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Here is a step-by-step checklist for constructing and checking the quality of an arm splint. You can download a PDF of the checklist, “Arm Splinting Made Easy” here. The YouTube video that describes the arm splinting construction process in detail is available below.
The Wilderness First Aid Certification Course is an intense 16 – 20-hour*, 2-day training class that many students describe as “drinking from a firehose and attempting not to drown.” So much information is dropped on the student that there is no way to memorize everything required to properly care for a patient during the two days of training.
For those of you who are WFA certified, you will find the training videos below to be a great way to refresh your skills during your 24-month certification.
For those of you preparing to attend a WFA certification course, the videos will help you prepare.
An entire set of resources to include videos, handouts and checklist can be found on our Resources page.
I encourage you to check out my book that distills hundreds of pages of Wilderness First Aid textbook information into a few pages of easy-to-follow patient care flow diagrams that will greatly decrease your notetaking in class and increase your knowledge retention during your 24-month certification.
*Most WFA Certification classes are 16 hours long. There are a few that go as long as 20 hours.
- Wilderness First Aid Made Simple
- Primary Assessment
- Primary Assessment – Complete Exam
- Secondary Assessment
- Extremity Splinting Skills
- Spine Clearing Skills
First aid kits are for sale everywhere. Because you are an urban disaster first aid conscious individual, you probably see advertisements for first aid kits (AKA “Trauma Kits”) on social media and in the side columns of the websites you visit.
As you read articles you find that people have many different opinions about the first aid kits you should carry with you. There are first aid kits you should have at home, another type you should carry in your car and another
kind of kit you should have in your Every Day Carry. Even the United States government, OSHA, defines specific types of first aid kits that are required in the workplace. There is one thing that you must carry with you every day, everywhere you go with your first aid kit. What is that one thing?
Trauma pads? A tourniquet? An occlusive chest seal? Hemostatic dressing?
- Have you been trained on how to properly apply a tourniquet?
- Have you practiced first aid on a patient in a high-fidelity scenario?
- Can you discern the signs and symptoms of shock on a patient and what type of shock the patient is experiencing (cardiogenic, hypovolemic, neurogenic)?
What is the single most important item in your kit?
The single most important item in your first aid kit is the person who has been trained to use it. You must be that person.
If you are serious about being ready to save a life when seconds count, you must get first aid training.
Wilderness First Aid Care Flow guides you through the patient care process using intuitive “Yes-No” decision trees. Starting with Scene Size-Up and continuing through the patient exam, identifying and treating illnesses and injuries and finally patient hand-off to definitive care – this guide keeps you on task and aids in identifying and treating many of the common first aid emergencies experienced in the field.
High quality first aid care provided within the first few minutes after an accident or medical emergency increases positive patient outcomes. The chaos of a medical emergency can cloud decision-making and cause even the most highly trained people to miss critical portions of the patient care process. Just like a pilot uses checklists to prepare an aircraft for flight and to quickly troubleshoot in-flight emergencies, Wilderness First Aid Care Flow enhances patient care effectiveness and reduces care errors by keeping you on task through the patient care flow and treatment process.
Unlike traditional textbooks, Wilderness First Aid Care Flow provides you with patient care flow, through a Yes-No decision tree format, helping you to not miss critical care giving steps.
Wilderness First Aid Care Flow is a resource that you will not want to be without no matter what setting you are in.
In the classroom, Wilderness First Aid Care Flow is valuable in keeping you on task during the hands-on practice scenarios. Build confidence and muscle memory as you use the decision trees found in the guide as cues for each step of the Patent Assessment and care process. During the lecture portion of a Wilderness First Aid course, Wilderness First Aid Care Flow is an excellent companion resource that increases knowledge retention by providing graphical views of the patient care process.
Review anywhere. First Aid is a perishable skill and regular study and review is necessary to stay sharp. Reading a textbook is time consuming and it is difficult to realize what you may have forgotten. Wilderness First Aid Care Flow provides a quick and easy way to study and review. Because the information is displayed in a graphical form, rather than paragraph after paragraph of words, you will find that you retain information better. Since Wilderness First Aid Care Flow is on your mobile device you can review anywhere, anytime.
In the field, Wilderness First Aid Care Flow enhances patient care effectiveness and reduces care errors by keeping