This five day course is designed to provide students with the skills needed to care for patients in technical, vertical terrain. It will cover the fundamentals of equipment, knots, anchors and and movement through vertical terrain. Unlike other technical rescue courses, this class is designed for medical professionals and is taught from the perspective of accessing and stabilizing injured patients. Participants should be physically fit, but no experience is required, please contact us if you have questions as to whether this course would be right for you!Eligibility: This course initially was designed for EMS and Wilderness Medicine fellows, but interested residents, medical and PA Students, EMS providers, nurses and practicing PAs, NPs, RNs and physicians are welcome as well.
Objectives:
1. Tie the fundamental knots for technical rescue (figure 8 family, bowline, munter hitch, mule knot, clove hitch)
2. Recognize the strengths/weakness and applications of climbing/rescue hardware and software
3. Preform a systematic risk assessment using the GAR model
4. Move safely through technical terrain
5. Belay a climber or rescuer
6. Rappel to access a patient
7. Ascend a fixed rope
8. Take over a belay/counterbalance ascend
9. Preform a pick-off of an injured climber
10. Build an anchor using fixed or natural protection
11. Secure a patient in a litter
12. Discuss the appropriate application of spinal cord protection/spinal motion restriction techniques in technical rope rescue
13. Manage a patient’s airway in vertical environment
14. Discuss techniques for managing pain in a vertical rescue
15. Care for a patient in low-angle terrain
16. Be familiar with the concepts of rigging for patient movement in high-angle environment
This training is made possible by a collaboration with Hawk Ventures, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion Clinic, and North Carolina State Parks.
