How to Become a Flight Nurse
If you're looking for a profession that combines your passion for flying and helping people in need, a career as a flight nurse is precisely what you're looking for. Medical professionals use planes, helicopters, jets, and other flight options to transport patients to a nearby hospital for treatment. And flight nurses are those medical professionals that travel to provide medical care to patients while they are being transported.
If you are curious to find out how to become a flight nurse and how long it takes, stay with us!
What Is a Flight Nurse?
Flight nurses (transport nurses) are registered nurses who are prepared to provide medical care to patients while traveling in either rotor (helicopter) or fixed-wing (plane) aircraft. Flight nurses collaborate with other trained health professionals, such as paramedics and physicians, to ensure that the patients are well cared for during transit and arrive safely at their destination. They are frequently called upon to assist in the transportation of critically ill or injured patients to trauma centers.
These specialized nurses deliver comprehensive prehospital, urgent critical care, and hospital-level care at the scene of an accident or while transporting patients from one hospital to another. They are frequently tasked with the care of a diverse range of patient populations.
Flight nurses are employed in both the civilian and military sectors. Working for the military entails flying into combat zones and rescuing injured soldiers and other patients. In either case, flight nurses quickly assess their patients' conditions while working in settings that differ from traditional care facilities, such as hospitals. Flight nurses are often first responders, which makes them an essential part of a patient's recovery.
What Does a Flight Nurse Do?
Flight nurses take registered nurses' responsibilities to another level. A flight nurse is a member of an aeromedical evacuation team who works aboard planes and helicopters. Their role is to provide nursing treatment and services for patients of all types in flight. They are also in charge of assisting in the preparation and planning for missions that require aeromedical evacuation.
Flight nurses are in charge of checking vital signs, maintaining records, medication management, performing medical procedures, and more. Often, aircrafts have flight physicians who are assisted by nurses in caring for patients, but if there is no flight physician on board, a flight nurse takes over. Flight paramedics may assist flight nurses in their duties of caring for patients on board the aircraft.
Flight nurses are also responsible for collaborating with ground medical crews to ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to patient care. They are usually in continuous interaction with the ground staff to ensure that the patient is immediately transferred to their care when they land.
Flight nurses must also make sure that appropriate medical equipment is available on board the plane or helicopter. They are accountable for many of the same things that emergency nurses are, but they have an additional element of significant time pressure, more emerging new situations, and air travel.
If you’re wondering how often flight nurses work, they work 24-hour shifts and typically 6 to 8 shifts per month. When on the clock, this profession can be very labor-intensive; however, flight nurses do not need to work as many shifts as staff nurses. Obviously, this is due to their longer shifts. These are lengthy due to the number of emergencies, critical care situations, and long aircraft rides. As a result, having the same person working is preferable to rotating someone every 8 to 12 hours.
How Do You Become a Flight Nurse?
Just like with any other profession, there are specific requirements that you must meet in order to become a flight nurse. Meeting the educational and certification requirements and gaining the needed experience in the field will allow you to become a successful flight nurse.
What are the education requirements?
An aspiring flight nurse should first become a registered nurse (RN). You need to obtain your RN degree from an accredited program, and most employers require a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). You must also pass the NCLEX-RN.
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To become a flight nurse, you can take different paths, and each may take a different amount of time. Flight nurses can obtain their nursing degree through a two-year-long Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a four-year BSN program. After graduation, they must pass the NCLEX-RN to become licensed. Some flight nurses find it beneficial to further their education by obtaining a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. To gain the critical care experience required to become a transport nurse, RNs should begin their careers in emergency or intensive care units.
What are the certification requirements?
The next step you should take to become a flight nurse is obtaining the required certification.
Obtaining certification as a Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN) from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN) can be an excellent way to demonstrate expertise in flight nursing to prospective employers.
How much experience is required?
In order to succeed in this field, you will need a certain amount of experience. The industry typically seeks 3-5 years of combined ICU/ER experience. In addition, aspiring flight nurses should be familiar with the fundamentals of navigation and flight.
What Are the Skills of a Flight Nurse?
The specific skills that flight nurses require will vary greatly depending on the type of nurse they want to become, where they will work, and so on.
Flight nurses have unique job requirements that many nurses do not. While both emergency nurses and flight nurses deal with the same types of patients, flight nurses face the added stress of emergency transportation situations.
Those who want to become flight nurses must also have the following skills and education:
Advanced life support for children
Advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Life support for prehospital trauma patients
Experience with trauma and critical care
Strong leadership is especially important in stressful situations
Strong communication skills in a variety of settings
Ability to work independently and with other team members in a confined space
Advanced intensive care knowledge, including experience with ventilators
Fitness ability for the physical demands of the job
Ability to work a variety of shifts, including overtime and a 24-hour on-call rotation
Provide immediate medical attention to patients who require air transport, including assessment, triage, and treatment.
Maintain and organize patient charts and paperwork
En route to the destination, provide first aid, insert IVs, perform resuscitation, and more
Maintain aircraft supplies and equipment
Assist in safely transporting patients into and out of aircraft
Ascertain that the patient is securely secured onboard
Flight Nurse Job Outlook & Salary
Nursing, in general, is a very high in-demand profession. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment rate of registered nurses is projected to grow 9% during the next decade. It is estimated that more than 194,500 job openings will be generated for registered nurses each year, on average, over the decade.
When it comes to earnings, as of May 30, 2022, in the United States, the average annual pay for a flight nurse is $81,093 a year or $38.99 an hour.
The annual earnings of a flight nurse differ from state to state. The top five best-paying states for flight nurses are New York, New Hampshire, California, and Vermont.
Conclusion
Ultimately, flight nursing is a challenging and demanding yet very exciting career. It will definitely keep you on your toes at all times and allow you to express your passion for helping people in need. Flight nursing has a very bright future ahead and offers satisfactory earnings; therefore, if you're looking to enter the medical field, you should definitely consider this profession.