As most of you know, we just finished this year’s PrepperMed weekend and it was fantastic. In this week’s show, Lisa and I went through a recap of everything we learned, as well as added a few audio clips of the presentations themselves.
Lisa got quite a bit of footage from this weekend’s events, so over the next couple of weeks I will be adding some videos to the Survivalist Prepper Academy. While it’s impossible to everything covered in this 2-day event, I want to give Academy members a sneak peak into some of the topics we covered.
For those of you who aren’t aware of PrepperMed (or are reading this in the future) It was the brainchild of Kevin Reiter who runs the Wilderness Safety Institute. With the help of myself, Brian Duff (Mind4Survival) and a couple fantastic guests in the EMT/Paramedic world (Sam Bradley & Kyle Nelson of the Disaster Podcast) this small event turned into a huge success.
SPP223 Colorado PrepperMed Recap & Lessons Learned
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One of my favorite parts of this event was the variety of skills and experience levels of everyone involved…including those who attended. We had Doctors, Paramedics, EMT’s, Wilderness Experts, Nurses, Ham Radio operators, a meteorologist, and probably a few others that I’m forgetting about.
Below is a list of some of the topics we covered at PrepperMed, but you’ll want to listen to the podcast and hear some of the audio segments from the actual event and the speakers.
MOI (Mechanism of Injury)
Sam Bradley is an Author, Fire & EMS Educator, DMAT Paramedic, former National Ski Patrol Director and host of The Disaster Podcast. During the class she covered topics such as capillary refill, splinting, distracting injuries, chest injuries, occlusive dressings and a whole lot more.
The segment in the show is of her talking about signs and symptoms, abdominal injuries, and how distracting injuries can cause you to miss a more serious injury. She also talked about the MOI (Mechanism of Injury).
Injury Assessment Triangle
Kyle Nelson is a Meteorologist, DHS/FEMA-Certified Instructor & Evaluator, Wilderness EMT and the official Disaster Podcast weatherman. During the class he talked about natural hazards, weather, injury assessment, splinting and patient stabilization.
The audio segment in the show is of Kyle talking about the Injury Assessment Triangle. This is one of those thinks where on paper it all made sense, but when we had our practice session, it didn’t work out so well for most of us.
Medical Kits & Supplies
Kevin Reiter of the Wilderness Safety Institute was the brains behind this operation, and a recurring guest on both our podcast and the Disaster Podcast. Along with being the full time “chicken with his head cut off” Kevin taught about Dressings, splinting, natural hazards, and medical kits.
The audio segment in the show is of Kevin talking about Medical kits, and how you set up your kit depends on a number of factors. Each person’s kit will be different. Where you go, and who you go with will determine what you need.
Zombie Apocalypse Training
Sam Bradley put together a class called “Zombie Apocalypse Training” that went over assessing and treating a large number of injuries. Unfortunately, because of time constraints this class was cut a little short. I have a feeling the next one will be fantastic!
During the class we learned about Triage tags, and how to categorize each person’s injuries. The audio segment in the show was of us during a breakout session putting what we just learned to the test. This was a great example of why practice is so important, because we failed miserably…some more than others.
Venomous Bites
Dr. Ben Abo works with Venom One In Miami and has been a guest on the Disaster Podcast going over snake bite myths, and venomous snakes in general. He couldn’t travel to Colorado, but he did make a Skype appearance with his infamous banana phone.
During the class he went over everything from snakes, to bees, to spiders, to scorpions. In the audio segment he talked about why not to use a tourniquet, the Australian wrap, and some venomous spiders.
The Basics of Ham Radio
On day 2 yours truly did a presentation on the basics of ham radio. I was a little nervous because I usually sit behind a microphone talking to myself, but I think it went pretty well. I plan on making a video of this presentation and adding it to the Academy in the near future.
This presentation was the very basics of ham radio along with some of the other types of radio services. It was meant to help you decide if ham radio is right for you. The audio segment in the podcast is about the difference between ham, GMRS, MURS, and FRS radios.
Home Security & Situational Awareness
Brian Duff of the Mind4Survival Podcast, Former Army Ranger & Paramedic gave a talk on home security, situational awareness and room clearing. Along with a great sense of humor, Brian had quite a bit of knowledge to add throughout the event.
The audio segment in the show is Brain talking about training and mindset. He mentioned the Las Vegas shooting, and mentioned how we could ask ourselves “what would I do” and learn from events like this. He also talked about how along with the mental preparedness, comes the physical preparedness and practice.
Important Takeaways…
Understanding the Why: Taking classes like these are extremely helpful for understanding when and why something needs to be done. When is a pressure dressing better than a tourniquet? What could cause shallow breathing? Understanding how to assess someone’s injuries, helps us understand how to possibly treat them.
Being Realistic: As preppers we are constantly trying to figure out ways to get through bad situations, but sometimes there just isn’t an answer. Doctors and nurses spend decades honing their skills, and use top of the line equipment. As Brian talked about in his segment, staying out of a bad situation is the only sure way to come out on top.
And Then Some: A major takeaway from this event was not only how many first aid supplies you will need, but how important the basic supplies are. As preppers we love all the trinkets and gadgets, but sometimes you just need what works. While you can’t have 50 Kerlix gauze rolls and 15 Cravats in your kit, you can have them at home.
Improvising: One thing I talk about is skills and understanding how to improvise. As preppers that’s what we do. We try to figure out ways we can get things done when we don’t have modern conveniences. Knowing alternative for splints, knowing alternatives for cravats, and knowing alternatives for tourniquets are all important.
