Flight Nursing Career Information
Flight nurses take care of patients in medevac helicopters and other methods of rapid air transport. More than EMTs of the sky, they are skilled nurses who provide care en route to larger emergency facilities. Becoming a flight nurse requires experience and education beyond that of a typical registered nurse, most importantly experience and certification in critical care nursing. It also is a physically and emotionally demanding profession that has more elements of danger than working in a traditional stationary hospital.
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Education
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Flight nurse requirements vary by state but usually include certain educational requirements. A flight nurse must be a licensed registered nurse in his state, usually with at least two to three years of critical care nursing experience or other acute care. They are required to have some advanced life support certifications, which are standard throughout the nursing field: BCLS (basic cardiac life support), ACLS (advanced cardiac life support), PALS (pediatric advanced life support), NRP (neonatal resuscitation program) and other specialized trauma designations. If a nurse has served time in a critical care or cardiac unit, it is likely he already has most or all of these designations, as most employers require them within six months to a year after hire. Some states also require emergency medical technician (EMT) or paramedic certification.
Duties
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Flight nurses deal with many different types of patients, including obstetrics, pediatrics, organ transplant and acute trauma victims. Therefore, a generalized critical care background is advised. While a doctor is available via radio or satellite communications, often the flight nurse serves as the doctor in flight and must make decisions on care quickly.
Flight nurses can work with a team at a hospital to transport the seriously injured or travel to natural disasters such as earthquakes or fires. Large airlines often employ a flight nurse who can care for passengers that need special attention--often with advance notice, so they have charts and necessary supplies available--or they can work private charters, enabling seriously ill people to travel who normally would not be able to because of the level of care they require.
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Continuing Education
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Like other nursing fields, flight nurses have many options for continuing education. Various flight nursing or critical care nursing organizations offer CE classes online or at their respective national and regional conventions. Some of these classes and certifications include CFRN (certified flight registered nurse), CCRN (critical care registered nurse), CEN (certified emergency nurse), PHTLS (pre-hospital trauma life support) and TNATC (transport nurse advanced trauma course).
Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland offers a National Flight Nurse Academy, which combines flight nursing training with the acute care nurse practitioner master's program.
Professional Organizations
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Flight nurses can belong to several professional groups, and may even be able to attend classes or get information without membership. These include the Air and Surface Transport Nurses Association, American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Emergency Nurses Association and the Association of Air Medical Services.
Employment
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To find jobs as a flight nurse, contact the local air medical transport service's chief flight nurse for openings, or check job listings on web sites such as www.flightweb.com and www.astna.org.
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