The Pros & Cons of the American Red Cross Wilderness & Remote First Aid Course

The American Red Cross offers a Wilderness & Remote First Aid Course based on the curriculum developed by the Boy Scouts of America. While the Red Cross has a long history in teaching urban first aid, their Wilderness and Remote First Aid course leaves much to be desired when compared to the Wilderness First Aid courses offered by most of the professional providers. If you are considering taking the ARC course—or becoming an instructor for one—below is a list of pros and cons.

Pros

1. The course tends to be—but is not always--less expensive than the Wilderness First Aid courses taught by professional wilderness medicine providers.
2. It's very easy to become an instructor: ARC instructor candidates are required to have a CPR/AED and Wilderness & Remote First Aid certification. Instructor candidates must pass the ARC Instructor Course and typically a single day and teach one course with an Instructor Trainer. Initially this appears great if you are looking to instruct Wilderness Medicine. Easy.
3. 14 year old minimum age for students makes the course available to younger students (the typical minimum age for students WFA course taught by a professional provider is 16).
4. Course materials are aligned with the curriculum and students receive a 128 page manual and a fold-out water-proof, tear-proof reference sheet; instructors receive an instructor manual.

Cons

1. The course curriculum contains too many topics for its 16 hour time frame; there is not enough time devoted to skills labs or scenarios to permit even rudimentary mastery.
2. 14 year old minimum age for students. It is difficult for young teenagers to fully grasp and apply the material. Judgment comes with maturity and experience.
3. Minimal instructor requirements and instructor training. Trip leading or outdoor experience is NOT a prerequisite nor is medical experience. Both are required to teach an effective wilderness first aid course.
4. Cannot be used to re-certify existing WAFA, WFR, or WEMT certifications by professional providers.
5. Does not adhere to the minimum guidelines in the Wilderness First Aid Certification standards set by the Wilderness Medicine Education Collaborative (WMEC).

Two components are critical to delivering an effective course in wilderness first aid:

1. A well-designed and tested curriculum, materials, and delivery methodology.
2. A well-trained instructor with significant field experience as an outdoor leader.

The ARC course typically falls woefully short on both. While the materials and guidelines used in the ARC Wilderness & Remote First Aid Course are reasonable, there are too many topics crammed into its 16 hour time frame for it to be effective. Even more significant (and alarming) is the lack of prerequisite instructor experience as an outdoor leader and its short, ineffective instructor training process. Keep in mind that this doesn't mean all ARC instructors are incompetent; it does mean that you should verify your instructor's competence before taking an ARC Wilderness and Remote First Aid course.
  
When it's all said and done, if cost is your only or primary objective, then consider the ARC course. If your goal is to get certified so you meet your organization's first aid requirements, this may do it. If your goal is to be prepared to prevent, assess, and treat an injury or illness in the outdoors, you are better off with a course taught by a professional wilderness medicine provider whose course meets or exceeds the minimum set forth in Wilderness First Aid certification standards document. It's worth remembering that when choosing a Wilderness First Aid course, like most other things in life, you typically get what you pay for.

WMTC Wilderness First Aid courses exceed the minimum WFA SOP. Our 3-day Standard WFA is 70% skill labs, case study review, and simulations. Our Distance Learning Project (DLP) WFA requires approximately eight hours of home study, successful completion of our online test, prior to attending an 18 hour (2-day) practical session. Both courses our water-proof field manual, and patient SOAP notes. The hybrid WFA web site also includes case studies and animated presentations to prepare you for the online test and practical session. Either course may be used to re-certify a current WAFA, WFR, or WEMT certification with successful completion of our online Recertification exam.

All WMTC instructors are professional outdoor leaders with years of field experience, hold a current EMT (or higher) license in their state of residence, and have successfully completed our 14 day instructor training course and an intense apprenticeship.

If you are thinking about becoming an ARC Wilderness & Remote First Aid instructor so you can certify your staff or students, consider taking a look at our Affiliate Program. As an affiliate instructor you can offer a Standard or Hybrid Wilderness First Aid course to your staff or students at a very low price and deliver the best WFA curriculum in the industry to boot. Of course, you'll need to meet our strict instructor standards and successfully pass our intense instructor training course and apprenticeship. Think about it.

If you would like information about sponsoring a course with us, please review How to Sponsor a Medical Course  on our web site and contact our office by phone at 509-996-2502 or email.

Looking for a reliable field reference? Consider consider purchasing one of our print or digital handbooks; our digital handbook apps are available in English, Spanish, and Japanese. Updates are free for life. A digital SOAP note app is also available.