Training, First Aid, Wilderness, Anything goes

[CNES]

Hi everyone, Happy New Year. I know there has been a few discussions on this forum about wilderness first aid and basic cpr and first aid but im looking for input on how readily available it is to leaders and troops and what other trainings would you like to see become available in this realm. I m in New England and would like to know whats available here and what training would be desired, but I would enjoy input nationwide.

[Papadaddy]

As far as I know, these are not BSA training courses, but are commercially available. Have you tried Google?

 

PS: Welcome to the campfire!(This message has been edited by papadaddy)

[CNES]

Thank you Papadaddy. I think I wrote my post too fast. I know that these are not offered by BSA and training is through independant vendors. I was wondering what experiences leaders have had with obtaining this training, the difficulty of finding it and what other courses would be valuable (ie, pet first aid, Community Emergency Response Training, etc). I was a Red Cross trainer but I wont teach their material anymore as their huge price hikes have made their courses way too expensive.

[Outdoors]

SOLO

 

http://www.soloschools.com/index.cfm?event=courses.show&ctid=1

 

Extremely easy to find a course. Very useful. Took one last spring, 2 year certification.

 

There is another one that does WFA courses in New England, I forget their name but a 25 second google search should tell ya.

[CNES]

Ive had experience with SOLO who has great courses, a tad expensive, but great training. Also, Ive taken training with a group in Mass for advanced wilderness f/a which was also awesome. Plus they gave a discount for BSA and civic groups which made it affordable.

[vol_scouter]

The courses are very dependent upon the teachers and the organization that sponsors the course. The NOLS courses are typically very well done and high quality from everything that I have heard about them. Unfortunately, they take longer, are often far away, and are quite expensive.

I have taught the course through the Emergency Care and Safety Institute (ECSI) that covers everything reasonably well. As said above, the experience will be heavily dependent upon the skill, background, experience, and enthusiasm of the instructors.

[CNES]

Very true. The class I took in Mass was taught by a police officer who was also in the Coast Guard and actually had experience with this stuff. He said that each company customizes their training but the curriculum which is usually approved by WMS is virtually the same. His class was the real deal. We did some classroom but the rest was actual scenario training in a remote environment. He tested us out by giving us a scenario and having us treat the patient. It was one of the best classes ive taken. Plus, it was affordable. So youre right, the instructor and their knowledge matter the most.

 

Has anyone done any other training such as first responder or a CERT class or has anyone brought unique training into their Councils like a pet first aid class or similar?(This message has been edited by CNES)

[oldisnewagain1]

I was a paramedic and an instructor for First Responder and EMT. (Not that my council would use my experience.)(This message has been edited by oldisnewagain1)

[CNES]

Here are a few resources specifically on wilderness training.

 

Www.wms.org- Wilderness Medical Society, has info on wfa training and requirements.

 

Www.nols.edu - info on a few good courses

 

Www.centralnesafety.com - training I referred to in MA. Looks like a few courses coming up.

[Deaf Scouter]

Does anything goes include trainings done in ASL? *trying to figure out how to post on a board that doesn't let me start a new topic...*laughing

 

I'm curious as to how many Scouters have seen and/or heard of BSA trainings using ASL?

 

I know Utah has another Bilingual ASL/ English Wood Badge course coming up next month.

 

Had a FE come and ask for suggestion on how a Deaf unit can get their YPT done. I highly did NOT recommend the online version...* impish grin

Would love to get that Deaf unit YPT trained myself in YPT yet wondering if it is possible if not on the Training staff even though got many trainings under my belt... *itching to see that YPT done!

[BartHumphries]

Wilderness First Aid for the Boy Scouts is slightly different from a "regular" WFA class in that there's additional material. It's pretty much the same as becoming an LNT Instructor/Master Educator, the certification comes from outside Boy Scouts (in LNT's case from the LNT Center for Outdoor Ethics), all the training is the same, but there's additional material that the Boy Scouts adds to the course. This is why a Boy Scout WFA class is 16 hours, while most WFA classes are only 8-12 hours.

 

We have Wilderness First Aid trainers in the area. Some started training through the Red Cross. I took my WFA Instructor training through Philmont last fall -- heck of a lot of fun. I'm also an EMT and I just recently took a Wilderness First Responder course through the WMI & NOLS. In my area, there are usually a few WFA courses every year. It's sometimes offered to leaders during summer camp, to give them something to do besides sit around and helicopter over their kids, and it's also offered a few other times during the year. Wherever people because certified to teach, they're certified to teach as far as the Boy Scouts are concerned, they just have to use the Boy Scout WFA curriculum to call it a Boy Scout WFA course (and they likely have to get permission from their District or Council training rep as well).

 

If you want to see the Boy Scout WFA curriculum, it's available: [url=http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/680-008.pdf]http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/680-008.pdf[/url=http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/680-008.pdf] just like virtually all Boy Scout training curriculum is available online (with NYLT, Wood Badge, and OA events being one of the primary exceptions).