SC Outfitters travels to Catalina island for first aid retreat

SC Outfitters guides, students and members of the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies took part in a weekend-long Wilderness First Aid training program at the Wrigley Institute on Catalina Island this weekend.

Outing · Twenty-seven USC students and three members of the USC Wrigley Institute went on a weekend-long Wilderness First Aid training program that was held at the Wrigley Institute on Catalina Island. - Photo courtesy of Jay Creech

The program was designed to teach students valuable first aid skills that they could use in the wild or during outdoor activities. Students got the opportunity to participate in simulated medical situations.

“It’s very hands-on, which is awesome, because when we have the patients, we have no idea what’s going on with them,” said Christine Sur, a junior majoring in environmental studies.

Participants took a boat from Long Beach to Catalina, where they settled into the dorms and took a number of informative classes before heading outside for hands-on experience.

“The WFA is a largely scenario-based course, so a lot of it is done outside in groups and it’s really exciting,” said SC Outfitters President Jay Creech.

This was the first year USC has done a WFA program. SC Outfitters tried to host the program before, but it proved to be a challenging process.

“We started thinking about this pretty long ago, in the fall of 2009,” Creech said. “We picked it up again in August. We had to figure out when the dorms would be available and which weekend would work best for the guides.”

Students learned how to deal with everything from fractures, sprains and dislocations, to treating people suffering from dehydration, hypothermia and heat stroke.

Some of the simulated scenarios included treating a fractured wrist and moving someone whose spine couldn’t stand being shifted.

The participants also learned the value of gathering data in order to make good decisions for patients.

“It helps you become a better guide,” Sur said. “I wanted to get some kind of formal training because, as a guide, it’s important to be prepared.”

The medical aspect, however, is not the only lure of the WFA.

“This program is great for any USC student who has any interest in activities like hiking and backpacking,” said senior David Price, a public policy, management and planning major, who is getting his First Aid re-certification.

Many believe that the program is a good addition for USC.

“I think it gives us a lot of legitimacy,” Creech said. “We’re giving students the ability to get out of the city and it’s an especially great course for pre-med students.”