WMTC Health Recommendations & Policies
If you feel sick, please stay home. Unfortunately, you may not know you are sick when you leave home as there is a 1-6 day incubation period for common communicable diseases before you begin to experience symptoms. And, you could leave home healthy and contract a disease as you travel to the course site or during your course. As a result, we cannot guarantee your health during a course.
Transmission of respiratory diseases—COVID-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Influenza, etc.—occurs via respiratory droplets through coughing, sneezing, and aerosol clouds. The risk of disease transmission depends on the amount of virus in the local community: It increases in enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces, and with the amount of face-to-face skill lab and simulation time. Surgical and cloth masks do not provide adequate protection; buffs and bandanas are useless against all but the largest respiratory droplets. N-95, KN-95, and NF-95 respirators protect both the wearer and others.
Gastrointestinal illnesses are transmitted through fecal-oral contact or ingesting contaminated food or water.
Animals and insects may transmit an infectious disease through a bite, sting, or contact with their skin secretions, saliva, urine, or feces.
Transmission of respiratory diseases—COVID-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Influenza, etc.—occurs via respiratory droplets through coughing, sneezing, and aerosol clouds. The risk of disease transmission depends on the amount of virus in the local community: It increases in enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces, and with the amount of face-to-face skill lab and simulation time. Surgical and cloth masks do not provide adequate protection; buffs and bandanas are useless against all but the largest respiratory droplets. N-95, KN-95, and NF-95 respirators protect both the wearer and others.
Gastrointestinal illnesses are transmitted through fecal-oral contact or ingesting contaminated food or water.
Animals and insects may transmit an infectious disease through a bite, sting, or contact with their skin secretions, saliva, urine, or feces.
To help you stay healthy and get the most out of your course, we strongly recommend you:
To help protect everyone associated with your course, you must:
- Stay up-to-date with your COVID, Influenza, and RSV vaccines.
- Consider wearing a N-95, KN-95, or NF-95 when acting as a rescuer during simulations. A proper mask will protect both you and your patient. If you wish to wear a mask or respirator for additional protection, you must provide your own.
- Consider visiting the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) websites for alerts on emerging diseases and information on how to protect yourself.
- Discuss the decision to attend a course with your physician before registering for the course if you have pre-existing health issues.
- Pay close attention to your personal and group hygiene, food preparation, and cleanup. Gastrointestinal illnesses are difficult to contain once loose within a closed group.
- Consider purchasing trip insurance in the event that sickness or other covered circumstances impact your participation in an in-person course. There are no refunds once you register and pay for a course.
To help protect everyone associated with your course, you must:
- Respect an individual's decision to wear a mask during a course.
- Leave the course and see a physician ASAP if you get sick. They will determine if you can or should continue with the course.
- Leave the course if you test positive for a respiratory virus UNLESS a physician clears you to return. If you leave the course due to a respiratory illness, the course instructor or a sponsor representative will notify all persons in close contact with you of the results of your test. If the course continues, everyone associated with the course, including support staff, must wear a new N-95, KN-95, or NF-95 respirator for the remainder of the course. Please be prepared and bring a new respirator for each day of the course in case someone tests positive for a respiratory illness.
- Wear an N-95, KN-95, or NF-95 respirator if you suffer from a seasonal allergy and are actively sneezing and coughing; allergy symptoms can mask a contagious respiratory illness.
- Wear gloves (provided) during skill labs and simulations and properly dispose of and wash or sanitize your hands immediately afterward.
