Thank you for your interest in our popular Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WEMT) course. The 190+ hour WEMT course combines the traditional, front-country EMT-Basic curriculum with additional training for extended, improvised care. Aerie's Wilderness EMTs take their training to work with the US Forest Service Smokejumpers, Hot Shots, as wildlife biologists operating in remote settings throughout North America, as ski patrollers, and backcountry rangers. To prepare our students for this type of work, the WEMT course spends significant time reviewing long-term wound management, improvised litter and splint construction, and environmental emergencies such as hypothermia and heat illness.

We welcome people into our course, but want you to make an educated decision about taking it. Interested students must understand the commitment required to attain and maintain Wilderness EMT and EMT-Basic certifications. Our classes are either month-long intense learning experiences, or spread out over a semester including meeting on weekends for field exercises. Not everyone passes this class. Students must successfully complete numerous written and practical examinations throughout the course. At the conclusion, students must also pass State and Federal EMT-Basic exams.

EMT-Basic certifications must be renewed every two years. To do this, you must have six months affiliation with an organization that allows you to provide care at the EMT level. Examples include working for an ambulance, a fire department, Search and Rescue, ski patrols, or an agency that requires your EMT certification. In addition, during these two years you must complete 48 hours of continuing education and a 24 hour refresher class.

As you can see, the WEMT course requires a significant commitment from students and instructors alike. At the same time, it provides an unparalleled learning opportunity for those interested in making that commitment.