I say do it, since you never know what may happen out there. At least get the WFA if not the WFR, though if you plan to spend a really significant amount of time in the backcountry, getting your WFR is a great idea.
I’ve been a certified WFR since...2004? Can’t remember. I now recert every two years in Moab (so difficult to do it there
), which is a lot of fun as well as an excellent refresher. I do it through NOLS (and Canyonlands Field Institute), though my very first full-length course was through Wilderness Medicine of Utah, held up at the U and mostly taught by medical students. (Some of which were great, some of whom had zero idea of what they were talking about compared to all the course attendees. That was right when they were first starting up WMU, so hopefully they’ve improved by now.) That course was also 10 days long and exhausting. But I had to do it for my job at the time. About 8 (?) years ago, I switched to recert-ing through NOLS because one of my besties had been doing it through them in Moab every year, and she convinced me they were a much more stellar program. I totally agree with that. NOLS is on it, and they have the most experienced, kickass instructors I've ever had. Some of them are hilarious too, which is always a bonus during a refresher. The NOLS WFR refresher is 3 days. I believe for WFA there is no refresher, you just have to retake the actual course. But it's fairly short.
Having the WFR refresher every two years is super helpful to my memory. My very first refresher ever I was just like, Haaaalp, I’ve forgotten everything. Now, I’m more confident about remembering much more of the training, and I do actually do my own refreshing now and then in-between actual recerts by glancing through the WFR book or taking
their free online practice test again now and then. Check out that test, it's pretty cool to learn from. They also keep up on and tell you about new accepted medical practices, and they’re great about sharing actual field situations as training stories during the recert. Lots of
good resources and case studies on their website as well.
Now, caveat emptor, I was an outdoor guide in various capacities for many, many years, and I still guide professionally now and then, so it behooves me to stay current on my certification. But I also do it because I wander into the wilderness on my own or just casually with friends all the time, so yeah. I like to keep up. My thoughts are that since most people on this forum really enjoy going into the backcountry, I will humbly suggest that if you do that reasonably often, whether alone or with others, it really is a good idea to get either the WFA or WFR certification and then stay certified. For the most part, most people heading into the wilderness are going to stay safe and uninjured. But most injuries and accidents that happen are totally unexpected, of course, and you just never know if something may happen. I think it's better to at least have some training, even if you don't recert, if you do like to head out into the backcountry on the somewhat regular. If something bad happens, having a modicum of training can help you feel at least somewhat in control and not panicked during the situation. Though yes, it's totally possible to forget everything if you're scared. (Ask me how I know that lol.) Carrying a little first aid book with reminders on what to do in some situations can help too. And the more often you recert, the more confident you will feel out there.
Here's one more link to a
great podcast call The Sharp End about backcountry accidents/mishaps that provides a lot of learning information from those who experienced them. It focuses on climbing, but also has episodes about hiking, backpacking, canyoneering, how to not get carbon monoxide poisoning in your tent, etc. Great podcast with excellent info about how to avoid backcountry injuries/accidents, or how to correctly handle them if they happen.