razorman

My advice would be to ask a few HR managers or Nurse managers of various reputable flight companies. OmniCare, EagleMed, PHI, etc are all nationally recognized leaders in the industry. Shoot an email to a few Chiefs and ask what they're looking for in crew. Keep the emails and look for key words (teamwork, critical thinker, etc). Then figure out what qualities you possess and how they exemplify those expectations. Once that's done the only thing left to do is interview and get fitted for your flight suit.

It's a hard thing. I'm a foodie and a Flight Nurse and the two don't go together well. An important first step is to get all the junk out of the house and don't let it back in. That being done, when you have a Jonesing for something bad, it just won't be there. Next, put a few consolation prizes in the house so you don't feel deprived and lose spirit. There's all sorts of 100 calorie packs of cookies and things that can get you over a craving without blowing your diet. It might be a good idea to put up some pictures of aircraft or whatever on the fridge and around the house to remind you of your goal when you're heading towards the kitchen for a snack. Remember though, the sweet satisfaction of achieving your goal is better than any dish of ice cream, any candy bar. You can do it!

Graceland University (Lamoni, IA) has a great online program. You'll go to campus 2-3 times depending on if you prefer to defend your research by webcam or in person (most people do webcam). The staff is supportive. The program is very informative and helpful. I did my clinicals locally and they were very supportive in the fact that I'm very rural and some of their regulations weren't feasible with my situation. They worked with me a lot to ensure my success.

What's included in the 6mo probationary period? Different pay scale? Right to severe the relationship? Different responsibilities? What's included, to me, determines whether or not it's excessive. In California new NP's can't prescribe until they've practiced for 6 months or longer and so there are a lot of "probationary" contracts in place until new NP's are fully credentialed with a furnishing number and a DEA number.

I'm being faced with a challenge here and I'm hoping for some advice. I have a young lady in my practice who is pregnant. She's hypothyroid (treated and controlled) and undoubtedly has a mood disorder. Her attitude makes her one of the more challenging patients that I deal with. She arrived stating that she's having auditory, visual, and tactile hallucinations. She's also taken to cutting herself. Her description of her hallucinations are pretty inconsistent with how real psychotic delusions actually manifest. I described them to the psychologist that comes into our office occasionally and he agrees they're probably not actually occurring. She has a history of medication seeking and I had to take her off of a lot of various medications when she first presented to me (already 2 months along). I don't think that this girl is having psychotic hallucinations but I do think that she needs help with moods. I'm not sure, however, how to best balance her needs with that of her unborn child. I don't want to just throw medications at her and buy into her game but I also don't want her to go running and taking just random things to fulfill whatever need she has for medications. Has anyone run into anything like this that can point me in the right direction? I did make a referral to the County psychiatrist for her. It's going to be several weeks before she can be seen.

He's only on albuterol nebs and has a Xopenex HFA. I'm really contemplating a Munchausens(sp?) by proxy issue w/ mom the more I think about it. She is just SO reluctant to do anything.

I just put an 11 year old on Combivent. I chose it to help dry up some of his secretions. This boy has been a challenge for me constantly. He's missed a ton of school due to his asthma exacerbations. Mom is less than an ideal caregiver what with her smoking and all. She has him on albuterol nebulizers every 4 hours and thinks that's an acceptable answer. She is absolutely anti-steroids (though she can't explain why).

Yep, your math is about right. Yep, it works for me just fine. Lets put it into perspective a bit. Over the past two years, I was able to have enough downtime at work to get my Masters in Nursing and then a post-grad FNP (company paid for). I've also been paid to watch the Super Bowl, various UFC fights, and play X-Box. My wife is free to come over to the airport and hang out with me any time she wants, as are the rest of the families. Additionally, the average person can drop about $200 for an hours helicopter flight through a beautiful mountainous area. I get to do that daily...and I get paid for it. The hourly wage sucks, the yearly wage rocks. It's not a "hard job". My weekday job at the clinic involves a lot more running around (a lot less critical thinking, though). This is why, despite having my FNP, I STILL LOVE TO FLY.

Amen on the economy.

Some companies pay well, some don't. Metro services pay less than rural providers because the rural providers have to entice people to move to the sticks somehow. As a rule, most pre-hospital emergency services jobs pay poorly. In a lot of cases it's a labor of love type of thing. But in exchange for being paid a bit less, you get to do something that not many people can/will do, you get almost absolute autonomy, and you'll get to see and experience things that most people can hardly dream of. Don't dismiss pre-hospital out of a lack of money. Give it a shot. If you don't like it, do something else (that's the charm of being a nurse). I bet you'll fall in love, though.

I'm in Northern California and do fairly well as a Flight Nurse. We get paid $500 per 24-hour shift. Some days we're busy, some days we're not. We also provide a $50/shift bonus if you're simultaneously working at an ER because it shows your interest in keeping some skills frosty. So, potentially, $550/shift. The bad part is my program doesn't offer much in the way of health benefits or retirement, so a part of our salary has to be dedicated to providing our own benefits. We work hard for our money, but I haven't been below 100k/yr since I started working where I am.

I was afraid it was going to be that kind of time period. I've tried calling the board a few times but get busy signals. I've tried email them as well but can't get a response. Their website is pretty decent but there's no information about turn-around times. I have a feeling my employer will just put me on as an RN and basically have me do what I'm doing now, a full assessment with recommendations, and he signs everything.

Has anyone recently gotten a new NP license in California? I'll be finishing my out-of-State program in March and have an employer that's chomping at the bit to get me started. I'll have to apply via equivalency since I'm using an out of state program. I'm just curious how long California's taking to turn over new licenses. I've tried emailing and calling them but I guess I don't rate a reply. Thanks in advance.