Become an Education Center
Join our mission to empower a safer outdoor community for everyone.
The Base Medical education center program is ideal for a wide variety of organizations, including for-profit and non-profit groups, in-person and virtual education centers, mountaineering and hiking groups, and Search and Rescue (SAR) teams.
Certifying as a Base Medical Education Center will empower your organization to provide high-quality, standardized wilderness medicine education that is affordable, sustainable, and even profitable. Your organization can provide a WFA certification to your members for as low as $65 per member. The process of certifying as a Base Medical Certified Education Center requires at least one member of the organization to certify as a Base Medical Instructor.
Become a Base Medical Education Center
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Affordable
Base Medical charges the organization a nominal fee per student that varies per certification level. The current per student fees are:
WFA - $65
WFR - $125
WFR Recert - $85
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Flexible
Organizations set their own training schedule. Courses may be scheduled, rescheduled, postponed, or cancelled independently of Base Medical. Courses can be customized based on the organizations unique needs.
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Standardized
Our hybrid delivery model ensures that every student receives high quality education and meets defined competencies and objectives. All courses contain an online lesson component. The Base Medical Education Center provides the hands-on training.
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Customizable
Base Medical aims to meet the unique needs of the outdoor safety community. In addition to the standardized core curriculum, instructors can use elective curriculum topics to customize a course to meet student and organization needs. For SAR teams, we offer a SAR WFA and WFR tailored to responders.
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Profitable
Organizations can opt to offer courses to the public at market value, which averages at about $250 USD. Many Base Medical Certified Education Centers leverage the Base Medical program for fundraising or generating capital.
Base Medical Wilderness Medicine Program
Base Medical offers live-remote, and in-person wilderness medicine courses with the goal of eliminating the geophysical, financial, time, and curriculum barriers that exist with traditional delivery methods. All Base Medical course delivery methods contain an online lesson component. The Base Medical Education Center and instructors provide the hands-on training component of in-person wilderness medicine courses. Base Medical will invoice your organization after the start of the course. We charge a fee per student that varies based on certification level.
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Wilderness First Aid
Online Lessons: 8-10 hours, asynchronous. Includes epinephrine administration. CPR is an additional option.
Practical Training: Minimum 8 hours in-person (may be longer if instructor desires)
Per Student Fee: $65
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Wilderness First Responder
Online Lessons: 22 hours, asynchronous. Includes Epinephrine Administration, CPR, Medical Oxygen Administration, BLS airway including BVM, and basic Search and Rescue training.
Practical Training: Minimum 45 hours in-person with a Base Medical Certified Instructor licensed at the EMT level or above. (training hours may be longer due to instructor customization.)
Per Student Fee: $125 ($85 for WFR Recert)
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SAR Wilderness First Aid
Online Lessons: 12 hours, asynchronous. Includes epinephrine administration. Wilderness CPR is an additional option.
Practical Training: Minimum 8 hours in-person (may be longer if instructor desires)
Per Student Fee: $65
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Wilderness First Aid in American Sign Language
Online Lessons: 4 hours, asynchronous.
Practical Training: Minimum 16 hours in-person (may be longer if instructor desires)
Per Student Fee: $45
If interpreters are used, interpreters must have their Wilderness Medicine Interpreter Certification.
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Wilderness CPR
Base Medical has partnered with the American Red Cross to provide high quality CPR education. Base Medical Wilderness CPR program is in alignment with the Wilderness Medical Society’s guidelines and is tailored for SAR and wilderness medical providers. Description goes here
Becoming an Education Center
The process of certifying as a Base Medical Certified Education Center requires at least one member of the organization to certify as a Base Medical Instructor. The process is defined by four phases as outlined below.
Phase 1
The organization must identify individuals interested in becoming certified as a Base Medical Instructor. Candidates should have at least a Wilderness First Responder Certification or higher medical license. While one candidate is acceptable, it is recommended to certify three or more individuals as instructors to guarantee program sustainability. Base Medical will approve all instructor candidates. Instructor Candidates can apply here:
Phase 2
All candidates will be required to complete:
An online instructor course (4 hrs)
The online wilderness medicine lessons (8+ hrs)
An in-person mentorship course
An evaluation with the Base Medical team via Zoom
Phase 3
The organization will host in-person WFA courses for it’s members and/or the public to facilitate mentorship. Alternatively, the instructor candidate can attend an already scheduled course. The mentorship course provides the instructor candidate and organization an opportunity to experience the process of offering training opportunities while under the guidance of a certified instructor.
Phase 4
After the candidate has received mentorship, they will complete an evaluation. During this time, the instructor candidate(s) will act as the lead instructor(s) for a mock course. After passing the evaluation, the candidates will receive certification and the organization will be granted Base Medical Education Center status.
Initial Costs
Instructor Trainer Expenses: The organization will pay for the travel, lodging, meals, and wages of the Base Medical Instructor Trainer. Local instructors will be utilized whenever possible. Base Medical can mitigate the cost of this training for select organizations.
The Per Student Fee: The organization will pay a $65 fee per student.
Equipment Fee: The Instructor Trainer will bring equipment and gear to use during the courses. The equipment fee is to replace the consumable used.
Public Course Offering: The organization can open the courses for public enrollment at a market competitive price to reduce the cost of phase 3. Each course can have up to 20 students. The price offered to the public is determined by the organization.
In some cases, Base Medical will waive all fees associated with instructor training if the organization can not afford for the initial costs up front but can offer 4 or more courses per year.
There is no cost to the organization if a candidate joins an already scheduled course.
Future Opportunities and Program Sustainability
Growing the Base Medical Instructor Base - Once certified, Instructors can provide mentorship courses to train and certify other organizational members as instructors.
Recertification - Base Medical Education Centers will receive a discount to the live-virtual recertification courses to share with their members. This option provides sustainability in maintaining wilderness medicine certifications.
Base Medical Certified Education Centers have the option of being an affiliate of Base Medical. Base Medical affiliates earn a pre-determined amount of each referral to online and remote recertification and SAR courses. For organizations of significant size or following, these earnings can be substantial. Potential earnings range from 12-30 dollars We look forward to working with you in creating a safe outdoor community.