Most industrial first aid courses aren't really appropriate for bluewater cruising. They are geared towards first aid, where hospitals and medical personnel are available on a relatively short timeframe.
Marine and wilderness medicine courses are designed more for situations where immediate and short-term medical assistance aren't available. These courses will tend to teach not only the basic first aid techniques, but also how to stabilize patients in the case of more serious injuries—that will require medical treatment—as well as how to treat some more serious injuries and use some gear that is not found in an ordinary first aid kit—like SAM splints, butterfly sutures, etc.
Adventure Medical Kits are a good brand of medical kit with supplies for longer-duration voyages. The kits are separated in components by function, and come with a pretty solid book on basic first aid and medical treatment. The company's founder, Dr. Eric Weiss, just has published a pretty good book on
Marine Medicine. Another good source is
Ocean Medix.
__________________
Sailingdog
Telstar 28
New England
You know what the first rule of sailing is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.
—Cpt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity (edited)
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