Comments & Testimonials

I was very impressed with the quality and quantity of instruction and practical skills, I received over this past weekend.

I’ve been hiking and working in the outdoors for over 54 years, both as my favorite pastime and as a professional. In all that time, I do not believe that I have met someone with such a deep understanding of the outdoors and such a depth of knowledge of first aid as you have.

All weekend I kept getting tips on living and surviving in the wilderness environment. Much of this information, I had never heard of previously but I could immediately see the value of. I was impressed.

As to first aid, your guidance, teaching and demonstrations were absolutely first rate. I kept feeling that we were only touching on a vast store of knowledge that was there way beyond the established curriculum. You answered all our questions with not only the book answer but applied practical examples to your narrative. Just as importantly, you said, “I don’t know.” whenever you didn’t. You didn’t get stumped often but when you did, your honesty helped us to trust you even more.

So all in all James, thanks so much for your time, effort and expertise. I will be recommending you highly to my fellow guides.

Jack Burns

Professional Interpretive Hiking Guide

March 2025

“Having just taken Remote First Aid, I’ve come away feeling much more confident in my first aid abilities as compared to previous courses wherein I simply took Standard First Aid.

The first major helpful difference is the shift in focus to supporting and stabilizing a patient for an extended period of time as opposed to assuming help will arrive within 20 minutes. There are very few field locations I’ve worked in where I would be confident in help arriving within 20 minutes. Even on large work sites with dedicated emergency response, our work takes us all over and into areas that are not easily accessible. Outside of large sites, remote fieldwork is frequently down backroads, private roads, and conducted in poor conditions. This course clearly addresses the slow response time through a focus on stabilizing injuries and the patient as a whole for up to 24 hours. We were taught best methods to keep someone warm, how to construct shelters with simple materials, and ran through fire-starting and how to safely place them in relation to the patient. We addressed construction of splints with found materials available to us, as well as considerations for use of CPR or an AED in poor environmental conditions. We also ran through ways to draw attention to your location should you be stranded with an injured patient and your exact location unknown.

The second major helpful difference is the consideration of transporting an injured person out of the field. We clearly identified injuries that should result in the person never being moved except by EMS crews. We also ran the gamut of stabilizing injuries in preparation for movement. Where in Standard First Aid we had learned some stabilization techniques, it was glossed over relatively quickly, because there are few situations where you would need to move someone (i.e. Imminent danger) in an urban environment (the assumption for Standard First Aid). Remote First Aid dove deeper into the stabilization side, as it is reasonably likely that a patient will need to be moved, as environmental conditions can deteriorate a person’s condition rapidly. We also considered more advanced ways to stabilize someone in preparation for extraction, as well as creative use of found materials for this process. We practiced creating a stretcher with rope and found branches, and learned the best methods to roll/lift/adjust a patient’s position, however they are found.

The general major helpful difference is that of finding solutions to provide the best care for someone in a difficult environment, and knowing what to focus on, what to never do, and what to ignore. Standard First Aid is about getting someone stabilized until help arrives 20 minutes later… Remote First Aid provides consideration for a 24 hour period, and how to deal with a litany of situations.

Overall, I have left this course with a better understanding of the considerations for performing First Aid in remote environments, and feel that I have finally received training that is relevant to the situations I am more likely to find myself in. I am more confident in my abilities, as well as those of my team members that attended the training with me, and am grateful for the opportunity. I would highly recommend any staff that spend most of their working hours in-field to take this course as opposed to Standard First Aid. It provides significant added value and benefit, and is properly relevant to our working environments, which are almost never the same. ”

Adam S. March 2025

Thanks for all your amazing work yesterday. It was an awesome and educational course. I loved all the practice parts and your experienced explanations.

Thank you  A.B

Hi James!

Thanks for the amazing class again! It was wonderful and very helpful to redo much of the information as I had defined the skills and info in the course. The group was amazing to work with and I am glad there are now more people who I trust in the medical community!

Evelyn W.  2024

Hey James

…Thanks again for the recertification, the way you deliver the information makes it very easy to retain and use in real world situations.

Thanks.

Max. J 2023

Hello James:
Thank you again for a great course! It was an interesting group of
people and the sessions were jam packed with information.

Joanne 2022

Hello James,

This is Alec who took your April 22nd course this year. I just wanted to let you know how much your course helped me. I had taken the 40hr wilderness course before, but afterwards, I felt I hadn’t learned much and I was still very uncomfortable with First Aid. After yours though, I feel as though I retained a lot and my confidence level is much higher. So I thank you for that, and I hope you’re having a great summer.

Thanks again for an amazing 4 days! I learned so much, and really liked the delivery.

Deanne April 2021

Wanted to thank you for the phenomenal course this weekend. It was fun (albeit the weather) and learned a lot. I especially appreciated the scenarios…it kind of puts you on the spot but a great way to practice and learn (they call it ‘active learning’ in the world of education-best way to teach realistically). “

Rayan April 2021