First Aid Courses
Introduction
Wilderness Medical Course & Safety Training at UIC
Welcome to the University of Illinois Chicago’s Wilderness Medical Course and Safety Training programs. Our courses are designed to equip you with essential skills for handling emergencies in remote environments and everyday settings.
Aquatics & Safety Training
The Aquatics Department offers American Red Cross-certified courses, including lifeguarding, CPR/AED, and instructor-level training. UIC students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate in Campus Adult CPR/AED courses. Our certified instructors provide the knowledge and skills to promote safety in and out of the water.
Wilderness Medical Course
Prepare for medical emergencies in challenging outdoor settings through hands-on training, expert-led instruction, and realistic scenarios. This course teaches critical skills to manage medical crises while addressing the physical and mental health impacts of wilderness emergencies. Ideal for outdoor enthusiasts, first responders, and professionals seeking to enhance their capabilities, our program builds the confidence and expertise needed to ensure safety and well-being in demanding conditions.
Whether you're preparing for backcountry adventures or everyday emergencies, UIC’s training programs empower you to act effectively—join us to build lifesaving skills and confidence!
Upcoming Courses
Wilderness First Responder
Wilderness First Aid
Courses Offered
CPR/ AED
The purpose of the American Red Cross CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers and Health Care Providers course is to teach those with a duty to act (professional rescuers and health care providers) the knowledge and skills needed to respond appropriately to breathing and cardiac emergencies until more advanced medical personnel take over. This includes the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) to care for a victim experiencing cardiac arrest.
Fee
- Students: $85.00
- Members: $95.00
- Non-Members: $100.00
Certification Earned Upon Successful Completion
American Red Cross, CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers and Health Care Providers (valid for 2 years)
Spring Dates – please email Iwrest2@uic.edu to register – provide full name, phone # and email and date you would like to attend
1/31/26 12p-5p – Location: SRF 224
2/21/26 – Location: SRF 224
3/14/26 12p-5p Location: SRF 224
4/18/26 12p-5p Location: SRF 224
5/23/26 12p-5p Location: SRF 224
Lifeguard
This course provides entry-level participants the knowledge and skills to prevent, recognize and respond to aquatic emergencies and to provide care for breathing and cardiac emergencies, injuries and sudden illnesses until EMS personnel take over. Participants who successfully complete the lifeguarding course receive an American Red Cross certificate for Lifeguarding/First Aid/CPR/AED, valid for 2 years.
Prerequisites:
- Minimum age: 15 years
- Swim 300 yards continuously
- Tread water for 2 minutes using only the legs
- Complete a timed event within 1 minute, 40 seconds by starting in the water, swimming 20 yards, surface dive to a depth of 7 to 10 feet to retrieve a 10-pound object, return to the surface and swim 20 yards on the back to return to the starting point, exit the water without using steps or a ladder.
Certification Earned Upon Successful Completion
American Red Cross, Lifeguard (valid for 2 years)
Lifeguard Instructor
This course trains lifeguarding instructor candidates to teach American Red Cross Lifeguarding, Lifeguarding Blended Learning, Shallow Water Lifeguarding, Aquatic Attraction Lifeguarding, water park Skills, CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers and Blood-borne Pathogens Training.
Fee
- Student: $320.00
- Member: $370.00
- Non-member: $425.00
Prerequisites: Minimum age: 17 years, possess a current Red Cross certificate for Lifeguarding/First Aid/CPR/AED, An equivalent certificate from another organization, Complete the Online Session for the Lifeguarding Instructor course and complete the pre-course session.
Note: To teach Waterfront Skills, Lifeguarding instructors must possess a basic-level Waterfront Skills certificate
Certification Earned Upon Successful Completion
American Red Cross, Lifeguard Instructor (valid for 2 years)
Wilderness First Aid
The purpose of a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) course is to equip outdoor enthusiasts, weekend adventurers, and those who recreate in remote settings with the essential skills to manage medical emergencies when professional help is not immediately available. Participants learn to assess and treat injuries and illnesses common in the outdoors, respond to environmental emergencies, and make informed evacuation decisions—all through hands-on practice and realistic scenarios. The course emphasizes practical, field-based care, ensuring students gain the confidence to act effectively in emergencies until advanced medical care can be reached.
