In Reply to “Wilderness First Aid Training”

Abstract

It appears from his letter to the editor that Mr Paul Nicolazzo agrees with the article by Drs Welch, Clement, and Berman1Welch T.R. Clement K. Berman D. Wilderness first aid: is there an “industry standard”?.Wilderness Environ Med. 2009; 20: 113-117Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (14) Google Scholar that wilderness medicine providers' “curriculum, materials and delivery methods vary according to their pedagogical beliefs.” The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is only one organization that has now served notice to the commercial providers of wilderness first aid (WFA) training that the laissez-faire approach of “leaving providers free to deliver the material in the manner—including hours—they think best” is over. The letter in this issue from Robin Pope of the American Canoe association indicates that the organization's Board of Directors is similarly looking for a national standard for a wilderness first aid course. It best serves the outdoor industry as a whole to have strict curriculum guidelines. This includes not only topics and learning objectives but course content as well. Boards of Directors must know what medical skills their staffs are being taught and intending on applying in the field. Mr Nicolazzo's statement that the “challenge to the wilderness medicine community is to provide curriculum guidelines without negatively impacting the ability of individual providers to continue to develop pedagogical advances” illustrates the resistance commercial providers have to the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) assuming its role in developing a standard curriculum and content for wilderness first aid, wilderness first responder, and other courses. The BSA asked me to form a Task Force to produce a WFA curriculum and content only because the Society had not. The WMS did play an official role in the WFA Task Force. The BSA now looks to the Society for continued official support in the evolution and improvement of this WFA curriculum and doctrine guideline. The BSA will also look to consumer groups such as the American Canoe Association to adapt the BSA and American Red Cross WFA curriculum as its standard and to form a partnership in improving the next iteration of the product. Mr Nicolazzo discusses the importance of forming a cadre of quality instructors. The BSA has had a close relationship with the American Red Cross (ARC) for decades and has been very grateful for and satisfied with the instructors it has provided for scout activities and training in water safety, first aid, life saving, swimming, and other essential areas of cooperation. The BSA is also actively requesting that members of the WMS step forward and work as instructors of this standard WFA course, either as independent instructors or as ARC instructors. The BSA also encourages members of the Society to become actively engaged in training instructors for this standard WFA course. The BSA wishes to support the WMS as the Society takes up the challenge to produce a standard for the Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course. The BSA and other consumer organizations will be closely watching the results of this initiative by the WMS. What consumers require from the WMS project is a WFR with specific course content and doctrine. If all that is produced is a list of topics, it might satisfy the needs of entrepreneurial commercial providers, but it will fall short of the needs of the wilderness medical consumer. Wilderness First Aid TrainingWilderness & Environmental MedicineVol. 21Issue 1PreviewI'm writing in response to Dr Forgey's editorial,1 Drs Welch, Clement, and Berman's research article (both published in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine),2 and the new Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Wilderness First Aid (WFA) curriculum scheduled to take effect in March 2010. (Note: Dr Forgey was the task force chairman.) I understand that the BSA has requested endorsement for its program by the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS), and the WMS board has not, to date, taken any action. Full-Text PDF