Flight nursing shortage?

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Business Focus: Flight nurses find unique job satisfaction

Demand is high for specialized skill

By Kreimer

DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

DALLAS ? In the air, under pressure, Cally Schoenhardt gets a thrill out of

being a flight nurse.

" Every day is exciting. You never know where you will go or what patient you

will have today, " said Schoenhardt, who works for CareFlite, a helicopter

transport company affiliated with several Dallas-Fort Worth hospitals

As a national nurse shortage persists, flight services are having a tough time

finding seasoned personnel. Nurses say that although this nontraditional role

can be demanding, the rewards reach even greater heights.

" The learning curve is constant, " said Michel Hall Wofford, a Kansas City,

Mo.-based flight nurse who is on the Air & Surface Transport Nurses Association

board. " Safety is paramount in everything we do. Emotional intelligence is also

crucial to be successful in this job. You also have to be healthy and in good

shape. "

Expanded practice parameters allow these nurses to work without direct

supervision from a doctor. They have the authority to make diagnoses, prescribe

medications and perform other interventions.

Few to choose from

" A flight nurse must be self-assured, with somewhat of an aggressive nature.

Leadership qualities are needed, coupled with a passion and kindness for patient

care, " said Beasley, chief flight nurse at Medical City Children's

hospital in Dallas.

Beasley, 46, helped rescue stranded residents after Hurricane Katrina flooded

New Orleans in August.

" Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw or experienced in Louisiana in

the days following Hurricane Katrina, " he wrote in a first-person account on his

employer's Web site, describing conditions in which battery power or generators

kept premature babies alive in temperatures that exceeded 100 degrees.

Flight nursing typically requires two to three years of critical-care

experience. But the nurse shortage has created a situation in which fewer

qualified workers are available to transfer into flight nursing.

Additionally, registered nurses with flight nursing expertise move quickly into

management positions and other jobs, said Manacci, director of the

acute care nurse practitioner flight nursing program at Case Western Reserve

University in Cleveland.

" Getting experts to the patient is the goal, " he said. " Currently, we have to

wait until we can get the patient to the expert, as demonstrated in the recent

natural disasters ? not an easy task. "

Founded in 2002, the Cleveland program is reportedly the first to provide formal

training for this niche job. Five students have graduated, and eight are

currently enrolled, working toward master's degrees.

Students learn safe operations and navigation skills. They also become familiar

with emergency procedures and shutting down the aircraft. As for flying, Manacci

defers to the pilots.

" Remember, the helicopter is only the toolbox; the flight nurse is the tool, " he

said.

Experience necessary

Schoenhardt, 39, loves to fly. She stumbled into flight nursing by luck.

Starting her career in the adult intensive care unit, she later transferred to

pediatric intensive care.

" One step led to another, and this is where I am, " she said.

A flight nurse for more than eight years, she draws from the knowledge that she

acquired in other nursing jobs.

" The more experience prior to flight nursing, the better, " Schoenhardt said.

" Most of us are type A personality people. You need drive to do this job. You

have to be accepting of change and be able to go with the flow. "

Nurses should possess exceptional assessment and reassessment skills and a

passion for flying, she said.

Larger and busier hospitals will offer a greater range of experience, according

to the transport nurses association. But it is important for prospective flight

nurses to avoid getting sidetracked into a heart disease unit or other

specialized care, it says. " While it is true that many transports involve

coronary patients, you will also need to know about pediatrics, high-risk

obstetrics, neurology, organ transplantation and many other specialties, " the

association's Web site says.

Beyond that, flight nurses must help maintain the helicopter, Beasley said.

Safety checks are essential at the beginning of each shift. " The pilot has the

ultimate responsibility for the aircraft, but it is a team effort to prepare the

aircraft for a mission, " he said. " Every crew member has the authority to stop

the mission if they feel something is not right. "

Find this article at:

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/employment/01/10bizfo\

cus.html

-Wes Ogilvie, MPA, JD, EMT-B

Austin, Texas