AIR AMBULANCE AND AIR PARAMEDIC

PARAMEDIC

The career of a flight paramedic is full of exciting challenges and higher level of responsibilities. Nurses who work in aero-medical emergency or evacuation missions are termed as flight paramedic. They are important part of air rescue team who provide onsite emergency medical care to patients in times of crisis from a mobile response unit, in collaboration with a medical support team including flight nurses and flight physicians, outside the hospital setting. Those who aspire to become a flight paramedic need to attain a certification and get trained as a ground paramedic first. Their jobs include risk of acquiring certain diseases, but they are provided with lucrative salary packages so that they could maintain good lifestyle.

The aspirants must meet the following criteria in order to be flight paramedic:

• Candidate must be at least 18 years of age.
• One must pursue an accredited training program approved by National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT).
• Aspirants must have at least three years of experience as a paramedic.
• Have immunity to air sickness.
• Clear criminal background is imperative for every candidate.
• Regular screening for drug and alcohol is mandatory.
• S/he should be physically fit and weigh 250 pounds with full uniform.
• CPR training, Paddle Training.
• Proficiency in treatment of spinal injuries, bone fractures, 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree burns, cardiac arrest, obstetrics, airway management, blood circulation management, wound management etc.
• Candidate must be able to work in tight places.

In order to take flight paramedic certification exam, an aspirant ought to possess following certifications:

• NREMT Certification
• CCEMTP, TNACT, ATLS-Audit Certification
• Basic Life Support
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support
• Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support
• Flight Paramedic- Certified

Procedure to Become Certified Flight Paramedic

• Obtain certification and training as ground paramedic.
• Continue with your education and take as many certifications and training as possible.
• Gain certification and expertise (at least 2-5 years) as critical care professional.
• Keep all the certifications ready for testing.
• Undergo flight paramedic certification exam.

Students will get 2.5 hours to complete the certification exam which will consist of 125 multiple choice questions.

After getting certified as flight paramedic, nurses have the opportunity to practice as a dermatology physician, pediatrics physician, family practice physician, part time urgent care physician, internal medicine physician, ob-gyn physician, etc.

Coursework

The syllabus of flight paramedic training program incorporates a wide range of topics. Nurses cover entire curriculum through class room lectures and hands on practices.

• Trauma management
• Aircraft fundamentals, safety and survival (aircraft integrity and safety)
• Flight physiology (diagnosis of hypoxia)
• Neurological emergencies (diagnosis of coma patients)
• Advanced airway management techniques
• Burn patients (performing an assessment of burn patients)
• Environmental injuries
• Critical cardiac patient
• Respiratory patient
• Toxic exposure
• Obstetrical emergencies
• Neonates
• Pediatric
• General medical patient
• Acid/base balance (a study of fundamentals of acid / base balance in body)

Job Outlook and Salary

The bureau for labor statistics does not differentiate between the salary of flight and ground paramedics, but a certain growth in salary graph has been seen in recent years. The average salary was seen to be $34,360 which was raised to $54,180 in various states of United State.

Do You Know How to Become an EMT?

• EMT Job Description – Duties and Responsibilities of an EMT
• Paramedic- Requirements, Salary and Future Outlook
• Firefighters- Requirements, Salary, Employment and Job Outlook
• EMT vs Paramedic – Difference Between an EMT and a Paramedic
• EMT Paramedic Scholarships and Grants
• EMT Interview Questions and Answers
• EMT Refresher Course
• Firefighter – Responsibilities, Courses, and Popular Schools
• Flight Paramedic – Training, Requirements, Jobs and Salary
• Sample EMT Resume and Objective
• EMS Instructor – Requirements, Curriculum, Salary and Jobs
• CPR Training – Duration, Cost, Types, Levels and Red Cross CPR Training
• CPR Instructor – Requirements, Job Description, Career Options, and Salary
• CPR Certification – Benefits, Procedure, Online CPR Certification and Renewal

Air Ambulance Training PARAMEDIC

Welcome to the first installment in our Air Medical Resource series about the Air Ambulance

For many people in the healthcare field, becoming part of an air medical team is a dream. And it’s easy to understand why. Air ambulance crews fly overhead in glorious flying machines, rescuing people in the nick of time, providing some of the most high-level healthcare to their patients with some of the most advanced medical equipment in existence, and above all, saving and improving the quality of many peoples’ lives As you probably already realize, being part of an air ambulance crew is not a simple job. It can be quite difficult to even make it onto an air ambulance team in the first place. Generally, before you even think of training to become an air ambulance crew member, you’ll want to get in some experience as a ground EMT, paramedic, or similar emergency care provider Air ambulances fill a lot of different roles in the healthcare field, and so the term air ambulance can denote many different things Individual air medical services will often supply all the training you need to become an air ambulance crew member. Typically, these air medical training programs will make sure you know how to perform medical procedures taking into account the environmental variables of being inside the helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft Training may actually be performed by the air ambulance’s own personnel, or a qualified outside party may do the training Lastly, training may be done at an individual level, in small groups, or a large number of personnel may be trained at once. The latter is most common for newer air ambulance companies that are just starting up Just about all (reputable) air ambulance services will want you to have received training and a certain amount of experience as a ground emergency personnel. Types of prior emergency personnel experience that may qualify you for air ambulance training include:

• Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT)
• Firefighters
• Police officers
• Park/Forestry Rangers

Don’t worry, this is not an exhaustive list — there are many job positions that may allow you to receive air ambulance training. Moreover, you may already have training or prior experience in another area that may completely fit the bill for an air ambulance service to train you to be on its crew, but this will obviously depend on the individual company Even if your head’s in the clouds about becoming part of an air ambulance crew, make sure you don’t forget one very important part of air medicine: the ground. Ground training is absolutely essential for all air ambulance personnel, and is actually where you’ll spend a lot of time when you’re not flying In order for an air ambulance to be effective, its personnel must be well-versed in how to take care of things on the ground. This involves a number of things — your training will fill you in on all of them — but some of the most essential ground skills for crew members include loading and unloading patients into the aircraft, working next to aircraft, and verbal and non-verbal communication skills (aircraft engines are loud!) Even inside air ambulances that are designed to be comfortable for patients, for flight nurses, flight paramedics, and other aeromedical personnel, it can easily be one of the most adverse environments you’ll ever provide care within. But for many prospective crew members, that’s part of the allure of the job in Air ambulances will generally provide a few hours of initial training. This may vary considerably depending on the type of air ambulance service (emergency, charter). While only a few hours of training seems surprisingly low for such an important job, most personnel hired by air ambulance companies will already be extremely qualified at performing their jobs. In this way, air medical crews have the potential to be “dream teams” of emergency health care personnel, physicians, and/or specialists. Performing the same kind of procedures adeptly within the environment in and around an aircraft, rather than on the ground or in a (non-flying) hospital, is the new part. Applicants for air medical services must have appropriate licen sure in their state for the role they wish to fill on the team. There are other certificates that you’ll need to have, such as ACLS, BLS, and CPR. Air ambulance companies will have different experience requirements, but most will want 2 or more years of experience as a paramedic or EMT. Air ambulance work is very demanding, and thus a decent amount of physical ability is required. Lifting (and team-lifting) patients and equipment, moving, bending, kneeling, standing, and sometimes being in rather cramped, uncomfortable aircraft interiors are all skills that an effective air medical crew member needs. Verbal and non-verbal communication must be used on the job. Aircraft engines can be incredibly noisy, and you’ll be working in and around the loud air ambulance quite a bit. Understanding medical terminology and being able to process (and act upon) the things your fellow team members are saying in loud, stressful situations is also a necessity.

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What is it like to be an air ambulance paramedic?

Being a paramedic means you have so many options open to you once you are qualified. With so many opportunities, it’s going to be a lot of fun trying to decide which option to take, because after all – when deciding to become a paramedic, it’s a life-changing decision. We see people during the worst hour of their lives But if those people survive and I get to meet or hear from them again it’s just amazing. “That’s why we’re in the job and it makes you want to continue.”Most air ambulances exist solely on public donations or by contributions from major corporations. It’s the same story in the UK, where two helicopters, based at Norwich and Cambridge airports, and the crews consist of pilots, critical care paramedics, and doctors are supported by donations. Rod, who joined St John Ambulance as an eight-year old and began work with Norfolk Ambulance (now East of England Ambulance Service) at 21, said 
he began work with the air ambulance because he feeds off the adrenaline of highly-acute incidents. “I was fortunate that before I left the road ambulance I had been to more than my fair share of trauma incidents,” he said. “But I don’t think anything can prepare you for the jobs you go out on. Despite having the opportunity to save lives, Rod does not see his role as a flying paramedic as glamorous – far from it. Sometimes the medical staff encounter patients “determined to die,” while on other occasions he has had to run through woods carrying heavy equipment to get to a patient due to the helicopter being unable to land nearby. The job can be very physical and as demanding as any land based paramedic response team. “We land the rescue chopper anywhere we can,” he said. “We’ve landed on the beach, on roads or in country fields.” Rod said he is glad the ambulance is funded by a charity because it makes the service less bureaucratic and means they have more freedom to purchase their own equipment.

Have you thought about becoming a Flight Paramedic?

As an Air Ambulance Paramedic such as with Air Ambulance Victoria (AAV) in Australia, you’ll be already a qualified paramedic with advanced training and certification such as Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, Advanced Medical Life Support for instance. Once enrolled, paramedics will then undergo specialist ‘aero-medical care’ training. With AAV, the initial training runs for about six-weeks and concentrates on aviation skills such as aviation medical topics, air safety compliance and regulations, essential helicopter underwater escape training, fire-fighting and of course learning how to control the winch. Once trained as a flight paramedic, there is of course regular ongoing training to make sure the current skills are maintained. Careflight Australia has some very good information on becoming a Flight Paramedic. See this link ‘Care-flight position description for Flight Paramedic‘ for more information.

Paramedic Training Scenarios

Practical training for new recruits. After studying the theory of paramedical practice, students are now ready to take on the challenge of practical assessments. The variety of scenario-based activities delivered at this time, builds confidence in every student.