Additional Training
Emergency Response Training
As an authorized American Heart Association (AHA) and Stop the Bleed training center, True North can offer CPR/AED and Stop the Bleed training courses upon request as addons to our other wilderness survival training courses.
We’ve done CPR in real life emergency situations, so we know what’s involved and what’s at stake. Our CPR/AED courses employ AHA’s research-proven Practice-While-Watching (PWW) technique, which allows instructors to observe students, provide feedback, and guide the students’ learning and skill retention. Our training courses provide students with a 2-year certification, and we provide both adult only CPR/AED training as well as combination adult and child/infant CPR/AED training courses.
Stop the Bleed is a national program sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security to train, equip, and empower bystanders to help in a bleeding emergency before professional responders arrive. It is described by the medical community as having the same immediate lifesaving importance as knowing how to provide CPR on someone in cardiac arrest. This program is approved for 1.5 hours of continuing-education credit (CEC) for emergency medical providers.
Our Wilderness Medicine Instructors are all experienced, professional emergency responders. We will teach you the life-saving skills and emergency response techniques you need to help someone with life-threatening injuries until medical assistance arrives. These courses are open to students of all skill levels, whether you are an individual with no previous medical training, a healthcare professional who needs to maintain current certifications, or an organization that needs crew training.
The scenarios provided critical thinking situations and taught us what to prioritize and how to properly assess the scene and patient. The smaller class was really nice and allowed plenty of on hand training.
We’re often asked these questions about these courses...
In some ways, you will find the training and issues very similar to what you see in a front-country setting, but in most other respects, you will find it to be very different. First, you will be learning to deal with issues that you rarely find in an urban environment, like venomous bites, acute hypothermia, and lightning strikes. Also, wilderness medical care requires a greater emphasis on improvisation as you won’t have access to the equipment in your ambulance or office. In turn, the standard of care in wilderness environments may differ substantially from your state protocols. Lastly, most front-country medical providers only deal with patients for brief periods (maybe just the ambulance ride to the hospital) and in teams, but, as a WFA provider, you may need to care for your patient for hours or longer - all by yourself.
Our students truly come from all backgrounds and represent a wide variety of interests. In a class of ten people, it is common that the youngest is 16 and the oldest 70, with a broad mix of ages in between. Also, our courses are fairly consistently comprised of 50% female students. Certainly, many hikers and backpackers register, but we also get many rock climbers, hunters, scout leaders, outdoor educators, adventure racers, and forest rangers.
True North has a lot of experience working with a wide variety of organizations, from youth groups, to private business, search-and-rescue teams, hospitals, and the military. We’ve run workshops for UPMC Children’s Hospital and trained Army ROTC cadets. Organizations like the Boy Scouts of America and North Country Trail Association have asked us to work with their teams because they appreciate that leading others in the outdoors, whether children or adults, involves a level of responsibility that extends far beyond just providing a fun and exciting trip.
Our courses aren’t meant to be easy, and that’s the point. But while you need not be training for the Olympics, you should be in good enough physical condition such that you can hike through the woods with a great attitude - even if you are sweating and huffing! Trust us, we take a lot of breaks, and we have never had a student not be able to physically complete a course. If you have any questions or concerns, we recommend that you contact us. We’ll be happy to alleviate your fears!
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Because Mother Nature doesn't care about your skill level. And She doesn't just give up because you've had enough. Get the skills you need to survive and conquer any situation!
