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2009 Wilderness EMT Upgrade Course
(September 12th through 16th)
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The WV EMS TSN, in partnership with the WV Office of EMS and the Wilderness
Medical Institute - National Outdoor Leadership School, sponsoring a
Wilderness Upgrade for Medical Professionals (WUMP) course. There was
talk during the class about WV EMS getting a program going that builds
upon the curriculum present to us. That would be a good thing, I think.
The WUMP course is described as a preparation for the though decisions
the one may face hours, or days, away from definitive medical care.
(Such as ambulances!) And in situations where you may be providing medical
care for your patient for hours or days rather than minutes.
This course focused on building communication, improvisation and decision
making skills. We worked on advanced topics like dislocation reduction,
focused spinal assessment, wound closure, litter packaging and medication
administration. It was a VERY intense six-day course, that included
eight to twelve-hour days, evening classes and extensive exercises.
All of this lead up to an extended rescue scenario on Pringle Mountain---which
is where a lot of secret squirrel stuff goes on. (While we were on the
mountain, for many hours, we were serenaded by a chorus of large-caliber
live fire exercises across the river!)
This was one of the BEST classes I have ever attended---no, I didn't
attend, I participated! One of the best aspects of this class is that
the highly trained, and motivated instructors did NOT use PowerPoint
slide shows. They talked to us, taught us, interacted with us and used
the whiteboards as their visual aid! (It's hard to remember, but folks
actually used to learn things BEFORE PowerPoint!)
I strongly recommend this class for any EMS provider, especially if
you think you might ever end up on the hill taking care of patients
for an extended period of time. One might also find the skills and knowledge
from this class invaluable during times of social unrest or disruption.
Two thumbs up!!!
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The rooms in which the 20 students stayed were arranged
like dorm rooms---4 bedrooms arrayed around a common area. The common
area, in this photo and the one below, included a large-screen TV, stove,
microwave, sink and refrigerator. The space was very comfortable. Also,
gave you a chance to meet new folks and make some new friends.
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Another view of the common area in the rooms.
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Here are a couple of views of the bedroom that we stayed
in. Quite comfortable, really, and much better than some motels in which
I have stayed. (The GIs said that the cost is about $45 per night.) We
ate in the mess hall, which was a large space with tables, chairs and
TVs---ever present TVs. The food was as one might suspect---adequate and
PLENTIFUL!
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These shots are not of the room that I actually stayed
in. I got comfortable upon arrival on Friday night, the 11th of September,
and settled in. However, a little later, the instructors, Padj and Rob
showed up to find that they had been split between two separate quarters.
I volunteered to relocate into Rob's room to allow them to have the same
billeting. So, I moved to another wing of the MWR facility (Morale/Wellness/Recreation)
and all was well.
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This was the view out of the window in my first room.
In the distance are the barracks for the many GI who train here and are
not staying in the MWR center. There is also a large group of at-risk
teens here who are participating in the Challenge Academy. Those kids
really bust their humps and, I am sure, leave better than they were when
the came to the camp.
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Our classroom was to the right and FAR beyond the low
buildings to the left of this image. The entire camp is nestled into the
Cheat River valley, in Preston County.
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While I did not participate personally, seriously I
was way too tired each evening to go bar hopping, there were many incidents
related about the good times had in this place. I would say that the students
made a positive impact on the local entertainment economy. Apparently
the beers were only a buck a piece!
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Passed by this vintage M7 "Priest" Gun Motor
Carriage. (105 mm howitzer with 50 cal machine gun) The vehicle was placed
in front of the Preston County National Guard Armory. The Regional Training
Institute had a lot going on while we were there---including a very high-level
FBI group. That forced us out of the classrooms in the RTI, and into a
Vietnam-era training room at the far end of the base. Some of us hiked
the half mile, or so, several times a day to get to and from our classes.
Passed by this beauty many, many times.
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This will sort of give you the look-and-feel of the
class rooms we used. (I tried to NOT take any photos of the outside of
this building as we were close to the super-secret-squirrel end of the
base. The cases were filled with a bunch of interesting mementos from
WVARNG outreach and recruiting operations.
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Lining the hallways was a collection of the various
flags that have served the nation and the military from the late 1700s.
They were very good reproductions, some including bullet holes and burn
marks, Quite well done.
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Here is s shot of the classroom with most of the students
included. That is Padj (Justin Padget) at the whiteboard. He was the lead
instructor and is also the Executive Director of the Landmark Learning
Center, in North Carolina. (See more about Landmark below).
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I included this photo because there is an airfield,
heading off into the distance, that apparently does not host all kinds
of things that we saw happening---including flights of armed Blackhawk
helicopters brimming with nasty looking armed soldiers who also did not
exist. We were told, very firmly, to not go into that area of the base.
Roger that!
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Here you see Rob, on the left, and Padj beginning their
scene size up---with characteristically exaggerated actions. They were
as entertaining as they were effective at getting their curriculum across.
(They are looking up, looking left, looking right...)
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Here, Rob has introduced themselves to the patient,
Mike Cunningham, who has fallen off of a large rock face, on which he
was climbing. Rob is holding manual spinal immobilization and Padj is
getting ready to begin his head-to-toe exam. (We called this place the
Field of Doom due to the LARGE number of truly horrible things
that happened there!)
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Rob has handed over C-spine control to Padj and has
begun to collect an extensive patient history from Mike. One of the most
important, and most difficult for me, aspects of this curriculum is to
unlearn our need-for-speed. Since we are potentially spending days with
our wilderness patients, collecting a good, thorough Hx is of utmost importance.
("Slow is smooth, smooth is fast")
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Much of our activities took place out in the field,
the woods, the river and on the mountain. Here the two instructors, Padj
with his back to you and Rob injured on the ground, are going over one
of MANY patient assessments that were performed during the class. The
gentleman on the left, Mike, was my final practical test partner---he
was quite good at patient assessment. Between us we really nailed it!
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If you are looking for more information about the Landmark Learning
folks, or the Wilderness EMT programs, click on the logos below and
you will get to the appropriate sites. Thanks for taking the time to
look at these photos.
Rick Johnson (9/18/2009)
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We worked on new windows for the third floor office today. Two
of the windows "popped right in." (Well, not really. But compared
to the third they were a breeze!) Here are some pictures that Liz snapped while
I was doing the Spider Man thing on the outside of the house.
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