd pay a weeks pay for it."  

Also check with your company/FD. A lot of places have an education fund where you can get a few dollars a year toward continuing education.


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## CFal (Feb 2, 2013)

zmedic said:


> You can't look at it like "will I make back enough for this to be work it." It's more like "would doing wilderness medicine for a week be enough fun that I'd pay a weeks pay for it."
> 
> Also check with your company/FD. A lot of places have an education fund where you can get a few dollars a year toward continuing education.



It's essentially what I'm being paid for but I'd be paying for it.  My company won't be paying for it I assure you.


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## ridged8 (Feb 4, 2013)

*WFR re-cert*

"I would not be surprised to see "SOLO Southest" (NOC in Bryson City, NC) branch off into a separate organization at some point in the future"

Good timing, I take my re-cert this wknd  
They do have a few programs that branch off, is true.

They're a good bunch, I'm already at the NOC, guiding...


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