WP Wilderness Practitioner

We have taken the decision to evolve what was previously called our Wilderness Physician course into our new Wilderness Practitioner (WP) course.

The newly designed WP course is open to any registered healthcare professional (HCP) who is an independent prescriber, or who can autonomously use a formulary of medications (such as paramedics using Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC) formulary).

This change reflects the wider evolution in healthcare that has increasingly seen care delivered by HCPs other than doctors, particularly where the professional has achieved an independent scope of practice through further training and qualifications. The move away from older, doctor-centric models of care can be seen in primary and secondary healthcare settings, as well as in remote and austere environments. Indeed, many experienced HCPs can offer a skillset beyond that which many doctors have (including patient extrication and packaging, prolonged field care, dynamic risk assessment, etc).

WEMSI-International (UK) is proud to offer the new WP course – specifically designed to put the ‘Wilderness’ into advanced practitioners’ toolbox of skills and knowledge.

The WP course will suit healthcare professionals who are comfortable providing care without direct clinical supervision. This means having the skills, training, experience, competence and aptitude to work unsupervised and/or supervise others.

The WP programme runs alongside the Wilderness EMT (WEMT) course, with WPs completing key elements of the WEMT curriculum alongside non-prescribing responders. This integrated approach promotes multidisciplinary teamwork. WEMSI attracts many incredibly experienced outdoor professionals to the WEMT course; working in small, mixed teams provides a great opportunity for peer learning, practical decision-making, and a deeper understanding of field operations, while also strengthening core wilderness EMT skills.

Updated candidate criteria:

1. Registered HCP (i.e. registered with one of the following: Health and Care Professions Council, General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council, General Nursing Council - or overseas equivalents)
2. Independent prescribers or approved to autonomously use a formulary (i.e. registered paramedics using the JRCALC formulary).
3. Applicants must be confident and competent providing care without direct clinical supervision, including being prepared to supervise other practitioners in the delivery of care.
4. Applicants could therefore include:
   1. Registered Doctors (F2 and above)
   2. Paramedics and advanced paramedics
   3. Advanced Nurse Practitioners (including Nurse Consultants) - master’s degree level training
   4. Advanced Clinical Practitioners (sufficiently qualified paramedics, pharmacists, physiotherapists, etc., who have achieved master’s degree level training and have expanded roles in diagnosis and treatment of patients)
   5. Any other HCP not covered above who has independent prescribing rights and meets the above criteria.

Applicants who do not meet the above criteria - or who simply prefer to do the WEMT curriculum - should book a place on our WEMT course.

The WP course continues to be endorsed by the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for content and delivery.