ORM

As a patroller, you've received training and been involved in providing emergency medical care and transportation to injured and ill patients. But what about all those other activities you may perform that are less about patient care and more about preventing the need for care?

The Outdoor Risk Management (ORM) course provides a baseline of general risk management concepts and addresses topics specific to the risk management duties and activities that patrollers may perform as part of their daily patrolling responsibilities.

This course is available to all active NSP patrollers. The course is not available for candidates or hosts. It is also recommended that patrollers have at least one season's experience as a patroller so they better understand the context in which the program content is to be applied. The ORM course is an elective and there are no prerequisites required other than having active NSP patroller status. Patrollers interested in this course do not need any formal risk management training prior to participating.

Why is Outdoor Risk Management Valuable in a Winter Like This?!

Hey Far West Division Patrollers! Hope people have been able to get some turns, enjoy actually getting snow, and spend time with Patrol Families! Phew! What the heck is up with this season?! Low snow...No snow...Too much snow! Open/Closed/Open ski resorts... Guests watching the Olympics & saying: “Hold my beer, I can do that!”. The season started with gravel injuries, now we have tree wells...we signed up for challenges, and here they are.

So far, almost 100 FWD Patrollers have completed ORM. Some twice! (Go Wayne!)

So, how about Outdoor Risk Management? One big thing is: You don’t need snow! And, you are presented with concepts & guidelines that you’ll find pretty helpful with all this new snow.

This season’s snowpack has significant challenges for risk management. We started with: “How the heck are we going to keep the rope lines up?” And: “We ran out of bamboo!” More recently: "How do we keep things visible in all this snow?!" ORM won’t solve specifics, but it sure can help.

Patrol Representative or Directors! ORM can help keep your team connected with patrolling, even when the lifts aren’t turning. And, as conditions keep changing, it can help folks work dynamically! I’ve been a Patroller for a lot of years. One thing I know is that no matter how or where we patrol, we do pretty much the same stuff. And, Paid or Volunteer, we all work for resort management. One year our resort opened and closed 3 times! It took all of us to deal with the conditions and make those transitions smooth for guests, management, and Patrollers. Had ORM been available back then, I would have used it to keep the team flexible and focused. You can do that now.

Patrollers! We are lifelong learners. ORM has information that is useful every day you are working. If you are going after an advanced patrol level, such as Senior or Certified, ORM is there. ORM is a Senior Elective. Going for Certified? The info in ORM is essential to successfully complete the Risk Management section.

EMT as well as OEC? ORM will get you 2 hours of CAPCE CME. Check that out on the NSP Website, under the Education tab.

Thanks for taking the time to check out ORM. If you decide to take the course, please let us know what you think! ORM was developed for all Patrollers. And, we want your input to help grow the course! To send us your comments and suggestions, go to: ORM@nspserves.org.

Contact the ORM Program Advisor with any questions