Wilderness Life Support® is a medical certification course that provides a practical foundation in Wilderness Medicine for medical professionals. The course is a 4-day course that teaches patient assessment and treatment guidelines for life support until definitive care or evacuation is available, and trains the provider in methods to manage medical and trauma emergencies and urgencies in the wilderness when evacuation is unavailable or unnecessary. It also teaches techniques and guidelines for evacuation if patient evacuation is necessary and critical. The course is equally divided between didactic lecture and hands-on teaching.
AWLS® was developed at the University of Utah, School of Medicine by a group of medical people with many years of Wilderness Medicine experience. Having taught wilderness medicine courses since 1993, Richard Ingebretsen, M.D., Ph.D. created the Advanced Wilderness.
Life Support course as the first Wilderness Medicine certification. The curriculum is regularly reviewed by the oversight committee including David Della- Giustina, M.D. and Richard Ingebretsen, M.D., Ph.D. There are now hundreds of AWLS certificate holders in many countries and the course is now being taught each year in multiple locations.
The AWLS curriculum is accredited by the Wilderness Medical Society, which provides AMA approved CME credits. The course is managed by AdventureMed, a Limited Liability Company, and is sponsored by the University of Utah, School of Medicine.
WLS is is accredited by the prestigious Utah School of Medicine and is endorsed by the Wilderness Medical Society.
“Learn the skills to prevent medical problems, reduce suffering and save lives in non-traditional medical settings”
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Earn your Wilderness Life Support certification
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Learn the latest practical hands-on wilderness medicine skills for patient assessment, treatment and evacuation protocols
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Practice your skills in live scenarios
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Taught by leading experts
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Obtain up to 20.5 hours of category 1 CME
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Patient assessment
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Wound management
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Trauma
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Water treatment
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Medical problems
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Hyperthermia, Hypothermia, Frostbite
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Head, Ear, Eye, Nose, Throat, Skin
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Medical kits
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Infectious disease
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Lightning
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Animal & insect bites
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HAPE/HACE
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Musculoskeletal injuries
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Dive Medicine
The mission of WLS is to create competence in medical professionals, enabling them to prevent and effectively manage emergency medical situations outside traditional medical facilities.
The WLS certification is appropriate for any licensed medical professional, or medical professional in training, who has an interest in wilderness activities. Our graduates include outdoor enthusiasts, expedition participants, US Army and other military medical personnel, wilderness medicine academicians and Wilderness Medical Society Fellowship candidates.
Wilderness Life Support has been accredited with the following organisations in the past. Please contact us if you require accreditation with these or another college to ensure we can get the course accredited for you!
Abbreviation
ACEM
RACS
AMA
ANZCA
RACP
RNZCGP
ACRRM
RACGP
RANZCR
RANZCOG
Full Name
Australian College for Emergency Medicine
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
American Medical Association
Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
Royal Australasian College of Physicians
Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners
Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Survive First Aid is super happy to be working with and promoting Wilderness Life Support® courses within Australia on behalf of RescueMED. Ticket Prices: Consultant $2500, HMO/Resident $2000, Nurse/Paramedic $1500, EMT/ACO $1250, Medical Student $1100
All enquires for AWLS courses should be directed to RescueMED