- Joined
- Feb 28, 2001
- Messages
- 844
- Reaction score
- 5
How can someone become involved with Life Flight or as a flight physician? Would you have to be EM trained? What types of qualifications would you need?
Life Flight
- Thread starter Atlas
- Start date
- Joined
- May 30, 2003
- Messages
- 883
- Reaction score
- 1
EM residents often staff aeromedical rotor flights. In the real world, aeromedical is nearly always done by RN-RN, RN-paramedic combinations. It costs too much money to staff flights with MDs, too low yield. I am sure sometimes a very special situation or rich person will lend itself to a physician-staffed flight.
So, if you are doing your EM residency, you can fly. If you want to work as a flight medical person, you can do that without going to med school.
Paramedics and nurses do it nearly everywhere. THe only caveat is unless you are in an area that has no paramedics or nurses, you will have to pay your dues on the ground first.
Where I used to work as a paramedic (ID), you needed like 5 years of ground service to apply.
In AZ, they hire people fresh out of school and pay well.
Hope this helps
So, if you are doing your EM residency, you can fly. If you want to work as a flight medical person, you can do that without going to med school.
Paramedics and nurses do it nearly everywhere. THe only caveat is unless you are in an area that has no paramedics or nurses, you will have to pay your dues on the ground first.
Where I used to work as a paramedic (ID), you needed like 5 years of ground service to apply.
In AZ, they hire people fresh out of school and pay well.
Hope this helps
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2002
- Messages
- 24,408
- Reaction score
- 17,586
Life Flight where? There are several very common names for aeromedical services.
Physician-manned flights aren't SO rare, but, almost exclusively, they're inter-hospital transfer. STATmedevac in Pittsburgh comes to mind. For on-scenes, why send a doc, when he can talk on the phone or radio?
Physician-manned flights aren't SO rare, but, almost exclusively, they're inter-hospital transfer. STATmedevac in Pittsburgh comes to mind. For on-scenes, why send a doc, when he can talk on the phone or radio?
As Appy said Pittsburgh is one of 8 places that puts residents on Lifeflight on a regular basis. The other two that I know about are UMass and Chicago. UMass also has attendings flying occassionally. I know Pitt and UMass also do scene calls. Pitt used to do alot of international physician staffed Lifeflights via Leer Jet but I'm not sure that they still do alot of those.
To answer Atlas' original question, the three places I know for sure physicians fly its all through emergency medicine.
To answer Atlas' original question, the three places I know for sure physicians fly its all through emergency medicine.
