What is a Commercial Airline Medical Flight Nurse?

Taking a commercial airline flight when you have a medical condition means that needs care and monitoring means that you need to have a professional medical escort as the medical professional on board—especially flight nurses. When it comes to tending to your health and well-being, an air nurse must be able to work under challenging situations in a dynamic environment—24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If you’ve ever wondered what goes into being a Flight Nurse on a commercial medical escort mission, here is some handy information to help you learn about the vital role they play on medical escort flights.

What are the responsibilities of a commercial airline medical flight nurse?

There’s a lot more to working as a flight nurse than most people realize. They are an integral part of being a medical escort on a commercial flight is providing comprehensive nursing care and in-flight management, from before you take off to well after you’ve landed. Medical escort flight nurses have a long list of duties and responsibilities that include:

• Collecting and securely storing all necessary medical documentation
• Ensuring patient care, safety, and comfort
• Operating medical equipment
• Assisting with emergency care
• Performing first aid
• Providing medication infusions
• Administering medications
• Undertaking advanced life support or resuscitation procedures
• Transferring patients to awaiting medical staff
• Making sure airline medical clearances are handled
• Obtaining airline medical certificates and fitness to fly documents
• Arranging airline on board wheelchair service
• Providing oxygen on board commercial airlines

What qualifications do a commercial airline medical flight nurses need?

Flight nurses need a high level of clinical training and experience to work on commercial airlines as a medical escort attendant. In addition to the normal requirements of a registered nurse, they also need post-grad training in emergency nursing, including pediatric advanced life support, advanced life support, and pre-hospital trauma life support before they take to the skies. Flight nurses must also have experience in critical care, ICU, or other emergency room-based settings. If that wasn’t enough, flight nurses receive ongoing training to ensure the best medical care possible for all their patients.

What are some of the non-medical duties of a flight nurse?

Being a competent flight nurse means having a solid set of communication skills. They must be able to properly liaison with the other medical team members as well as with the airlines. Flight nurses will also plan pre-flight meetings to go over their patients’ medical records, medicinal requirements, and other specific needs. And most importantly, they need to be able to comfort and reassure their patients. Do you need a medical escort on board a commercial flight? As you can see, flight nurses are the heart and soul of every journey, ensuring the best possible medical care for all their patients. Whether you are flying across the province or the world, you can rest assured knowing you are in the most caring, competent hands possible with a commercial airline medical escort flight nurse.

For a medical escort on board a commercial flight, contact Lifesupport today! We provide medical escort flights around the world from our bases in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Frankfurt.