[T34C]

IMHO stick to the basics. Once you have the basics down you can add to your knowlegde base and you first-aid kit. I have carried and used things like SAM splints and, frankly, with 5 min. a couple pieces of wood and a roll of tape you can do a much better job imobilzing a wound or fracture than using some of the gadget splints. Things like sutures would be great, but most people are not going to know what to do with them. I generally have a skin stapler and super glue in my first-aid kit. While not pretty the stapler is fast, easy to use, and best of all you can't do any real damage with it even in a seaway.

Most First Responder level courses will teach basic life support, basic wound stabilization, use of things like oxygen, and then how to package and ship a patient. The stabilization that you would use prior to loading a patient into an ambulance is going to be pretty similar to what you might use while underway. Again, IMHO, I think that is a great place to start. FYI, there was a thread about First-Aid kits that you might want to search for as it went into a lot of detail on this subject.