Flight Nurse Advice

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Jan 20, 2014

I am currently A nursing student to graduate in May of 2014. My ultimate goal is to become a Flight Nurse in the Dallas Area. I currently work at a large hospital as a PCT, and I have already gotten a job offer in a Surgical ICU unit. I am aware that a minimum of five years in a critical area is needed to become a flight nurse, but I still feel like there might be someone out there that has some advice regarding the best way to make myself marketable to a careflight/lifeflight service. I have no pre-hospital experience, which I hear that I need. How could I gain pre-hospital experience while working as a nurse in an ICU? I have no previous medical experience. My current floor is an Ortho/trauma floor.
Thank you for your time

One way to get prehospital experience is to become a Paramedic. I'm not all that familiar with Texas in how they have their EMS system set up, but many places generally request that you take an EMT-B course, then a Paramedic Refresher Course, and then you can challenge the Paramedic Exam. From there, you may be required to do a field internship to complete the transition. Then the hard part really begins: finding a job as a Paramedic that will mesh well with your RN work schedule.

Each flight program will have their own requirements, so make sure you keep an eye on what they require for both minimal entry requirements as well as what they consider "competitive."

That much I do know. I hope that folks that are currently doing flight nursing will chime in as to what will make you more marketable and desirable. My bit is just purely for gaining some prehospital experience.

TraumaSurfer · Jan 20, 2014

Don't worry about getting prehospital experience right now. You are one of the fortunate new grads to land a job after your graduate. Don't screw that up. RNs are highly valued for their critical care knowledge and experience. Prehospital experience is not always necessary especially if the majority of transports are between hospitals. Concentrate on ICU for the next few years. Get experience in at least 2 ICUs. Don't try to divide your attention between too many things outside of the hospital right now. Learning the many aspects of critical care is a full time job.

In TX you will get credit for being an RN if you want a Paramedic patch. But, that should not be a priority right now. While working as an RN, network with the flight teams you might see. Find out what is required. You might change your mind or your specialty before the 5 year mark. You might even get on a hospital specialty team such as transport, CV or diagnositcs, ECMO, transplant, peds or neonatal and decide you prefer that. You will probably see more in 1 month as an RN than as a Paramedic in 1 year or even 3 years.

But, if you still want to go the Paramedic route in a few years:

Brookhaven College: Bridge Program: RN, RT or PA to Paramedic

There are also other programs. if you leave TX, you could be a PreHospital RN or ECN or MICN. There are also 2 week courses for the RN to get a quick cert.

In this same section there are other posts which offer some excellent advice.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Feb 9, 2014

For the Original Poster -

Don't worry about getting prehospital experience right now. You are one of the fortunate new grads to land a job after your graduate. Don't screw that up. RNs are highly valued for their critical care knowledge and experience. Prehospital experience is not always necessary especially if the majority of transports are between hospitals. Concentrate on ICU for the next few years. Get experience in at least 2 ICUs. Don't try to divide your attention between too many things outside of the hospital right now. Learning the many aspects of critical care is a full time job.
In TX you will get credit for being an RN if you want a Paramedic patch. But, that should not be a priority right now. While working as an RN, network with the flight teams you might see. Find out what is required. You might change your mind or your specialty before the 5 year mark. You might even get on a hospital specialty team such as transport, CV or diagnositcs, ECMO, transplant, peds or neonatal and decide you prefer that. You will probably see more in 1 month as an RN than as a Paramedic in 1 year or even 3 years.
But, if you still want to go the Paramedic route in a few years:
Brookhaven College: Bridge Program: RN, RT or PA to Paramedic
There are also other programs. if you leave TX, you could be a PreHospital RN or ECN or MICN. There are also 2 week courses for the RN to get a quick cert.
In this same section there are other posts which offer some excellent advice.

I guarantee you this: being a Paramedic will only provide you part of the puzzle... and you can learn that stuff without becoming one, it will just take a little longer. You will also get more critical care experience working in an ICU setting and get your feet wet doing transfers by getting on to a specialty transport team than you ever will being a Paramedic for many, many years.

TraumaSurfer is absolutely correct in that you should concentrate on learning the critical care stuff in the ICU (or a couple of them) before you really start going for Flight Nurse. Heck, I would say that if you really want to be a good Paramedic candidate, do a couple of years in Critical Care first so that you get through the steepest part of your learning curve and then go for that Paramedic License. That learning curve isn't as steep... but not easy!

8jimi8ICURN · Feb 18, 2014

Not everyone requires 5 years. Air Evac (in Texas - san antonio area) requires 3 years and passing their test. I volunteered as an EMT-B then an EMT-I85 in texas with a third service 911 and a volunteer firefighting company. My prehospital experience was MINIMALLY relevant. I was asked one question about it in my interview, to which my answer was, i have earned my NREMT-I85. Get, Your TNCC and an EMT-B and you will be solid for what you "need to know" about scene work and concentrate on ther critical care aspects. Try to get in on a CVICU or a CCU that runs a lot of balloon pumps/impella/ or ECMO. Those skills will translate greatly to what a potential flight company (that does interfacility CCT). But DO get a least a year or two in the SICU. That will also help greatly.

8jimi8ICURN · Feb 18, 2014

Do you know of any other RN to EMT-P bridges?

fuzzy911 · Feb 21, 2014

Houston community college offered one a few years back. May wanna give them a look. There are so many different volunteer agencies for ems in Texas...you'll need the paramedics patch for the flight services in SE Texas area...focus on that. Once u have ur requirements done and still wanna see more of the ems field find a service and volunteer.

Most transition rn to emt p will still require the ambulance time. Tdh 7 yrs ago was 144 ambulance hours

fuzzy911 · Feb 21, 2014

And yes, networking networking networking....it's a small world and everyone knows someone or someone will know of you good or bad

FireMedicFlightRN · Feb 23, 2014

Is what you are wanting to do a fixed wing or rotor wing service?

Jjpount862 · Sep 30, 2014

Thank you to all who responded. Since the original post I have graduated, passed NCLEX, and began my career as a new RN. Your advice will be used and greatly appreciated.