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INUVIK
There's not much room for error when it comes to wilderness first aid.

Kristen Callaghan performs CPR during a simulated air crash March 28 as part of a wilderness first aid training course. - T. Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

That's one of the first lessons a group of people attending a first aid course geared to wilderness situations were reminded of during a mock rescue at a simulated plane crash March 28.

Janet Boxwell of the Gwich'in Renewable Resource Board led the course, along with emergency medical technician (EMT) Jordan Lenz, which was attended mostly by co-workers who spend a considerable amount of time in the field.

Boxwell is a long-time advocate of the training. She began to learn her craft during several years working as a paddling and wilderness guide on the Pacific Coast. About five or six years ago, Boxwell began teaching the courses.

"It's to give people the tool that they need to make some decisions in the wilderness should they come into an emergency situation," Boxwell said. "So how to handle injuries, but as we're finding out today, it's group management. It's how to handle yourself when you're put under stress, how you act around patients and other people and how you take control or step back. It's leadership and management and assessing the scene.

"Today we've got some biologists who do go off on planes and do animal surveys, so they're going into remote locations and they have to deal with whatever they've got on hand. Already on this course, we've had some staff (make some suggestions) and that's useful and practical. The whole course is all about problem-solving."

Luckily, Boxwell said most of her field work has been concentrated on prevention rather than treating major injuries. She's helped out with a broken leg from another party, and a serious gash on one of her own clients, but she said she's never had to end a trip due to a serious medical emergency.

"I count myself fortunate on that. I have come across other groups not as well-prepared."

Lenz said this kind of training is all about improvisation and imagination.

"This is likely going to happen in a rural setting where help's not coming and you have 24-48 hours of management," he said. "You don't have a lot of those things that are available in an urban setting. You have to use improvisation and what's at hand. You have to be very imaginative and inventive, but also safe. And a lot of it is prevention. With every injury there is a prevention method."

He said he's unsure of how often such skills are needed in the bush, but has no doubt there is a need.

"I'm not sure how common it is ... but I imagine injuries happen just as often as in town.

A common treatment, he said, involves setting dislocations of various body parts.

Nick Westover was one of the people taking the course. He said he's had first aid training in the past, but it had been some time ago.

"It's good. It's different, since the courses I've taken before have been down south where cold hasn't been such an issue," he said. "It's a more critical issue here."

Wildlife biologist Kristen Callaghan said "we do field work occasionally and we could get ourselves into scenarios where we might need extended care.

"In addition to regular first aid training, which everybody should have, this gives us training on that extended care and potentially some larger-case scenarios, like this simulated plane crash. Ideally, I'd never have to use this, but it's something you should know, even around town, to help your neighbour. I feel better prepared and for me this is a refresher course."

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