Certification Standards

Supportive White Papers

The Wilderness Medicine Education Collaborative (WMEC) was formed in 2010 to provide a forum for discussing trends and issues in wilderness medicine and to develop consensus-driven scope of practice documents and de facto standards for Wilderness First Aid (WFA), Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA), and Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certifications. In 2022, the WMEC expanded its work to include related white papers and position statements.  The following documents support the WMEC certification standards; we encourage you to read them.

Importance of in-person hands-on learning in wilderness medicine

The WMEC recommends that wilderness medicine courses be taught entirely in person or a hybrid learning format; part of each hybrid course is conducted in person and focuses on hands-on, practical skills and simulations. Supplemental Elective Topics should require additional course hours; please refer to the table below. Courses taught entirely online (e.g., synchronous, asynchronous, or a combination) are not recommended. For more information about in-person versus online only, read this document. 
Course Standards Links
Minimum Course Hours
Minimum In-person Hours
Wilderness First Responder
70 hours
45 hours
Wilderness Advanced First Aid
36 hours
18 hours
Wilderness First Aid
16 hours
16 hours
WFR Recertification
16 hours
16 hours
Click on a link in the table to download a pdf copy of the current standards document. Each document contains a detailed list of the required topics and skills for that course. ​For general information on interpreting and comparing the WFA, WAFA, & WFR Standards documents, please read this article.

Medical Advisors, Standing Orders, and Protocols:
What are they, how are they used, and why are they important?

The WMEC standards documents set clear standards for wilderness medicine certification for the outdoor industry. We recommend the recreational public, outdoor program administrators, and other consumers of wilderness medicine courses refer to them when choosing an appropriate course and credential level for themselves, their program, or their service. Potential users may compare an standards document to a school's WFA, WAFA, or WFR course curriculum to ensure the course meets the minimum standards. The documents offer a list of skills and topics appropriate to each course type and do not represent a comprehensive curricula. Detailed information on individual topics, including signs and symptoms, can be found in the first aid and wilderness medicine literature. Outdoor programs typically benefit from working with a medical advisor to identify any predisposing terrain, environmental, and clinical conditions that may contribute to program-related accidents, injuries, and illnesses and suggest risk management strategies to prevent them. Please read this document for more information on medical advisors, standing orders, and protocols.

Why WFA, WAFA, & WFR Standards Documents Provide Effective and Practical Standards for Industry-wide Medical Certifications

At present, there is no accrediting body for wilderness medicine schools. Establishing such a body would be expensive and time-consuming and is not without significant drawbacks: The bureaucracy and cost associated with accreditation would create barriers to establishing new wilderness medicine schools and slow innovation. Please read this document for a clear understanding of certification, licensure, curriculum, scope of practice, and accreditation and why the WMEC standards documents provide practical standards for industry-wide medical certifications.