Whether it's a two-day Wilderness First Aid training or a month-long Wilderness EMT, courses with NOLS Wilderness Medicine are life-changing. That’s the point, right—to increase your awareness and preparedness for emergencies to happen?
But they can change your life in unexpected ways. Here are some the signs that you're a NOLS graduate or instructor:
1. You pocket nitrile gloves when you’re at the doctor’s office (and not to make hand balloons).
![Using nitrile gloves](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-2-9.gif?width=499&height=281&name=giphy-2-9.gif)
2. You find yourself sneakily taking your significant other’s and kids’ radial and pedal pulses.
![riffsy-sneaky-gif](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/riffsy-sneaky-gif-1.gif?width=498&height=336&name=riffsy-sneaky-gif-1.gif)
3. You’ve bought a cow femur from your local butcher to make moulage bones ...
![Bones](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-8-2.gif?width=498&height=374&name=giphy-8-2.gif)
4. ... and your Halloween makeup skills are the envy of everyone.
![Makeup skills](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-9-2.gif?width=501&height=282&name=giphy-9-2.gif)
5. You know that SOAP is not just something you find in the average household bathroom.
![Soap](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-10-3.gif?width=500&height=375&name=giphy-10-3.gif)
6. You’re constantly in “What if” mode.
![What if?](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-11-2.gif?width=503&height=283&name=giphy-11-2.gif)
7. You’ve been assured at one time or another that yogurt can be applied to every part of the human body to cure absolutely anything and everything.
![Yogurt](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-12-2.gif?width=501&height=331&name=giphy-12-2.gif)
8. You profile every person you see in the backcountry (and grocery store checkout line) for their potential to engage you in a medical emergency.
![On alert](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-13-3.gif?width=500&height=300&name=giphy-13-3.gif)
9. You then make a bet with your like-minded friend on if and when they will do so.
![Teamwork](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-14-1.gif?width=498&height=280&name=giphy-14-1.gif)
10. You ask for a portable white board for Christmas ...
![Christmas](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-15-1.gif?width=500&height=281&name=giphy-15-1.gif)
11. ... and get wayyy too excited about dry erase markers.
![Excited](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-16-1.gif?width=500&height=281&name=giphy-16-1.gif)
12. Your important documents (passport, birth certificate, etc.) are now waterproofed in the heavy-duty plastic bags that wound closure kits come in.
![Plastic bags](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-17-1.gif?width=500&height=262&name=giphy-17-1.gif)
13. Your friends volunteer you when a flight attendant asks for anyone with medical training ... they get bumped to first class while you work in a confined space.
![Airplane](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-18-1.gif?width=500&height=208&name=giphy-18-1.gif)
14. When someone approaches you and you can’t remember how you know each other, starting the conversation with “So what have you been up to since your course?!” always works.
![Nice](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-19-1.gif?width=505&height=284&name=giphy-19-1.gif)
15. But most importantly, you kick into action whenever someone is in need ...
![In action](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-20-1.gif?width=499&height=408&name=giphy-20-1.gif)
... because that’s what being a NOLS Wilderness Medicine grad is all about.
![The WMI Grad](http://blog.nols.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/giphy-21-1.gif?width=500&height=209&name=giphy-21-1.gif)
Check out our full selection of courses and recertification options here.
Editor's note: Post updated June 9, 2017
Written By
Sarah Buer
Sarah is a Wyoming native, Wilderness First Responder graduate, and former marketing coordinator for NOLS Wilderness Medicine. When she’s offline she enjoys running, singing and playing guitar, and playing in the mountains