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: Nonfiction, Outdoors, Reference, Medical, Survival, Nature, Adventure

336 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2006

Reviews

[Ruth McMullin · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good overview of wilderness medicine!

[Lukas Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Anthony Marra · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Asha Nanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

basic but used for my NOLS WEMT course

[Hend Yasser · Rating 5 out of 5]

the first book to read

[Lennie Noiles · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book, covered a broad range of potential scenarios.

[Craig McConnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Hannah Emery · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Chad Kerchner]

Good resource book.

[Jim Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Christine]

Mostly use this as a reference tool and refresher when I'm assisting Troop or family hikes.