Slipstream Wilderness First Aid Online Campus

Slipstream Wilderness First Aid courses and all educational materials are based on the following set of 8 assumptions:

1. You will have to improvise some medical supplies, because heavy, non-portable medical supplies may be unavailable.

2. There may be little or no road access; consequently you could be stranded for hours or even days. Discussions and scenarios will be based on wilderness activity and environments without road access.

3. Sometimes you will be unable to contact a medical doctor and will have to make important medical decisions on your own.

4. You may have to move an injured or ill patient to protect them from the environment and/or evacuate them.

5. Wilderness evacuations may require outside help; for example, air ambulance, military, SAR, parks personnel, and/or private charter aircraft or boats.

6. You will act within the limits of your own training, knowledge, and capabilities. For example, if you are a licensed medical professional (MD, RN, paramedic, etc.), you will act as a licensed medical professional, with all the background knowledge that entails. If you are not a licensed medical professional (ex. Guide, ski patrol, recreational paddler, etc.), you will not act as a licensed medical professional, etc.

7. If your action or inaction causes your patient harm, you may be liable.

8. For Wilderness First Aid training you will be assumed to have a leadership role and responsibility to other participants on the trip, and therefore a duty to care.

Disclaimers

We left it boring on purpose... no really, just read it!

Typographical and other errors will be found! This document is a working draft.

· This document is intended as a study aid rather than a definitive source of current first aid information. Solid Medical & Safety Systems Ltd. (Slipstream First Aid), its employees, instructors, contributors, illustrators and associates disclaim any responsibility for problems that may occur as a result of following the information, procedures or techniques in this work. 

· First aid is defined as “the immediate care given to a person who has been injured or taken ill”. This learning material is written primarily for the wilderness, and many of the techniques and procedures included are not appropriate for an urban environment. Instead, in such an environment, injured or ill people should seek medical attention from a licensed health care provider (doctor, nurse, medical attendant, etc.). In the wilderness, injured or sick people should seek medical attention from a licensed health care provider whenever or as soon as possible. In the wilderness, a patient’s condition and needs may change given the long-term nature of Wilderness First Aid, and treatment approach will vary from that of an urban environment. In the wilderness, sometimes decisions are made without contacting a licensed health care provider due to remoteness and, often, lack of reliable communication. Efforts have been made to supply information within this document (and Slipstream’s courses) to help make the sometimes difficult, independent decisions. The guidelines within this document are suggestions; your personal level of training, judgment, experience and expertise will determine your willingness and ability to put into practice what is laid out in this document (and/or Slipstream’s courses). In practice, each person providing Wilderness First Aid should keep within the scope of their knowledge and ability.

· This document and Slipstream’s training should not be considered definitive. This learning material is in no way a substitute for additional training and other reading of first aid and Wilderness First Aid books and material. Even after completing a Slipstream course or reading this document, it is inappropriate to bring medication or equipment or carry out procedures that you do not have the appropriate knowledge or experience to use/do safely. A first aid certificate or medical license does not guarantee knowledge in any specific area. Pre-trip training, reading and/or gaining of expertise may be necessary to supplement the knowledge and skill base of the person that will be in charge of handling drugs and/or using specialized medical equipment and/or carrying out certain procedures/techniques.