This morning I opened my email to find the following letter from one of our recent Wilderness First Responder students. I’ll let the letter speak for itself:
Dear Director and Staff of Remote Medical,
I am writing to commend the four instructors that led my WFR class in Discovery Park these past ten days, and to praise Remote Medical as a company. My instructors were: Kate Earle, Phoebe Robinson, Carrie Parker, Kate Peters. These four women exceeded my highest expectations. Where to begin!? I’ll start with this: all four of them knew their stuff. Their experience, travel, schooling, and stories were phenomenal. They were so incredible credible, trustworthy, accomplished, knowledgeable, and solid. The very first day, my best friend who also took the class just turned to each other in awe. “Well, these are the women we want to be!” We agreed. “We’d better listen up!”
I’ve worked in the outdoor industry for a long time, and am very familiar with the attitude that often comes along with epic wilderness experiences. You know, that “I’m more hardcore than you” thing? Before the class began, I just assumed that my WFR teachers would have a touch of this. Boy, was I wrong. Kate, Phoebe, Carrie and Kate were straight bad asses who laid on the knowledge with sincerity, patience, generosity and kindness. They were professional yet very open and engaging with us. As a high school teacher, I know how hard it is to walk this line. They were phenomenal.
Ours was a class that asked a ton of questions. There times- daily- that I was like “oh man, not another question! Not another weird question!” If I had been an instructor, I would have gotten a bit impatient, a little frustrated, and probably sarcastic. Not once did I see a trace of those things from our instructors. They answered every question to the best of their knowledge, and it really gave us a glimpse of just how much they really did know. Every one (that I talked to at least!) had a sincere appreciation, and was quite impressed by, how calm, cool and collected the instructors remained even when the questions dealt with shark-bears holding improvised AEDs made out of stun guns.
Ten days, eighty hours, and every moment was well organized. The lessons proceeded in an order that made sense, the notes were very helpful, and the instructors always awake, alert, focused, and dialed. The presentation was quite flawless. They energy was always high and I never once found my attention drifting. I was really impressed at how much effort they put into the scenarios, particularly the nighttime plane crash scenario. The fact that so many RMI people showed up to participate on a Friday night left me with the impression that RMI is a fantastic, supportive and well organized company.
All four of these instructors stayed late, multiple days, in order to ensure we were all confident on our test. They seemed genuinely interest in our success. They offered us unlimited personal attention outside of class. They made sure that all that information became muscle memory.
On a personal note, I’d like to express just how much the WFR class changed my life. I don’t use that term lightly at all, because it’s a cliché and I hate clichés. However, there is no other way to put it. I am a writer, and had convinced myself early on that I couldn’t be a ‘science, medical’ person. When I was fifteen, I incurred a debt to the mountain rescue world and have since then wanted to be a mountain rescuer. Whenever I talked about that in Seattle, however, I was only discouraged. People told me it was an exclusive community; you had to be a crazy climber with medical knowledge I’d never have. I’m not intimidated easily, but I sure got discouraged, and I gave up the dream of doing search and rescue. This WFR class provided me with information and skills in such a positive and encouraging manner. The instructors stressed the seriousness of the topics without ever making them seem daunting. How I wish I had met those four and taken this class years ago!
I had never once considered becoming an EMT before this class. It became obvious around the fourth day, however, that the Wilderness EMT class is going to be my next step. I heard many others from the class echo this sentiment. I’m excited to continue working with RMI because my experience with your WFR was so phenomenal. As soon as I save enough money, you’ll see my name registered for the Leavenworth WEMT class.
I am so grateful or the feeling of empowerment that the WFR class has instilled me with, as well as the new direction and purpose it’s given my life. To think I could have gone my whole life without discovering this passion I have for remote medical care! In this economy, especially for people my age who are entering the job market, empowerment, purpose and direction are not things that come easily. So, thank you.
Finally, I’d just like to say that my class of 30 became incredibly close in that short ten-day class. We’ve all made some friends for life. Being in the class with those 29 other people was pure joy, and that is thanks to the positive, upbeat, laughter filled, detail oriented and exciting environment that Kate, Kate, Carrie and Phoebe created. After class, my class members and I would head to the Boxcar to drink beer and decompress. We talked mostly about the class, the skills and information we’d learned, and our mutual admiration for the instructors. I never heard one complaint for anyone. We were all floored by class.
Okay Remote Medical, give those ladies a bonus! Give them a paid week off! Give them whatever they want, they were phenomenal! I’ve told all my friends that they need to get into one of your WFRs, stat.
So sad it’s over. So excited for what’s next.
Sincerely,
Melina Coogan
Freelance Writer and Photographer
I encourage you to visit Melina’s blog, The Wilder Coast,  and read more about her experience in our WFR program. For additional reading, check out this post from another student in the same course.
