StretchLearn Course

Be the First Responder Your Group Needs in the Backcountry

Evidence-based wilderness first aid skills for hikers, paddlers, and expedition travellers — no prior medical training required.

Preview Curriculum Back to Catalog

Beginner9 hrSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

In the backcountry, the nearest emergency room may be 6–48 hours away — decisions you make in the first minutes determine outcomes. This course applies the WEMS (Wilderness Emergency Medical System) patient assessment framework to real scenarios: wound care and infection control, blister and sprain management, hypothermia and heat stroke recognition, and improvised splinting. Each module combines evidence-based protocols with practical improvisation using the gear you already carry. By the end you will know when to treat in place, when to evacuate urgently, and how to communicate your location and patient status to rescue services.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Apply the WEMS patient assessment system to evaluate an injured person in a remote setting

Clean, close, and monitor wounds to prevent infection over multi-day evacuations

Recognise and treat hypothermia, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke using field-expedient methods

Improvise functional splints and litters from trekking poles, sleeping pads, and clothing

Manage blisters, ankle sprains, and musculoskeletal injuries to keep a patient ambulatory

Activate emergency communication via PLB, satellite messenger, and VHF radio protocols

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Patient Assessment in Remote Settings

Build a systematic approach to evaluating an injured or ill person when no ambulance is coming. Learn the WEMS Scene Size-Up, Primary Survey (ABCDE), Secondary Survey (head-to-toe exam), and SOAP note documentation.

3 lessons

Scene Size-Up and Mechanism of InjuryContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Primary Survey: ABCDE in the FieldContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Secondary Survey, SOAP Notes, and Evacuation DecisionsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Wound Care and Infection Control

Learn to irrigate, close, dress, and monitor wounds in conditions where infection risk is high and re-supply is impossible. Covers lacerations, punctures, abrasions, blisters, and the signs of progressing infection.

3 lessons

Wound Irrigation and CleaningContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Wound Closure, Dressing, and Blister ManagementContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Recognising and Managing Wound InfectionContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Environmental Emergencies: Cold and Heat

Recognise and treat hypothermia and heat-related illness across the severity spectrum. Learn field-expedient rewarming and cooling techniques that work with the gear you carry.

3 lessons

Hypothermia: Recognition and Field RewarmingContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Heat Exhaustion and Heat StrokeContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Frostnip, Frostbite, and Immersion FootContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Musculoskeletal Injuries and Emergency Communication

Improvise functional splints from camp gear, manage ankle sprains to maintain ambulation, build an improvised litter, and activate emergency communication through PLBs, satellite messengers, and radio protocols.

3 lessons

Ankle Sprains and Improvised SplintingContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Improvised Litters and Patient CarriesContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Emergency Communication: PLB, Satellite Messenger, and RadioContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

wilderness first aidpatient assessmentwound carehypothermiaheat illnessimprovised splintemergency communicationbackcountry safety