Flight Nurse Facts: What They Do & How Much They Make

Flight nurses make sure that accident victims and people with life-threatening illnesses and diseases live to see another day. A flight nurse has to be an emergency, intensive care, a critical care nurse at once. They receive sophisticated training and skills and must be experienced if they are to save patients' lives. They must deliver a wide scope of care and be prepared for anything at any time.

Flight nurses can work in a variety of places. They are needed in the Army, Navy, and Air Force as well as outside of the military. If they do work in the military, they can be on active duty overseas at war or at home in the reserves. Military medical personnel are highly employable in the civilian world because of the skills and training they receive. Outside of the military, flight nurses made a company a person being transported from one hospital to another. Other flight nurses may be one of the first people at a scene of an emergency such as a natural disaster or automobile wreck. In cases of natural disasters, a flight nurse has to be prepared to witness and deal with mass trauma. Flight nurses can be employees of hospitals or private companies that employ and dispatch emergency response teams.

If you are thinking about starting a career in flight nursing you should know that it may take a while to find a position due to the fact that there is a low rate of turnover among flight nurses. However, that should encourage you rather than discouraging. Obviously, in a job with a low turnover rate this may be a good indication that the nurses love their job. Perhaps this is because the job can be exciting and rewarding by allowing flight nurses to help people in ways that they would not otherwise be able to. They meet people's needs at a time when they most need help. As with any nursing job being a flight nurse is demanding and comes with a high stress level. Take time to think about the emotional and physical stresses that a job like this can have on you.

If you want to be a flight nurse you will need a degree in nursing but the particular major will depend on where you want to work. You will definitely need previous experience and/or training as an emergency responder or as a part of a critical care team. Flight nurses are expected to perform a number of duties including teaching other medical professionals how to respond to a disaster, caring for the sick and wounded while they are on their way to the hospital, continuing their education and staying up-to-date on the latest procedures and the list goes on.

In case you were wondering if the job is worth it, perhaps you should know that the average salary for flight nurse in 2008 was $65,000. Along with the comfortable salary Combs the personal reward of knowing that you help people at the worst time in their lives. If you don't like the humdrum of punching a clock in a 9 to 5 job and enjoy caring for people, you may find that being a flight nurse is a good choice for you.