ScottMedicRN

I did for two semesters then dropped out. I just wasn't happy doing the coursework honestly. I am happy doing the flight thing and I don't think I would get that out of PMHNP.

I figured I would come back here to post about how I became a flight RN to maybe guide some of you who want to do the same. You don't have to follow this career path exactly, but it's how I did it, and after several job offers, I feel like my resume is a good one for this job. Paramedic I was a 911 paramedic for several years before doing a bridge program to nursing. This is not necessary, but I have been told many times that flight programs love this because you are used to operating in a pre-hospital environment. If you're already an RN consider maybe finding a program to bridge RN to paramedic, although they're rare. You can also add an EMT certification. Honestly though, if you hadn't already been a paramedic and got the experience, I would just focus on ICU experience. They're looking for the experience more so than just an RN who got a paramedic license but never used it. ICU RN Flight programs prefer ICU experience. Try to go to a major university. Don't specialize in something like neuro ICU. Maybe CSICU, but nothing too specialized. Collect certifications I started doing this while I was in the ICU. A lot of classes were paid for by the hospital, even though they weren't related to my job. PALS NRP STABLE TNCC/PHTLS CCRN CFRN Ground Critical Care Transport Not necessary to get a flight position per se, but you will stand out above other people who have only ICU experience. At a major university hospital, ground transport will have patients just as sick, maybe sicker, than flight, and they know this. You'll more or less have the clinical experience, and just need to learn the helicopter part. Again not needed, so I encourage you to apply for flight if you have ICU experience, but if you can't get it, ground CCT will really boost your resume. I ended up staying for many years just because I enjoyed it so much I didn't see a need to fly. However, smaller companies will NOT be as sick as a major university hospital program. This will also provide you a means to network. I have networked with so many people by doing ground, that I had connections at almost every major flight program after a few years. Honestly, I would be a mediocre flight provider had it not been for my ground CCT experience. I learned a ton. Study Okay so I mentioned certifications earlier, but if you haven't already study and take CFRN. Not only mag you stand out more, but you will know a lot of the knowledge necessary to be successful in flight. Most interviews as well as real life will require you to think like a paramedic/provider. You will have to decide what to do on your own. Most of the flight interviews weren't that hard to be honest. One of the major companies, which I work for, was actually the easiest. Beware that sometimes flight isn't actually that serious. A lot of the companies in the remote areas of the desert fly BLS patients fairly frequently. feel free to ask any questions and good luck

thanks. I do have scene experience as a paramedic. I’m definitely taking CFRN in case I decide to do flight one day. I love my ground program to much to leave there, but one day I might so I would rather just have CFRN.

I’ve gotta take the exam soon. I’m a paramedic, ICU RN, currently ground transport RN at a very high level hospital, lots of critical patients. I was also a pilot for a little while, so I know aviation terms and principles. what resource do you recommend to study for the CFRN exam?

I absolutely hate boots, that’s one reason I don’t want to go from ground to flight LOL Also, the more experience you get, the less crap you carry

Get ICU experience. I worked at a hospital that let me take any course for free, so I collected relevant cards like NRP STABLE PALS etc while working at an adult ICU. They like EMS experience, so the EMT is good. They REALLY like paramedic experience. There are some RN to paramedic bridge programs out there now to get you the license. They also really like ground critical care transport experience, as it’s a similar field.

I just hold the back upside down and squeeze prime it. Some like to hang drips and say you don’t need to do this, but I disagree for a few reasons. For one, I’ve found that hanging the drips can kind of be a pointless waste of time. A lot of people take forever straightening out the IV lines like it’s some kind of ICU, but during the transfer they get all tangled up anyway. So I typically just sit the drips in the patients lap. Lastly, even if you are one of those type A perfectionists who hang drips and make everything pretty, I’m totally fine with that, as I personally don’t care what other people prefer to do. There’s a million ways to do things. But I’ve seen it become a problem during transfer of the patient when a drip gets laid on a patients lap, or simply dropped by accident, and air enters the line. Not a great thing if they are pressors at a fast rate. So it’s worth priming them this way anyway.