Fee
- Students: $315.00
- Members: $315.00
- Non-Members: $315.00
Certification Earned Upon Successful Completion
National Outdoor Leadership School, Wilderness First Aid (valid for 2 years)
Wilderness First Responder
The purpose of a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course is to provide advanced medical training for outdoor professionals, guides, and serious adventurers who need to manage complex emergencies in remote and challenging environments. This intensive program goes beyond basic first aid, covering patient assessment, trauma care, medical emergencies, environmental injuries, and prolonged field care—preparing responders to stabilize patients for hours or even days during evacuation delays. Through rigorous hands-on scenarios and simulations, WFR students develop the critical thinking and technical skills needed to act decisively in life-threatening situations where definitive medical care is far away. The course is ideal for those who lead groups in the backcountry or work in wilderness settings where advanced medical response is essential.
Fee
- Students: $895.00
- Members: $895.00
- Non-Members: $895.00
Certification Earned Upon Successful Completion
National Outdoor Leadership School, Wilderness First Responder (valid for 2 years)
Continuing Education Units & Academic Credit
Emergency Medical Technicians CEU
NOLS Wilderness Medicine
By taking the Wilderness First Responder course, EMTs will earn CEUs that will count towards maintaining their National Registry certification. See the detailed breakdown below.
Hybrid Wilderness First Responder EMT CEU Hours
CAPCE: 62 Hours CEUs
Detailed Hour Assignment (includes classroom and scenario hours)
This is an itemized breakdown of the EMT CEU hours we submit to CAPCE. Medical professionals who
need itemized hours can use this list for credit hours with their home state or other certifying agency.
- Assessment (8.0 hours)
- Wilderness vs. Urban Medicine (1.0 hour)
- Wilderness Medical-Legal Issues (1.0 hour)
- Patient Assessment in the Wilderness (6.0 hours)
- Trauma (22.0 hours)
- Shock (2.0 hours)
- Chest Injuries (2.0 hours)
- Head Injury Assessment and Management (1.5 hours)
- Spinal Assessment and Management (4.0 hours)
- Athletic Injuries (2.0 hours)
- Wilderness Fracture Management (3.5 hours)
- Wilderness Dislocation Management (1.0 hours)
- Wilderness Wound Management (3.0 hours)
- Additional Traumatic Injury Scenarios (3.0 hours)
- Environmental (9.0 hours)
- Hypothermia and Local Cold Injuries (2.0 hours)
- Submersion Incidents (0.5 hours)
- Heat and Hydration (1.0 hours)
- Altitude Illness (1.0 hours)
- Lightning (0.5 hours)
- Toxicology: Snakebite and Arthropods (2.0 hours)
- Additional Environmental Scenarios (2.0 hours)
- Search and Rescue (3.0 hours)
- Search and Rescue (1.5 hours)
- Small Group Leadership, Teamwork and Communication (0.5 hour)
- Extended Wilderness Rescue (1 hour)
- Medical (20 hours)
- Allergies and Anaphylaxis (1.0 hour)
- Toxicology: Poisoning (0.5 hour)
- Cardiac (1.5 hours)
- Respiratory (2.0 hours)
- Abdomen (1.0 hours)
- Neurological (0.5 hours)
- Diabetes (1.5 hours)
- Communicable Disease (1.0 hour)
- Urinary-Reproductive System (1.5 hours)
- Mental Health Concerns on Wilderness Trips (0.5 hour)
- Common Wild Med Problems (3.0 hour)
- Wilderness Drug and First Aid Kits (1.0 hours)
- Additional Medical Scenarios (5.0 hours)
Academic Credit
The following colleges offer their own credit and process financial aid for a NOLS education. Before you start the course, contact your advisor to determine the necessary steps to receive credit for your NOLS course and verify necessary steps to transfer credits to UIC. Students are strongly encouraged to begin this process as early as possible.
- Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario
- Central Wyoming College, Riverton, Wyoming
- College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine
- Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan
- Garrett College, McHenry, Maryland
- Lindenwood University, St. Charles, Missouri
- North Country Community College, Saran ac Lake, New York
- Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin
- Paul Smith’s College, Paul Smith’s, New York
- Plymouth State University, Plymouth, New Hampshire
- Radford University, Radford, Virginia
- SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York
- SUNY-Cortland, Cortland, New York
- SUNY-Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, New York
- Sterling College, Crafts bury Common, Vermont
- University of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland
- University of Montana-Western, Dillon, Montana
- University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
- University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming
- Western Colorado University, Gunnison, Colorado