About this course
The Wilderness First Responder (WFR) - Safari environment course is an internationally recognised qualification offering 60 hours of learning and continuing professional development (CPD). Designed and delivered by senior expedition medical doctors, this intensive 6-day course combines 2 days of pre-course remote learning with 4 days of intensive practical training in Gilgil, Kenya.
The course is ideal for safari guides, outdoor instructors, and healthcare professionals embarking on a career in expedition medicine. It provides practical skills and medical knowledge for managing emergencies in remote and wilderness settings with limited access to pre-hospital services, with particular relevance to safari environments. Participants gain a 2-year certificate for use of Prescription Only Medications (POMs) in remote settings outside the UK, governance of intramuscular injections, and subcutaneous fluid administration.
The practical component covers medical and trauma scenarios including emergencies, wounds, burns, environmental injuries, and mental health support. The curriculum encompasses:
- Legal and ethical considerations of wilderness care
- Expedition medical planning, including human factors and heuristics
- Basic Life Support and airway management (A-E assessment, BLS, oxygen use, nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal airways, iGel)
- Anaphylaxis and drowning protocols
- Medical illnesses (asthma, cardiac disease, diabetes, gastrointestinal illness, stroke)
- Environmental injuries (heat, cold, altitude, jungle conditions)
- Tropical medicine, bites and stings
- Head and spinal injuries with practical assessment and packaging for evacuation
- Chest and abdominal trauma
- Fractures, dislocations, and splinting with analgesia options
- Wound and burn management
- Multi-trauma and triage
- Mental health and wilderness wellbeing
- Intramuscular injection administration