An update: I’ve since been working ground critical care transport for a very large hospital. We routinely have critical patients. I have even done a flight or two with our flight team in an emergency, but typically flight is a different company from us. Added trauma cert. done airways labs. All of that stuff. I personally think I could get a flight job with my resume, especially the ICU and paramedic experience, but here’s the kicker. Im not really interested in flight anymore. Im more leaning towards NP school. I’m not sure what happened. The helicopter itself is cool, but the patient care just isn’t exciting me anymore. And I’m not sure if I want to do two 24 hour shifts PLUS training and on call. I highly value my free time, and I’m just not as gung ho about flight like other guys I know who are just dying to get in, but don’t have my experience. I don’t have ptsd, but I’m not even sure I want to see traumatic scene calls anymore. yet a base just opened near me, and part of me wants to apply, yet the other part lacks the motivation I feel like one should have for orientation as a Flight RN. Not just another job, but that’s how I feel it would be. I've thought about applying, but I’m not sure what to expect with hours either. Two 24’s is the max Time I could give

All of my experience is as a paramedic, ICU RN, Transport RN at a large university with very sick patients, and soon to be Flight RN. I'm used to directing care by myself, knowing medication doses, intubating, managing vents, etc. My background looks good for ACNP. Yet, I just don't know if I want to do this stuff anymore. My passion is gone it seems and I no longer enjoy the hassle of sick patients. I'm still considering it, but what used to be glamorous to me feels like meaninglessly keeping dead people alive (no offense intended, just want to illustrate how I feel lately). I might want something completely different. After dealing with psych issues of my own, I feel like I might have more of a passion helping people in this area than I do in critical care, which feels pointless at most times. I have no psych nursing experience though. The big downside I see if I don't like being a PMHNP I don't really have much if any room to change, and I would have lost my critical care skills. I really would like to do outpatient. Some of the more severe inpatient cases probably wouldn't be something I would enjoy. It seems that med management is the primary role of PMHNP, but I really am curious how hard it would be to be trained and perform some CBT as well. After seeing how CBT changed my life from severe OCD, it's part of what is driving my passion towards mental health. Should I try to shadow a PMHNP? Would I even be considered due to my lack of psych experience? Any advice would be appreciated.

I would never throw away good prescriptions. Maybe opioids to make sure they dont get stolen. Expiration dates are a myth and you never know when the zombie apocalypse is coming.

I'm not a Flight RN right now, just ground CCT. I don't think fear of flying is a deal breaker though. Heck, I was afraid of flying as a passenger but now I'm working on my pilots license. Exposure sometimes can fix your fears. DO some ride alongs. Personality wise I think the ability to think and act independently mixed with the ability to know when to ask for help and how to calmly work with your partner is gold. The main reason I lost my interest to be a Flight RN right now is that the main provider in my area does some crazy schedule like 24work 24off 24 work 24off 24 work 4 off, repeat. I would rather work at McDonalds than be at work 72+ hours a week. I would consider working for one of the other companies that do the standard 48 hours/week, but that's about my max when you factor in training etc.

ah, this is how us OCD people constantly think. Just remember to stick to logic. It is not likely to be contaminated.

Since this post I've been collecting certs. By the end of this year I'll have everything I can think of. BLS, ACLS, PALS, NRP, PHTLS, STABLE, Paramedic, CCRN, ICS & NIMS courses. I have a job lined up for ground transport as well. I'm going to do ride along with local flight programs. My hospital also has a Flight Program, which means I could have a shot at a decent salary. I'm hoping all of this will up my chances. I'll have more questions for you all as I get more ICU time in. Being in EMS for a long time, I do fear that I could experience burn out like I eventually did with EMS, but I feel like pre-hospital is my passion. I want to pursue it. Honestly, my biggest concern is being able to find a rural service. I want to live in the country, even if it means relocating to a totally different region. I'm not a city person, haha. I guess I'll have a lot of research to do in that regard.

How does rotating bases work? Do they just tell you that you have to drive far to work and you have to just suck it up and do it? I'd imagine rural actually gets MORE unwarranted transports due to extended driving times alone, but rural living is something I want in life. I get that HEMS gets abused a lot, I'm just curious HOW bad it really is. A guy I know worked for Johns Hopkins and made it sound like they were flying walking/talking people regularly. They also did 0% scene transfers. He eventually lost it and quit on the spot. Just wondering if that's an exaggeration. I've done transport before and I know it's about the money, I just would hope to have a decent amount of interesting critical care cases here and there. Just want to hear what it's really like. It seems 50/50 love/hate on this message board.

I'm not here to ask how to become a flight nurse. I've read into that a lot already. Just a few specific questions that pertain to my future goals. 1) Is it possible to get a job in a rural area instead of a city? I really want to move to a more rural area one day. 2) How do you find companies that do a decent amount of scene calls? I miss my days of being a paramedic and even a few scene calls here and there would be nice. 3) How common are the totally unnecessary transports? I know it's part of the business, but some of you here, as well as someone I know that worked for a large hospital based company, made it sound like it was complete bull crap all the time. I know everyone has different experiences, so I'm curious what you all think about this part. 4) Is experience at a tertiary care center good enough, or is Level I trauma center experience really necessary? Thanks!