Why recertification is important
A graduate’s ability to accurately assess a patient’s injuries or illness relies on:
Their ability to treat a patient relies on training and practice. Gathering the information necessary to make an informed assessment, deciding what equipment to respond with, and working with people who have a different skill level than your own are learned skills.
- their understanding of normal anatomy and physiology
- their grasp of the relevant pathophysiology
- the amount of time spent analyzing case studies
- time spent assessing patients in a wilderness or remote environment
Their ability to treat a patient relies on training and practice. Gathering the information necessary to make an informed assessment, deciding what equipment to respond with, and working with people who have a different skill level than your own are learned skills.
Assessment and treatment skills in a wilderness and remote environments are perishable and decay over time without practice. Most guides and outdoor instructors are familiar with, and therefore able to prevent, most of the common injuries and illnesses associated with their environment and the activities they teach, but they are often unprepared when things go sideways. Wilderness EMS personnel who rarely respond to remote incidents also need an opportunity to refresh their skills outside the ambulance, clinic, or hospital.
During a recertification course, students receive updated information and individualized feedback and review the practical anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of select problems critical to making informed field decisions.
During a recertification course, students receive updated information and individualized feedback and review the practical anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of select problems critical to making informed field decisions.
Who can recertify with WMTC via our Recert course?
You can recertify with WMTC Recert course if you are:
- A WMTC WFR or WEMS graduate and currently certified.
- A WFR graduate from an approved wilderness medicine school and your certification is current, or you are in your grace period. Some wilderness medicine schools have a three-year certification with no grace period, while others have a two-year certification with a one-year grace period.
- A WEMS graduate from an approved wilderness medicine school, your Wilderness EMS certification is current — or you are in your grace period — and you have a current NREMT certification or state license. NOTE: It’s extremely rare for the expiration date on your Wilderness EMS certification to align with the expiration date on your NREMT cert or your state license; it’s your responsibility to ensure that both your wilderness and urban certifications remain current.
How to Recertify
We have two recertification course formats: a standard course format and a hybrid course format. Please go here to understand the difference between the two formats and find the one that is best for your situation.
To recertify a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certification, you must take the WFA course again; please visit our WFA course schedule to see if we have a course that meets your needs.
To recertify a Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) certification, you can:
To recertify a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification, you can:
To recertify a WEMS certification, you can:
- Consider upgrading to a Wilderness First Responder certification; visit our WFR course schedule
To recertify a Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) certification, you can:
- Take the course over again; please visit our WAFA course schedule to see if we have a course that meets your needs.
- WMTC WAFA graduates [ NOT WFR or WEMS grads] can take a WMTC wilderness first aid course and complete the online WAFA recertification exams. Please visit our WFA course schedule to see if we have a course that meets your needs.
- Consider upgrading to a Wilderness First Responder certification; please visit our WFR course schedule to see if we have a course that meets your needs.
To recertify a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification, you can:
- Take a WFR & WEMS Recert course; please visit our WFR & WEMT Recert course schedule to see if we have a course that meets your needs.
- Take the full course over again; please visit our WFR course schedule to see if we have a course that meets your needs.
- If you take a hybrid Recert course, Part 2 must be completed within one year of registering for Part 1 and both Parts must be complete before your certification expires.
To recertify a WEMS certification, you can:
- Take the course over again
- Take a WFR & WEMS Recert course; please visit our Recert course schedule to see if we have a course that meets your needs.
- If you take a hybrid Recert course, Part 2 must be completed within one year of registering for Part 1 and both Parts must be complete before your certification expires.
What happens if my Recert course is canceled?
In the rare case that your recertification course is canceled by the instructor or course sponsor and your current certification expired before or within six months of the canceled course date, WMTC will grant you a six-month extension from the date of your canceled course to take another WMTC recertification course. You must complete all recertification requirements within the six-month extension period to be eligible to recertify. This includes both online and in-person components. If there is a gap between when your current certification expires and your rescheduled recertification course, you may request a temporary certification from the WMTC office. Please contact us with any questions or to request a temporary certification within one month of your canceled course.
