Wilderness medicine within global health

摘要

Those of us who started teaching first aid and emergency care decades ago have seen the curricula for the courses taught to lay people shrink as the emergency medical services (EMS) system in this country expanded. For example, the American Red Cross Standard First Aid & Personal Safety textbook, second edition (1979) is 269 pages long, and includes detailed instructions for many bandages and splints, as well as emergency lifts and carries and water rescue techniques. Standard First Aid courses typically lasted up to 24 classroom hours, much of that time spent practicing the skills. By comparison, American Red Cross and American Heart Association Basic First Aid courses today are about 4 hours long, and most of that time is spent watching the video.