Arctic First Aid Courses

Arctic First Aid Courses

Internationally recognised, wilderness-targeted EFR first aid training with a special module on cold-related injuries.

We offer an internationally recognised first aid qualification (EFR 1 & 2), equivalent in standard to the Finnish Red Cross' (SPR) EA (First Aid) Level 1 course — the basic requirement for wilderness guides. We tailor the course to each group, with practical scenarios carried out outdoors to simulate the real wilderness situations guides may face.

  • Internationally recognised EFR 1 & 2 qualification
  • Equivalent to Finnish Red Cross (SPR) EA Level 1
  • Extra module on cold-related injuries
  • Delivered in English or Finnish by Pasi Ikonen

Wilderness-targeted first aid training

Where we operate is far from help, and the ambulance and medical services that the Finnish-approved basic courses assume are unlikely to materialise here. Access to medically trained personnel might be 3 hours from an incident on a good day, even by helicopter, and over 12 hours in bad weather. We therefore supplement the legal basics with an extra module on the prevention and treatment of cold-related injuries.

EFR Primary & Secondary Care course

Our combined EFR Primary Care (CPR etc) & Secondary Care course (First Aid) involves 8 hours of study plus 5 hours of pre-course self-study. Materials are available in English or Finnish and the course can be delivered, by Pasi Ikonen, in either language. To gain an equivalent qualification to the SPR EA 1 + 2 course, you can take an additional 4-hour module covering child/baby resuscitation, frostbite, hypothermia, heat stroke, allergic reactions and more.

Refresher and cold-injury modules

A 4-hour refresher CPR & AED course is available to revalidate a certificate while the previous one is still valid. We have also developed an additional cold-injury treatment and prevention module for those operating in the Arctic environment, which can be booked as an independent module.