Wilderness EMT

This isn't your average EMT program. It's an intensive, 3-week training designed to bridge the gap between urban emergency medicine and the rugged backcountry. Our Wilderness EMT Course is an unparalleled training experience that prepares you to confidently treat a patient no matter where the emergency occurs.

The course is structured in three distinct phases:

• Week 1: You'll complete your Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification from Desert Mountain Medicine, the gold standard in the outdoor industry.

• Week 2: We'll transition to core urban EMT skills and knowledge, preparing you for the NREMT exam.

• Week 3: You'll put everything together through hands-on scenarios and valuable ambulance ride-alongs, solidifying your skills for the real world.

Why Choose Our Program?

• A Solid WFR Foundation: Unlike other EMT courses, we start with the gold standard in wilderness medical training, giving you your Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification in the first week. You'll master austere environment care from day one before transitioning to urban medicine.

• Intensive 3-Week Session: Get certified faster and more effectively. Our focused January program means less time commuting and more time mastering critical skills. Forget months of tedious night classes—this is a streamlined, hands-on experience built for results.

• Expert Instructor: Sam Smolnisky is a paramedic and search and rescue director with extensive experience on both wilderness medical calls and urban ambulance runs. As a former teacher, he's one of the few instructors who combines deep medical expertise with proven teaching skills, ensuring you learn from a professional who knows how to make complex topics clear.

Hours: 170

Length:

• 30 hours self-paced online component (opens 1 month before the course begins)

• 50 hour WFR course

• 80 hours urban EMT instruction

• 10 hours clinicals/ride time

This isn't a typical classroom setting. Our Wilderness EMT course is an intensive, hands-on training built to immerse you in both the skills and the mindset of a high-level provider. Here’s a closer look at what you can expect during our three weeks together.

The Intensive Curriculum

We've designed this course to be comprehensive and efficient. The curriculum is broken down into three distinct phases to ensure you master each skillset before moving on.

• Week 1: Wilderness Foundations

  • Your first week is dedicated to the core principles of wilderness medicine. You'll master patient assessment, improvisation, extended care, and environmental illnesses. This week culminates in your Desert Mountain Medicine Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification.

• Week 2: Urban Medicine & Skills Lab

  • We shift gears to a focused review of urban emergency medicine. You'll get hands-on experience in skills labs. We'll also cover essential topics such as pharmacology, cardiology, and shock management.

• Week 3: Integration & Application

  • This is where everything comes together. We’ll spend the majority of the week on scenario-based learning. You'll work through realistic, full-scale simulations of both urban and wilderness emergencies. The primary focus of this week is to prepare you to pass your NREMT exam with confidence.

The entire 3-week course will be held in the southern Black Hills in and around Custer, SD in ambulances, in hospital settings, and in the wilderness environments you recreate and work in.

The Ride-Along/Clinical Component

A key component of our program is the invaluable experience you'll gain during ambulance ride-alongs and clinical time in the Black Hills. This gives you a chance to see skills in action and get a taste of the real-world pace of an EMS professional. We work with our partners to ensure all students get hands-on experience and observation in an active setting.

This course is for the student who wants more than a certificate; it’s for the person who wants the skills and confidence to be a leader in any emergency.

This course is an ideal professional upgrade for SAR members, rural ambulance or hospital personnel, ski patrol, EMT certified guides, wildland fire personnel, endurance race and expedition medical providers, military personnel, and other field-based staff.

This course is ideal for anyone who wants a career in emergency medicine but also has a passion for the outdoors. It's a perfect fit for aspiring:

• Rural EMS providers

• Firefighters or Wildland Firefighters

• Search and Rescue members

• Ski Patrollers

• Expedition Guides

• Military personnel

• Dual Certification: Earn two certifications in one streamlined program. You'll graduate with both your WFR and your EMT certification, making you a versatile and highly qualified provider.

• Time & Efficiency: Get certified in just three weeks. Our intensive, focused format means you'll spend less time on classwork and more time on hands-on skills, saving you months compared to traditional programs.

• Beyond the Textbook: We don't just teach for a test. Our curriculum is built on realistic scenarios and real-world ride-alongs, ensuring you gain the practical experience and confidence to perform when it counts.

• Expert Instruction: Learn from a paramedic and certified instructor. Our instructor's unique background combines extensive field experience with proven teaching skills, making complex topics easy to understand and master.

• Certified for Anywhere: With a foundation in wilderness medicine and a mastery of urban skills, you'll be prepared to confidently treat a patient in any environment, from a remote trail to a city street.

Prerequisites & Requirements

This course is intensive and requires preparation before the first day. To ensure you are ready for the program, participants must meet the following requirements:

• Age: Participants must be 18 years of age or older. We may allow students who are 17 to enroll with prior approval, but they must turn 18 within two years of course completion to be eligible for the National Registry Examination.

• Online Certificates: You must complete ICS 100 and ICS 700. Both are free, online courses that must be completed before the first day of class.

• NREMT EMT-B (upon successful completion of the exam)

• Wilderness First Responder (3 year certification)

• CPR and AED (2 year certification)

• Wilderness Anaphylaxis Training (WAT) (2 year certification)

College credits are available in partnership with University of Colorado – Denver. Read more here.

*Please note college-credit fees are in addition to course tuition. 

We are proud to teach Desert Mountain Medicine (DMM) courses and believe they are the highest quality wild med has to offer! Here are a few of the reasons:

• Desert Mountain Medicine (DMM) has offered wilderness medicine training for outdoor recreationalists, outdoor professionals, medical professionals, government agency personnel, and industry professionals who operate in remote regions since 1998.

• They are a founding member of the Wilderness Medicine Education Collaborative (WMEC) and take an active role in determining best practice and industry standards in wilderness medicine.

• Their field manual and course curricula are updated regularly to ensure students receive the most up-to-date medical field research and treatment practices.