Flight nursing in reserves

[Jwhitfield9]

I'm currently a flight nurse in the civilian world. I've been flying for about 5 years. I am interested in joining the reserves. My general question is- Can I be a flight nurse in the reserves or do I have to be active duty? If so, which branch do people have experience with? Or would recommend? Thanks

[Guest374845]

Military flight nursing is very different from civilian flight nursing. It's primarily and Air Force mission and something you can do in the reserve. You would be doing long distance, fixed-wing transports of med-surg patients. Your training would emphasize logistics over patient care. There are a few - veeeeery few - rotary wing, point of injury med-evac type of jobs. Air Force TCCET teams and the US Army might be the only two branches that utilizes nurses in some limited role for this, and I don't believe the reserve components fill either of those missions.

[PeeWeeQ, ADN, RN, EMT-B]

I don't THINK the Army has flight nurses. I was a combat medic in an infantry unit (Army National Guard) The Army has flight MEDICS and they are NREMT-Ps, which, I believe is a prerequisite BEFORE you attend flight medic training down in Ft. Rucker, AL, along with also having experience as a 68W (Health Care Specialist). I'm also not sure you will find them in the Army Reserves, but, they DO have them in the National Guard (yes, there is a difference). 2nd Battalion, 135th General Aviation Support Regiment (MEDEVAC) is Army National Guard and they operate out of West Bend, WI (the state I live in).

[ETA-RN, ADN, RN]

As an aspiring RN, former Marine, and the son of a +20year CA Air National Guard Flight/Hospital nurse I would suggest you also check with an Air National Guard nursing recruiter. Air Guard is a somewhat unknown aspect of our military. I can say that the unit my parents served with was like a family and many great memories were created from the shared missions the served. This was mainly during the Vietnam era. I know most of my mothers flight nurse missions were patient transport from Japan to Travis AFB but she was stationed in southern California with the 146th Airlift Wing in Van Nuys.

This is a dream job for me as I'm closing in on 50 years old and just got accepted to nursing school. I don't think I'll make any age cut off once I finish nursing school.

[usafrn833, BSN, MSN, EMT-P, APRN]

I flew civilian rotor before joining AD Air Force to fly. There are only 4 AD flying squadrons and there are oodles and oodles of reservist locations, so your odds are good if that's what you want to do. Your job is to turn the plane into a mobile hospital and your patients are generally stable. If you desire higher acuity patients, look into CCATT. Both have very time consuming training requirements and ongoing competencies, but as a reservist you have more say in what missions you take and when you will deploy.

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

Yes you can be a FN in the Air Force Reserves or Guard. Your experience would be valued. You would need at least a BSN to commission though. Patient acuity is low but the mission is great. Delployments are 4 months every few years. Good luck.