So, I do search and rescue and now that I've finished college, I'm looking to get more medical training than the minimum first aid + CPR. However, I have a few paths ahead of me. I could take Wilderness First Aid or First Responder course. This would be the most relevant to what I would use in the field, but that doesn't get me anywhere when it comes to actual medical certifications. I could take EMT-B, which is mostly irrelevant to what I would be doing, but I could then take a Wilderness EMT course, even though Virginia doesn't recognize Wilderness EMTs.

So, what medical training should I take?

If you're looking to make a career out of it and want to get paid. Nursing. EMT's get paid less than shit.

Take the course that's gonna get you a job.


Get your EMT then worry about a Wilderness First Aid upgrade later.  Most of that component is common sense and improvisation.  If you're working city or county SAR you should be getting most of that course material at inservice trainings anyways.  


This is the advice I give to new hires in the Park Service trying to move into full time work.  We don't recognize Wilderness EMT either.  

While we in Virginia's SAR community are considered trained professionals in Search and Rescue, we are almost all unpaid volunteers. So, I'm not doing this for a job, although if I need to run with a squad in order keep up my EMT cert, I'd rather get paid doing that! All the local squads are volunteer, though.