NOLS Wilderness Medicine

by Tod Schimelpfenig, Joan Safford (Illustrator)

"One of the finest first aid books I've seen." -- Mel Otten, M.D., Wilderness Medical Society

Genres: Outdoors, Nonfiction, Reference, Medical, Survival, Nature, Medicine

336 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2006

Reviews

[Ruth McMullin]

lmao does this even count? I'm getting my wfr next week

[Emma Allison]

Read to refresh for my WFR recert

[Thomas]

This book is a great companion for study after taking a Nols Wilderness First Aid course. I wouldn't recommend trying to learn first aid just from the book. The Nols instructors in my course were excellent and they took us through several hands-on exercises.

[Tomq]

Weird start to this latest (7th) edition, published in 2021 (in the midst of Covid). They advise wearing a mask and making the patient wear a mask when approaching somebody who was recently the victim of an accident. This sounds not only silly (surely this is not the top priority when approaching someone who had an accident in the wilderness?) but actively detrimental: how are you going to assess airway obstructions and breathing, and how are you going to communicate efficiently, if the patient's mouth and half of their face is covered by a mask? This is not a huge deal but it's such a glaringly weird stance that it doesn't bode well for the rest of the advice in this book.

[Naomi]

Really good overview of wilderness medicine!

[Lukas Mason]

Quite good. Makes me want to earn my WFR certification this summer!

[Anthony Marra]

A good supplement to WFR Cert. Used as a reference for any information I have forgotten during certification.

[Asha Nanda]

basic but used for my NOLS WEMT course

[Hend Yasser]

the first book to read

[Lennie Noiles]

Read this as a refresher for WFR recertification. It was a good high level refresher but the actual WFR class was more comprehensive - as expected.

[Brendan]

Great resource along WFR course!

[Lindsay Jarvis]

Excellent book, covered a broad range of potential scenarios.

[Mya V]

great companion book to my WFR course. I deserve this

[Kolbrún Matthíasdóttir]

I'm a WFR now 😇

[Jake]

My formal wilderness first aid (WFA) training was 10~15 years out of date. This book does a great job of discussing recent changes to best practice and why these changes have been made.

Some of the changes that surprised me the most, to illustrate why re-upping WFA training is important:
* Backboarding every patient with a spine injury does more harm than good
* Filters are generally safer than iodine/chlorine for treating North American water sources
* "Staying ahead of thirst" can dilute the body's electrolyte balance

A NOLS or SOLO or similar WFA course is the best learning method, but this book serves as a great supplement or a better-than-nothing alternative to these courses. If it's been a few years since you learned WFA, do yourself and anyone you encounter on the trail a favor and spend a few hours reading through this book.

[Craig McConnell]

This is a very comprehensive first aid manual for those instances when help is not a phone call away. I bought the Kindle version, thinking that it would be handy to have it in the back country (I've taken a Wilderness First Aid class, but it was a while ago, and I've never carried any of the texts with me). Certainly not a replacement for good training, but a very informative and clearly laid out book.

[Greg]

This is a good basic first aid book, but not as good as some others out there. Its weakness is that if any situation gets somewhat complex or dangerous, they recommend evacuating to definitive medical care.

While that is good advice, it isn't always possible. Other books in the genre provide better advice about truly austere medical interventions that can be performed by the lay person if definitive medical care isn't available.

[Andrew Niemann]

A pretty good overview/review of general first aid along with some remote location nuances added in. Some of the language is in need ad editing to better avoid contradictions; also a couple of spots where words were not removed when rewording sentences. The chapter on altitude injuries could stand a review. Otherwise, very good summary in plain (mostly) language which provides a good intro for the novice.

[Christy Keeler]

This is the definitive book for wilderness first responders. In addition to introducing ailments faced in wild settings, the book directs responders on how to prep patients for evacuation so those patients can receive the treatments they need within the timeframe needed.

I recommend this book to all who regularly venture off the grid, especially those who accompany groups.

[Hannah Emery]

Read for reference/research purposes rather than practical ones, but nonetheless I was very impressed and think I might be adding this one to my library. Covers topics clearly and with a level of detail that seemed just about right for the "educated civilian" reader.

[Dexter]

I read this book in preparation for a course that I will be taking and I believe it has prepared me for success in that course. The book was well written in a straightforward, but not a dry style, and it was engaging throughout.

[xavuth]

Amazing companion to the WFR course and a great refresher id love to read again before i go on any expeditions. Well put together, concise but through enough for all the most common issues seen in the wilderness, and accessible to a lay audience.

[Martin]

Do you know how to make a bedpan out of your nalgene bottle? I DO!

[Chad Kerchner]

Good resource book.

[Jim Williamson]

Great reference book. Keep a copy at home and on the camping Kindle.

[Elizabeth]

Very informative. A good way to review material in a slightly different way than how it was presented in class. Very dense though, so hard to be in a frame of mind that can absorb all that.

[Daniel]

Learned a lot taking the WFR course. Definitely feel more prepared for outdoor adventures. Maybe now my mom won't freak out whenever I tell her I'm going somewhere by myself. Nah, probably not.

[Reuel]

Extremely useful information, both for use during a wilderness medical emergency and in the event of a natural disaster in an urban area, when regular emergency services would likely be unavailable.

[Erick van Til]

Field-tested advice with little to no fluff. If it's in this book it's because it's worked in the real world.

[Nick]

whatever i’m counting it