Ontario flight nurse requirements

Nathan · Jan 28, 2004

I know there is a company out of Toronto that has an air ambulance but you have to be a Level 3 paramedic to become one. I don't hink it's too easy. Look on the internet under air ambulance and some links should come up. That's how I found out. There are opportunities for ER/ICU nurses to do air ambulance out west like Edmonton-Yukon, if your interested. Those links should also come up when you type in air ambulance.

Good Luck!

kristennicoleca · May 24, 2004

Hi, I have been a nuse now for 7 years and from experience I do know that there is no way that any Toronto, Mississauga or Hamilton hospital will hire you to work in their ER departments as they all require you to have Advance Health Assessment, ER courses from Humber College ( there are 5 courses with a 6th which is clinical.) or Critical care courses. As the ER is so specilized I do know that they also require, BCLS, ACLS, PALS, TNC, there are many other courses that I can't think of right now. They also want you to have at least 2 -3 years nursing experience under your belt, on usually a medical floor so that you gain your reqired critical thinking skills.

As for the Flight program there is only one that I know of. It is at Seneca College right now. It is a correspondence course. 5 courses if I am not mistaken, pre req is 2-3 years nursing with the Advance health assessment course and some critical care courses. This course has been mentioned in the recent past that it won't be around much longer. It is not only for nurses this course but also Paramedics, RT's and Physicians. It involves a lot of technical stuff.

As for jobs in flight nursing, Sunnybrook is the base hospital for the Two toronto helicopters, there are also other companies that have fixed winged planes, One of the companies I know that has a fixed winged service is Pallidan in down town toronto, it is a private land ambulance and flight service. Other than that the only other ones I know of are Thunder Bay / Red Rock, Timmins, North Bay, and Sudbury airport has a private ambulance company working out of them. The only reason that I know that info is because I am working in Sudbury right now as a CCU nurse. Now there is a way to get experience in a round about way if you are okay to leave the hamilton area and bite the bullet for a little while you could work up north, ie Sudbury cause I do know that they will hire new grads to work in the ICU/CCU. If not. all I can say is get your courses taken care of and out of the way and then you will have a better chance of being hired in an ER setting. You will also need a ECG / Telemetry course. These are taught in the Critical care and ER courses.

Good Luck, Trust me when I say you have a better chance of getting hired somewhere now then when I graduated.

Hello,
I am about to be a new RN grad in Hamilton, Ontario Canada and I have 2 questions for Ontario nurses out there. I am very interested in both ER nursing and flight nursing but I need some info. My questions are: 1. What advice and/or opinion do you have on new grads working in the ER? (ie: Is it possible?, will it be too difficult?, what hospitals in Hamilton/Southern Ontario are good for new grads to work in their ER?, etc.)
2. How do I become a flight nurse in Ontario? Are there companies or hospitals that hire flight nurses and if so, what kind of qualifications will I need?
I would appreciate any info anyone can send me. My email is: [email protected]
Thanks everyone!!