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Agency nursing itself can offer a different experience for nurses in comparison to working full time for the NHS or a private trust. Our nurses tell us that they have chosen to work agency shifts because they get the chance to meet new people, work in a variety of settings and further their skills and experience by learning from others. But what about working outside of traditional hospital settings? We spoke Julie, a Thornbury Nurse who has worked as a flight nurse since 2004.
“Hi, I’m Julie, I’m a Thornbury nurse doing something a little bit different.
Since 2004 I’ve been a flight nurse, travelling around the world on both air ambulances and commercial airlines, bringing patients home to the UK and accompanying patients back to their homes overseas.
I first heard about flight nursing back in 2003; I was working an agency shift for Thornbury in Bristol. A patient from Spain was admitted to A&E and he was accompanied by a flight nurse who I began talking to. Her job sounded amazing and I couldn’t get it out of my head so I did some research and signed up for an inflight nursing module at Glenside University. I completed the course and started working for a flight medical company, where I was classed as an acute flight nurse due to my A&E background. I repatriated patients with a variety of cardiac, respiratory and cerebral vascular conditions as well as patients with fractured femurs, spinal injuries and water sport injuries.
Find out more about what is needed to join us. Browse the specialisms that we’re currently recruiting for at Thornbury.
Fast forward 12 years and I have travelled all over the world: Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean and across Europe. It’s quite common for people to become ill or injured whilst overseas and unable to speak the local language. It’s a scary situation and my patients are often anxious, wondering how they’re ever going to get home. My job is to take away their anxiety and bring them home safely. The hours can be long and tiring, especially when travelling across time zones with patients requiring constant care. I’ve developed the confidence necessary to secure the best care and speak up for my patients’ safety and wellbeing, as well as an awareness of the laws and the culture of the countries I visit.
I’ve experienced many challenges: oxygen not available on board, flight tickets not paid for, patients in the wrong hospital, transport not turning up as scheduled or not at all, patients deteriorating pre, during or post flight are but a few to mention. However, I have 24/7 support from my company via a mobile phone and Medilink is also available if a patient deteriorates during a flight. I know first-hand that no matter how well a pre-travel assessment goes, a patient can deteriorate at any time.
I currently work for a company based in Exeter doing lots of air ambulance work, often working alongside a doctor or a medical team. Depending on my work schedule, I usually get two days’ rest on long-haul jobs and, depending on my flight plan, up to 12 hours’ rest on short haul flights (this varies greatly). I work on my own a lot, but there can be cases that need two nurses, for example, immobile patients on long haul flights.
I absolutely love my job; caring for patients who are always so thankful to see me and appreciative of the care I give them. It is very hard work, the hours are long but it’s also very rewarding. If I’d have known this was the career I’d end up following, I would’ve studied languages at school but hindsight is a wonderful thing! You spend the majority of your life at work so it’s very important to love what you do.
So what skills have I learnt from being a flight nurse? To think ahead and be well prepared to leave at short notice – think medical equipment, documents, passports, visas. I’ve learnt to be much more assertive in order to get the best for my patients. I’ve also learnt to have patience and keep calm, your patients will likely be anxious and stressed as it is.
I have been approached by many nurses who are fascinated by my job. I always stress that this line of work involves being away from home and family for up to five days at a time, even more if a problem occurs. Often you have no idea when you’ll return home. But if you can work around this, are comfortable working alone and are prepared to leave at short notice then it’s the most fabulous, rewarding, challenging and exciting job I know.
Thanks for listening to my story – I hope you enjoyed it.
Julie, Thornbury Flight Nurse
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Hi,
I am a Sister in an Emergency Department in the UK, where I have worked for 4 years. Me and my family are considering moving to Spain next year. I have always wanted to get involved with repatriation nursing, as I feel it links well with my emergency background and training. Would it be possible to live in Spain, but fly to the UK for repatriation jobs as required? How much notice do you get for jobs? and do you do any direct jobs from Spain to other countries? I am English speaking, so nursing in Spain will prove difficult but I am currently with an agency already so will fly home for shifts every few months, but would ideally like to do repatriation nursing.
Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Kind regards,
Beth Cooper
Hi Beth, thanks for your message. Let me speak with someone and I’ll come back to you on whether we’re able to provide any suitable opportunities. Thanks, Sarah
Hi Beth, I have spoken to the team and you would need to do a Flight Nursing course before being able to do repatriation. Thanks, Sarah.
Hi Sarah,
I am trying to find a suitable Flight nursing course to undertake. I have only found a private company offering this service.
Can you recommend a particular course provider?
Many Thanks,
Will
Hi Will,
Thanks for the message. There are various ways to become a registered flight nurse. We cannot recommend a specific course but we did notice that the RCN is running a study day next April which might be useful to ask questions on how to become qualified: https://www.rcn.org.uk/news-and-events/events/uk-flight-nursing-240421
Hope this helps.
Thanks,
Ian
Hi there,
I always wanted to work in HEMS as my first passion was to be a paramedic however my path changed and i have now been a qualified nurse for 3 years. I am very keen to explore the potential of flight nursing or similar and would value and guidance/direction you could give.
Hi Jonathan, great to hear you are interested in aviation nursing. The best thing to do would be to give our recruitment team a call on 0345 120 5252 to discuss and they will be able to give you the latest information.
How can I get into this? I’m an A&E army nurse.
Hi Samantha, It would be best to speak to our Recruitment Team directly about this. Please give them a call on 0345 120 5252 when you get a chance.
Hi,
I am a registered midwife and I am interested in this. What are the requirements and how do I join
Hi Remmy, it would be best to speak with our Recruitment Team directly about the requirements. You can reach them on 0345 120 5252.
Hi
Just wondering if you still have flight nurse oppotunities
Hi Amy, I’ve checked with the team and there aren’t any current opportunities but you are welcome to speak to our Recruitment Team directly and they can advise how often they come up. You can reach them on 0345 120 5252.
Hello, I am a nurse with ICU experience and i am interested in getting into flight nursing. If you could advbise me on what steps i need to take that would be great.
Thanks
Hi Alison, There are various ways to become a registered flight nurse. We cannot recommend a specific course but we did notice that the RCN often runs a course which might be useful to ask questions on how to become qualified. I hope this helps. Thanks, Ian