Hybrid Wilderness EMS |
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About Our Hybrid Wilderness EMS Courses
In 2007, after years of development and beta testing, we introduced the industry's first hybrid WEMS course. Through our strong foundation, innovative approach, and effective technologies, we continue to set the bar for hybrid course development. In 2025 we are expanding our WEMS course offerings to include:
- a WEMS Basic Life Support Course for licensed EMRs & EMTs
- a Advanced Life Support Course for licensed AEMTs, paramedics, & registered nurses
- a WEMS Practitioner Course for licensed physicians, physician associates, & nurse practitioners.
Regardless of their licensure, WEMS providers may find themselves responding to an incident as:
- part of an urban ambulance team or Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) during a disaster
- part of a rural ambulance team
- part of a Search & Rescue team
- an instructor or guide leading an outdoor trip
- a member of a wilderness expedition
- a provider in a remote clinic
Unlike urban EMS, where providers are licensed and trained according to a nationally approved curriculum, Wilderness EMS is largely unregulated with no universally accepted standards, curriculum, or certification. While the Wilderness Medicine Education Collaborative (WMEC) sets standards for Wilderness First Aid (WFA), Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA), and Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certifications, WEMS providers tend to follow the clinical practice guidelines published by the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) and attempt to amend current urban protocols to remote and often challenging situations.
Due to numerous variables, patients in wilderness or remote settings are at greater risk than their urban counterparts: Hazardous environments, difficult rescues, lack of diagnostic and medical equipment and medications, equipment and technology failures, limited personnel, and delayed access and transport times regularly contribute to poorer patient outcomes. WEMS providers often face difficult choices with no textbook answer, where experience, a deep understanding of anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology, and the ability to improvise frequently make the difference between success and failure, life and death, and, sometimes, as in hospital settings, when the damage is severe and non-reversible, there is little or nothing that can be done but be present and bear witness.
In an emergency, keeping things simple is critical. Traumatic mechanisms are responsible for most health-related issues encountered in the wilderness, with environmental mechanisms a close second. Common medical problems encountered during a wilderness expedition or trip — colds, flu, respiratory infections, etc. — are usually addressed by trip members and WEMS is rarely dispatched. In contrast, most WEMS dispatches for medical emergencies require an evacuation to a hospital and can be summed up using a few basic guidelines. The lesson isn't what's wrong with the patient, but whether you have the knowledge and resources to assess and treat them definitively; and if not, where do they need to go and how fast?
Advanced level personnel and practitioners bring higher levels of training and experience to a wilderness incident, particularly in the following areas, and must weigh the benefit of an advanced intervention with the time/evacuation delay required for the intervention.
All WEMS providers must be proficient in self-care in the search or rescue environment least they become an unintended casualty and divert resources from the initial scene. In rescue environments, the technical skills of individual rescuers are typically more important than their medical skills. It's useful to note that the vast majority of rescue technicians are medically trained at the first aid, EMR, or WEMT levels. Training, practice, and familiarity in the rescue environment is vital to patient survival. In many cases, advanced procedures may only be accomplished after the initial rescue is complete and the patient is removed from pressing environmental hazards.
In some cases, WEMS personnel arrive on scene hours after the initial incident with commercial and advanced equipment, in other situations, they may be on-site when the incident occurs with minimal gear. In either case, they need to respond. This course will help prepare you for both situations.
The online portion of this course focuses on patient assessment in a wilderness or remote setting. For EMRs, EMTs, and many AEMTs there is a lot of new information; for paramedics, nurses, and clinicians practicing within an urban EMS system, much of the medical information will be a review — but viewed from a different lens. Regardless of your level, the diagnostic and treatment skills you have learned and applied in a front country setting can also be applied or adapted to a remote environment. Our primary goal for the online portion of the course, including the exams, is to get everyone on the same page and looking through the same lens. The operating premise is that if you can accurately evaluate and treat a patient with minimal equipment, you can make an informed decision to bring more advanced equipment and medical supplies with you and use as the situation warrants.
Because licensed WEMS providers of all levels may operate in hazardous weather conditions, with questionable communication, and limited resources, our hybrid WEMS practical sessions focus on patient assessment, non-technical interventions, improvisation, and making appropriate evacuation decisions. Providers at all levels often find themselves making risk:benefit analyses rarely encountered in an urban environment. For example:
Due to numerous variables, patients in wilderness or remote settings are at greater risk than their urban counterparts: Hazardous environments, difficult rescues, lack of diagnostic and medical equipment and medications, equipment and technology failures, limited personnel, and delayed access and transport times regularly contribute to poorer patient outcomes. WEMS providers often face difficult choices with no textbook answer, where experience, a deep understanding of anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology, and the ability to improvise frequently make the difference between success and failure, life and death, and, sometimes, as in hospital settings, when the damage is severe and non-reversible, there is little or nothing that can be done but be present and bear witness.
In an emergency, keeping things simple is critical. Traumatic mechanisms are responsible for most health-related issues encountered in the wilderness, with environmental mechanisms a close second. Common medical problems encountered during a wilderness expedition or trip — colds, flu, respiratory infections, etc. — are usually addressed by trip members and WEMS is rarely dispatched. In contrast, most WEMS dispatches for medical emergencies require an evacuation to a hospital and can be summed up using a few basic guidelines. The lesson isn't what's wrong with the patient, but whether you have the knowledge and resources to assess and treat them definitively; and if not, where do they need to go and how fast?
Advanced level personnel and practitioners bring higher levels of training and experience to a wilderness incident, particularly in the following areas, and must weigh the benefit of an advanced intervention with the time/evacuation delay required for the intervention.
