Flightgypsy

The best way to get a description of the duties and expectations of a flight nurse is to look at open position ads. Look in the job section of FlightWeb - For Air Medical Professionals or on individual air medical program websites. I would recommend getting at least a couple of years of ICU nursing if you decide to go the ER route, especially if you want to work in a RN/PM configuration. It's not often required to have ICU over ER experience but it is a huge advantage and you will find the transition into flight nursing less daunting. Some pediatric experience is also beneficial. You will also need all the alphabet courses but I would not recommend getting transport or flight certifications until you are actually in a transport/flight position. Concentrate on the other courses and instructor certs are an advantage as well. By alphabet soup courses, I mean ACLS, PALS, NRP, PHTLS, ITLS, TNCC, etc. Certification in CCRN or similar is preferred and sometimes required by some flight programs. Some hospital based flight programs work 12 hour shifts but the majority of the programs do 24's. If you do 24's, you usually average 2 shifts a week so it gives you time to do a hospital or other second job to supplement the generally lower wage you make as FN compared to a hospital nurse. Hospital programs generally pay better than community programs on average. If you are really serious about it as a career then I would recommend you contact your local air medical team and see if you can do a ride along. You can bombard them with questions all day long and get a feel for what they really do. It is also good to know if you have trouble with air sickness before you focus on a flying career!

Try either Pelican lights or Flightsuits.com. I have the pelican light velcroed on my helmet and a lip light. I find the pelican light to work better. The lip light keeps getting accidently turned on and the batteries keep dying. The light isn't as good either but may be better when you need less light. Both of them have both white and/or green (NVG compatible) light options. We never turn a light on without first asking the pilot's permission and they are ok with the ones I have. Hope this helps.

Besides the stressors of flight and the obvious disadvantages of becoming incapacitated that are already mentioned there are a couple of other considerations I want to add. A helicopter is a potentially lethal machine that you have to be constantly vigilant around. Any kind of complacency can get you and/or your companions killed. You have to decide if it is worth the risk of possibly having a seizure even though you may have been seizure free for years. You will not only be putting your life in possible jeopardy but others. Not wanting to sound dramatic but it is simply a fact that it is a dangerous environment and you really need to be constantly alert to your surroundings. Added to all the other stressors of flight there is another one that could have a significant effect on someone predisposed to seizures. It is called "flicker vertigo" and mostly occurs in helicopters but can also occur with fixed wing as well. Basically it is a phenomenon of the sun shining through the spinning rotor blades that can cause a seizure or disorientation in someone at risk. I don't wish to discourage you just give you some of the possible cons of flight nursing if you have a seizure disorder. Good luck with whatever path you take. Gypsy

I had an interesting call the other day. We were called to the local prison for an assault victim, an inmate. As I get into the ambulance where the pt was I see the pt is just lying there with his eyes closed. The medic tells me he was stabbed in the arm and hit and kicked in the head. Apparently he was very combative when they first arrived. Now he is just lying there and only opened his eyes to PAINFUL stimulus (sternal rub, trapezius muscle squeeze). GCS 7. He had a huge swelling and lacerations to his forehead. The medic tells me he is posturing as I do my assessment. Hard to tell as he was all immobilized and shackled. I tell my partner we will intubate in the aircraft and as soon as we take off the shackles and secure him down with our restraints and get the guard settled we take off. We intubated with no problem and his assessment really didn't change much, including his BP despite the fact we had to give him quite a lot of sedation as he would start fighting the vent. So the final diagnosis..... blood alcohol level >300!!! No head bleed or injury (Besides some lacs needing sutures) and he was shipped back to jail the next day. Moral of the story is even if it looks totally like a horse it could still be a zebra.

Dorselm, Please don't ever lose your empathy and compassion! It is easy to get burnt out in the world of nursing but I can tell you that you will be remembered more for the little moments of caring that you show to your pts and their families than for any amount of booklearning. If you treat every patient that you have as if you are looking after them in their last moments of life the way you did for that gentleman you should never have any regrets about your care. Your first pt death is always hard. I'm sorry you didn't seem to get the support that you needed. Just keep up the good work and remember that making someone in his situation feel even more slightly comfortable and cared for has immeasurable value. Kudos. Gypsy

Hi Jena, Flight nursing is a very rewarding job to aim for. It will require generally 5 years of critical care experience (ICU,ER +/- prehospital experience) in addition to a heap of certifications but is well worth the effort and wait to do. It is most certainly not an area that you want to shortcut to as it is an advanced practice area and requires good critical thinking skills with lots of experience behind you. If you are really interested in pursuing a career in this field find out if you can do a ride-along with an air ambulance in your area. You may have to drive a little way to do it but it will give you a good idea if you would even like it or not. You can also pump the crew for lots of stories and career advice! I also recommend the book, Trauma Junkie. It gives a good insight into what a flight nurse does and the realities of it. Good luck and study hard. Gypsy