Fall 2015 Outdoor Emergency Care Course

This site covers the National Ski Patrol's Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) training course that's held in the San Francisco South Bay area each Fall. Details on registration, materials, preparation and location are located on the tabs above. Course updates are posted below as they are published.

Outdoor Emergency Care® is the National Ski Patrol’s award-winning training program for patrollers and others in the recreation community who deal with emergency situations. This nationally recognized program is designed to help you manage the toughest emergencies, in all seasons. Developed in the late 1980s for the 26,000 members of the National Ski Patrol, Outdoor Emergency Care is a training program that is tailored to the nonurban rescuer. Today, OEC is considered the standard of training for emergency care in the outdoor environment and is recognized by resorts and recreational facilities in all 50 states.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Great Pediatric Night

A big thanks to the kids (and their parents) for helping out.  Great event!







Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Mass Casualty Night - November 3rd - Need Volunteers

The culmination of our class, mass casualty night, has proven to be the most engaging, most instructive, and probably the most fun class of the entire course.

What's Mass Casualty Night?

We simulate an event where we have multiple patients in need of care.  Each patient acts out a unique injury.  It's up to the patroller candidates to assess each patient and then provide the appropriate care by themselves or by leading a team to do so.   Pictures from last year's event below.

Why is it unique?

The event is unique in that it requires the candidates to bring to bear all the skills they've learned in class, and do so in a stressful environment that we create.  It's also a great opportunity for friends, family and others interested to see what this Outdoor Emergency Care is all about.

We need your help

To make this happen, we need a large number of volunteers.  This year, we're looking for around 40.  Young and old, we want and welcome all.  We'll provide you some coaching on your "injury".  In some cases, we'll also apply some moulage to better simulate the injury.   And you'll get to act it out as you like, being as high or low maintenance as you like to your patroller-rescuer and their team.

How to Sign-up

Click on the link below and go to November 3.  Sign up as a "Patient Volunteer".  http://vols.pt/WBHsPG


No doubt this year will once again prove to be very instructive to candidates, and very fun for the volunteers.  Thanks in advance for your support.









How Not to Transport a Patient

Not the way we learned it in class...

Link to NYT video here.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Past Written Exam Review Schedule

Here's the schedule we'll use to review past exams.  Once again, plan is for everyone to go through the exam of the week and bring questions/discussion points to class. We'll go over them, plus I'll highlight a few key learning points.

§10/20: Review 2011 Exam 1
§10/27: Review 2011 Exam 2
§10/29: Review 2012 Exam 1

§11/5: Review 2014 Exam 3

Friday, October 16, 2015

Excellent Speaker's Night

Huge thanks to Dr. Jeff Croke, MD.  You had us enthralled with your case studies & the practical application of so much of what we've studied in class.  Outstanding discussions, lessons learned, and preparation for future patrolling (and beyond).





And thanks to Ross Dakin, Presidential Innovation Fellow, for your remarks on the exciting new opportunities & developments in medicine at the federal level.   An exciting future!

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Additional Speaker on Thursday - Ross Dakin, Presidential Innovation Fellow

I am excited to announce that Ross Dakin will join our class on Thursday.  As you can see from his bio, Ross is a highly accomplished technologist who has recently joined the prestigious Presidential Innovation Fellowship program.

Ross is also a former Southbay OEC student, EMT, who went on to patrol at Northstar as well as support a number of public health organizations.

Ross will give us some remarks on topics including the new Precision Medicine Initiative, Federal Ebola response, and other topics of interest he sees from his new perch.

And given his background, we may even be able to get some backboard tips.

Together with Dr. Jeff Croke, we should have a unique and very interesting Thursday evening.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Heart Attack - Men vs Women's Symptoms

--- Repost from 2014 ---

In class last week, we touched on heart attacks, and touched on the different symptoms male/female.  Thanks to Mike Nealon who pointed out this instructive article on the topic.  Thanks Mike.

Link here.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Wrascal Carrier Pro Deal

For those of you who missed meeting Nick and seeing the Wrascal Carrier at Backboard Sunday, here's a follow-up link and info on the ProDeal he's offering.

Head to the website and use coupon code: SKIPATROL99 for a 30% discount.  Coupon code good until November 3.

Nick tell us to feel free to share it with friends and family and co-workers in the field. More info on the website at: www.wrascalcarrier.com 

Special Guest Speaker - Dr. Jeff Croke

As I mentioned in class, I am thrilled that Dr. Jeff Croke will be our guest speaker Thursday, Oct 15.  

As you can see, Jeff is a highly accomplished physician AND ski patrolman.  Jeff has prepared some remarks for us, and then will take questions.  

Get your questions ready!

More on Jeff, including video, here.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Monday, October 5, 2015

Successful Midterm & Backboard Sunday!

Congratulations, candidates, on a grueling and very successful weekend.  I've added pictures to the class album here (midterm & BB Sunday pics at the end).

Now it gets interesting...