Interview with a Flight Paramedic
Interview with a Flight Paramedic
HAS 1102 Current Issues in Health
Interview with a Flight Paramedic
Look up in the sky, it is a bird, it is a plane, it is a Flight Paramedic. Flight paramedics fly aboard helicopters also known as Air Ambulances or Medevac. Flight paramedic is part of the medical team, they are are often requested to form part of the aircrew of the helicopter in rescue operations. Typically, the Flight Medic will work with a registered nurse, physician, Respiratory Therapist, or another Paramedic. The helicopter rescue service is used where a land ambulance is unable to reach the patient, or the patient is so critically ill or injured that transportation by a land ambulance would put the patient’s life in further danger or cause injuries to be exasperated by a journey in a land ambulance to the hospital for further investigation and treatment. On occasion, a patient may need to be transported between one hospital and another for specialized treatment, which can be time critical and will need the care and expertise of the flight paramedic.
Occasionally a flight paramedic may be required to escort a donated organ or tissue for transplantation as donated organs have a limited useful timeline; therefore, transportation is time critical. Aircraft are often used as they are able to fly over long distances in a shorter time.
Flight paramedics often have to deal with the most critically ill or critically injured patients, these patients are often considered to be time critical meaning if they don’t receive treatment within a very short time period they are likely to die or suffer severe complications.
The inside of an air ambulance resembles a min intensive care unit, with all the equipment the paramedic is likely to need in flight. The patient can expected to receive the very best of pre-hospital treat, just as would be given by the crew of a land ambulance. Flight paramedics can also make up the crew of special airplane flights, when it is
HAS 1102 Current Issues in Health
Interview with a Flight Paramedic
Look up in the sky, it is a bird, it is a plane, it is a Flight Paramedic. Flight paramedics fly aboard helicopters also known as Air Ambulances or Medevac. Flight paramedic is part of the medical team, they are are often requested to form part of the aircrew of the helicopter in rescue operations. Typically, the Flight Medic will work with a registered nurse, physician, Respiratory Therapist, or another Paramedic. The helicopter rescue service is used where a land ambulance is unable to reach the patient, or the patient is so critically ill or injured that transportation by a land ambulance would put the patient’s life in further danger or cause injuries to be exasperated by a journey in a land ambulance to the hospital for further investigation and treatment. On occasion, a patient may need to be transported between one hospital and another for specialized treatment, which can be time critical and will need the care and expertise of the flight paramedic.
Occasionally a flight paramedic may be required to escort a donated organ or tissue for transplantation as donated organs have a limited useful timeline; therefore, transportation is time critical. Aircraft are often used as they are able to fly over long distances in a shorter time.
Flight paramedics often have to deal with the most critically ill or critically injured patients, these patients are often considered to be time critical meaning if they don’t receive treatment within a very short time period they are likely to die or suffer severe complications.
The inside of an air ambulance resembles a min intensive care unit, with all the equipment the paramedic is likely to need in flight. The patient can expected to receive the very best of pre-hospital treat, just as would be given by the crew of a land ambulance. Flight paramedics can also make up the crew of special airplane flights, when it is