- patient assessment, including advanced diagnostics and point-of-care laboratory testing
- pharmacology, with a focus on infection, pain control, and long-term sedation
- fluid resuscitation
- surgical procedures
- long term nursing, hygiene and patient comfort
- wound management
- definitive airway control
- critical care transport
All WEMS providers must be proficient in self-care in the search or rescue environment least they become an unintended casualty and divert resources from the initial scene. In rescue environments, the technical skills of individual rescuers are typically more important than their medical skills. It's useful to note that the vast majority of rescue technicians are medically trained at the first aid, EMR, or WEMT levels. Training, practice, and familiarity in the rescue environment is vital to patient survival. In many cases, advanced procedures may only be accomplished after the initial rescue is complete and the patient is removed from pressing environmental hazards.
In some cases, WEMS personnel arrive on scene hours after the initial incident with commercial and advanced equipment, in other situations, they may be on-site when the incident occurs with minimal gear. In either case, they need to respond. This course will help prepare you for both situations.
The online portion of this course focuses on patient assessment in a wilderness or remote setting. For EMRs, EMTs, and many AEMTs there is a lot of new information; for paramedics, nurses, and clinicians practicing within an urban EMS system, much of the medical information will be a review — but viewed from a different lens. Regardless of your level, the diagnostic and treatment skills you have learned and applied in a front country setting can also be applied or adapted to a remote environment. Our primary goal for the online portion of the course, including the exams, is to get everyone on the same page and looking through the same lens. The operating premise is that if you can accurately evaluate and treat a patient with minimal equipment, you can make an informed decision to bring more advanced equipment and medical supplies with you and use as the situation warrants.
Because licensed WEMS providers of all levels may operate in hazardous weather conditions, with questionable communication, and limited resources, our hybrid WEMS practical sessions focus on patient assessment, non-technical interventions, improvisation, and making appropriate evacuation decisions. Providers at all levels often find themselves making risk:benefit analyses rarely encountered in an urban environment. For example:
- What equipment and supplies should I bring on this call?
- Should I spend valuable transport time on a complex assessment or treatment in the field when rapid transport to definitive care is immediately available?
- When treating an awake and otherwise ambulatory patient with a suspected spine or spinal cord injury, should we initiate a self-evac or delay transport until a commercial litter arrives?
With our hybrid platform the course content — basic anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, assessment, treatment, and prevention strategies — is learned or reviewed independently, and reinforced through online testing. During the practical session, students focus on applying their knowledge through skill labs, simulations, and case study reviews, making the most of the time spent away from home or work.
Our hybrid courses are divided into two distinct parts, you must complete both parts within a year to receive certification.
Our hybrid courses are divided into two distinct parts, you must complete both parts within a year to receive certification.
The Independent Study section provides the foundation for the Practical Session and is presented entirely online with minimal or no instructor contact. Students can complete the Independent Study portion of the course from wherever they can access the internet.
The Practical Session is facilitated by expert instructors who clarify and reinforce the Independent Study information with skill labs, simulations, and case study reviews.
If there is a large gap between the time you finish the online portion of the course and attend your practical session, you may be asked to take an online Review test two weeks before the start of your practical session. The review test is designed to refresh key concepts learned during the Independent Study. Of course, you can always review previous tests and you will still have access to this website.
You may register for both sessions at the same time or individually.
Regardless of your licensure, all WEMS students receive access to the same course content; however, the online tests and practical sessions differ according to licensure:
The Practical Session is facilitated by expert instructors who clarify and reinforce the Independent Study information with skill labs, simulations, and case study reviews.
If there is a large gap between the time you finish the online portion of the course and attend your practical session, you may be asked to take an online Review test two weeks before the start of your practical session. The review test is designed to refresh key concepts learned during the Independent Study. Of course, you can always review previous tests and you will still have access to this website.
You may register for both sessions at the same time or individually.
Regardless of your licensure, all WEMS students receive access to the same course content; however, the online tests and practical sessions differ according to licensure:
- Licensed EMRs & EMTs — together with hybrid Wilderness First Responders — typically attend the same practical session. All WEMS Basic Life Support Course practical sessions are taught by a current or former wilderness EMT with field experience.
- Licensed AEMTs, paramedics, and registered nurses will attend a practical session where commercial ALS equipment may be used in some simulations. All WEMS Advanced Life Support Course practical sessions are taught by a current or former wilderness paramedic or nurse with field experience.
- Licensed physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners, will attend a practical session where commercial ALS and advanced diagnostic equipment may be used in some simulations. ALS and Practitioner candidates may attend the same practical session. All WEMS Practitioner Course practical sessions are taught by a current or former clinicians with field experience.
Quick-Facts
Certifications earned depend on your licensure and completing both portions of the course within a year.
All certifications are valid for a maximum of three years; there is no grace period.
All certifications are valid for a maximum of three years; there is no grace period.
Estimated time to complete Independent Study |
± 25 hrs depending on training & experience |
Estimated time to complete the online tests: |
± 8 hours |
Number of require tests/exams: |
3 practice tests/3 Exams |
WEMS Basic Life Support Course Practical Session: |
5 days/50 hours [includes 2 evening sessions] |
WEMS Advanced Life Support Course Practical Session: |
5 days/45 hours |
WEMS Practitioner Course Practical Session: |
4 days/40 hours |
In order for your Wilderness EMS certification to be valid, it must be accompanied by a current NREMT cert 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. You can renew your WMTC Wilderness EMS certification by taking a WMTC Recert course or a WEMS Recertification course from an approved provider.
Additional Medical & Risk Management Course Offerings
More Courses: We offer both standard and hybrid courses in Wilderness First Aid and Wilderness Advanced First Aid, hybrid Wilderness First Responder, and workshops in effective outdoor program design and management.
Webstore: Purchase first aid supplies and books from our webstore.
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