Why recertify | Who can recertify | How to recertify | Course cancelations

Why recertification is important

A graduate’s ability to accurately assess a patient’s injuries or illness relies on:
  • 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.​

Who can recertify with WMTC?

You can recertify with WMTC if you are:
  • A WMTC graduate, and your certification is current. There is no grace period. The expiration date appears on your certification card. If you lost your certification card, go to our certification database. From there, you can download, print, or save a replacement card directly to your phone or email a copy of your card to whomever you want. You must enter the email address you used when registering for your course to access your information. Please reach out to the WMTC office if you encounter a problem.
  • ​A 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. ​
​WMTC courses exceed the minimum certification standards set by the Wilderness Medicine Education Collaborative. If you are a graduate of another wilderness medicine school, please familiarize yourself with our pedagogy, educational strategies, the course syllabus, and our 2023 Patient SOAP note  before registering for a recertification course. In addition, consider purchasing our digital handbook; it contains significantly more information than our print handbook [included in the course tuition] and will help you prepare for the course. Expect to spend a minimum of 4-8 hours preparing for your course.

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.
  • Consider upgrading  to a Wilderness First Responder certification; visit our WFR course schedule
  • Graduates wishing to recertify their WAFA, WFR, or WEMT using a standard WMTC WFA must pass the WFR &WEMT Recertification course online exams within two months of completing the in-person course. There is a $25 fee for the online exams.
  • Graduates who have completed Part 1 of our WFR & WEMT Recertification course may substitute Part 2 of a hybrid WMTC WFA for Part 2 of the WFR & WEMT Recertification course.

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.
  • 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.​
  • Graduates wishing to recertify their WAFA using a WMTC WFA must pass the WAFA online exams within two months of completing the in-person course. There is a $25 fee for the online exams.
  • Consider upgrading your 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:
To recertify a WEMS certification, you can:

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.